How to: Upside Down Pepper Plants

Peppers grow on small- to medium-sized bushes.

Upside-down planters are actually bags designed to hold soil while plants hang down toward the ground. These setups guarantee better sun and air exposure and eliminate the need for staking. They are ideal for plants like peppers, which grow well in the garden but tend to draw soil-dwelling insects and diseases. To plant peppers in a commercial upside-down planter, make sure that you have the right soil and fertilizer.

Things You'll Need

• Cord/twine
• Eye hook
• Bucket
• Organic compost
• Fertilizer
• Scoop

Instructions

1. Start your peppers in spring, even in hanging gardens. Peppers require night time temperatures higher than 60 F and fail in cold weather. Find a site on your patio or porch where the pepper plant can hang and get full sunshine for eight hours a day. Use an established hook or place an eye hook in the wall or ceiling.

2. Thread a cord or piece of twine through the hook on the upside-down planter and then through the hook on your porch or patio. Lower the planter to waist level for easy access during the planting process.

3. Mix your potting soil in a bucket before you start. Use a combination that is half organic compost and half quick-draining garden soil to give the pepper seedling good nutrition, moisture retention and drainage. Add balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer to the soil to give the pepper a good starting nutrition level.

4. Put the roots of the pepper seedling through the hole in the bottom of the planter, so that they are inside the bag. Reach into the planter with your other hand to secure the clamp around the roots. The seedling should now hang below the planter on its own.

5. Use a scoop to fill the planter with your soil mixture. Sprinkle the first five scoops in gently, so you don't damage the seedling's roots. Continue scooping until your planter is full to within 2 inches of the top. Put the lid on the planter.

6. Pour 1 gallon of water slowly into the planter to settle the soil and moisturize the pepper seedling. Pull the cord to raise the planter to your desired position and secure it.

References

• Danny Lipford; How to Grow Peppers in Your Garden; Julie Day
• University of Illinois Extension: Watch Your Garden Grow --- Peppers