How to Grow a Hanging Tomato Garden

I would first like to tell you a little about Hanging Gardens and where they first originated. It is very interesting and may lead you to having one yourself.

This system is based on The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, also known as Hanging Gardens of Semiramis. They are considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and supposedly built by Nebuchadnezzar II in or near 600 BC. to make his wife, Amyitis of Media, happy.

Now why do I tell you about this? Because it did make someone happy-a very important someone. And once she was happy, every one else reaped the rewards too. Of course hers went throughout an entire kingdom, while yours may only be the Patio and Hanging Gardens in your own balcony or yard. Patio and Hanging Gardens please people; and you can easily make your family happier too. You will also have lush greenery and flowers, and grow your own healthy food (even if it's one plant at a time), and it's all in one project.

Lets have some fun! We will show you how to make your Patio and Hanging garden, starting with an Upside Down Tomato Garden. At this point you are probably wondering about the "upside down" part. It is an unusual way to grow tomatoes, but I am here to tell you how to do it, and why you should.

Now since you are hanging these plants, first understand that your plants will receive better circulation both to the soil and plant. This will solve lots of problems, as well as increase your harvest. The top problems with tomato gardening is disease, hungry critters, and fruit rotting on the ground when a heavy branch topples over. This will solve all the above.


This is a free version of the Patio and Hanging Garden and not as pretty, as the one in our resource link. See that one below, for instant gardens which might cost a little more, but look better on your patio.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 5-gallon bucket with a tight-fitting lid
• 5-gallons of moist soil
• Plant to grow-we are using tomatoes as our example
• Soapy water and rinse water for bucket
• Heavy Duty scissor or a Drill to cut hole
• Coffee filter, cheesecloth, or sphagnum moss
• Heavy chain or cord to hang planter from
• Secure place to hang heavy planter
• Water for new plant

1. To make the upside-down containers, I take a 5-gallon bucket with a tight-fitting lid. You can buy these cheaply at any hardware or paint store. You can also recycle them from Restaurants who use in large supply buckets. Make sure your bucket has a secure handle for hanging with a large amount of weight of the moist soil and plant.

2. Clean your bucket well with soapy water and rinse it thoroughly. Cut an approximate 2 inch in diameter hole in the center of the lid and one in the bottom of the bucket. To make the holes, you can use a drill with a hole saw bit like the attachment for cutting a door to install the doorknob.

3. With the bucket standing upright and the lid off, you should cover the holes with a coffee filter, some cheesecloth, or even sphagnum moss will work if packed tight enough. Just make sure the soil won't fall out of either hole when you turn the bucket over. Then fill the bucket almost full with a lightweight potting mix. Tap it down to remove any air pockets. Cover the bucket with the lid.

4. Turn the bucket over and gently make a hole to insert your tomato plant. Pack in more cloth if you feel it will be needed, although that is not usually the case. Water your plant and let it establish itself and its roots for about 2 weeks or more

5. Find a great sunny place to hang your tomato plant. Remember, dried tomato plants produce rippled and hard fruit, so make sure you water them every day.

Tips & Warnings

• They are great for your porch, fire escape, balcony, or even inside a sunny window. Its a great space-safer!
• What's better than growing your own fresh Tomatoes?
• By growing the plant upside down, watering was a cinch-just pour it in the funnel on top.
• Weeding is not an issue
• Staking and tying are not necessary
• All the work is at eye level.
• The plants grow up, towards the sun, adjusting to the weight of their fruit-so have less breakage.
• Senior Gardeners benefit from it too, as it takes all the bending out of gardening.
• This model can also be used for flowers or other vegetables.
• Heat can dehydrate us quickly, so drink lots of water while working outside.

Resources

• Instant upside down garden planters.

[kathykoscenski]

on 6/22/2009 i used the topsy turvy thing and it works well. i think using the bucket idea would be just as easy and free. the only problem i have is that my cherry tomato plant has gotten so long, it's got about 3 feet of plant on the ground. i've hung it up as high as i can (about 10 ft.) and need a step ladder to water it. i just have to move it to a hook under the porch when it rains so it doesn't get roof setimet and who knows what else in it.

[JMOrganizations]

on 5/19/2009 Yes, here is OUR story.http://www.singleparent-familylife.com/patioandhanginggardens.html

[ahyes]

on 5/19/2009 why not just use the 'topsy turvy' tomato tree? I ordered mine, you have the option of buying 3 or 6 ports (holes) and we planted 2-3 plants from each hole. It is growing beyond my expectations, I love this thing, and how easy it is to care for. I went with a traditional garden this year, and placed the topsy turvy in one corner of the garden. The tomatoes (many varieties.. cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, big beef tomatoes, whopper, yellow pear tomaotes.. etc.) also the cucumbers, zucchini, and different peppers we planted are growing pretty fast and much leafier than the regular garden. So far I'm impressed, I love this thing. The strong bag they use is ideal instead of using other materials to build one, and it looks handsome in my yard too, like a work of art. https://www.topsytree.com/flare/next?tag=os|af

[bettybrownthumb]

on 12/21/2008 I am going to try this. Thanks for sharing. Can this method be used for zucchini, cukes or ???

[zuchinno]

on 6/26/2008 From wikipedia:
"According to the tradition, the gardens did not hang, but grew on the roofs and terraces of the royal palace in Babylon."
In addition, the legend goes that the garden did not succeed in satisfying queen Amytis.
Finally, anyone who chooses to do this should be warned that tomato plant fruit, flowers, and leaves may become contaminated with various parasites and diseases such as salmonella or ecoli with regular contact with dirty water, soil, or fertilizer. So if the planter drains onto the plant below, you're more likely to have fruit that will make you sick.