The upside down hanging Tomato planter....SWMBO wants one..But me being VERY skeptical of things advertised on cable think it's crap...Has anyone bought and used one or know somebody who has??? Does it work???? Any help talking her out of it would be appreciated...LOL...
They seem to work ( no personal experience) but making your own is far cheaper.
The wife has discussed this in some detail with an experienced DIY person. Ask and I will try to post some info this time tomorrow as she has gone to bed for the night.
But, you can do the same thing for far far far less money. What they sell for a few dollars, you can buy for a few pennies. Free 5 gallon buckets work the same way. Cut a hole in the bottom, put a plant in there, some dirt, and water from the top.
Don't know if you've ever grown tomatos. They ain't rocket surgery, but they ain't simple, either. But if you're willing to put in a little work, some time, and some regular care, the rewards are worth it. All you need is good starter plants, regular care, and a little knowledge. That doesn't come in any package, including the upside down packages sold for $$$$$.
THANKYOU for the link Walter...I never really paid any attention to the commercial cuz I thought it was BS and didn't even consider making one...LOL...Being an old drywall taper I have PILES of 5 gallon buckets....I can make them for next to nothing....May even sell a few in the wife's yardsale all painted up...LOL...Thankyou to everyone else who replied as well.....
I, also, made my own with 5 gallon bucket. Used it for three years, never got but a couple tomatos off it but then I have never had much luck growing tomatoes anyhow.
If you *have* to plant your tomatoes in a planter, they work as well as any planter. But tomatoes love to have a constant level of moisture in their root system & it is a PITA to do with any planter.
Now that the newer upside down planters seem to be encouraging folks to plant on top of the planter, too, there might be a slight advantage of saving room and shading the soil- but plant them in the ground is still the best way to grow tomatoes.
OTOH- SWMBO, MBO!. So get her one. And casually plant a couple plants in some nice rich soil. Don'r say a word, but by august she'll come around.
All right, I've read all the comments, and will tell you this. If she wants tomatoes, tell her to scrap the planter, and do it a different way. Came from "Crockett's Victory Garden", I think.
Take a tomato plant that's about 15" tall, and pull the leaves off from the root ball up to about 10-12".
Cut a little trench about as wide as 3" diameter, and put the dirt on the side along the trench, after breaking it up.
Put the plant in the trench, lengthwise. Obviously, take the little plastic root cup away.
Sprinkle CEMENT DUST on the trench dirt, and the root ball, then put the dirt back in over the plant.
Mud it in.
After about a day, the plant starts reaching for the sun. And it is going to have a long base for roots. The cement dust will provide calcium, some iron. etc. for the plant.
Put in four posts, and stretch plastic construction fence horizontally between them, about 18" from the ground, over the plant(s). The plant comes up through it, and the plastic fence material supports the tomatoes. Easy enough to add another layer of the fence if you decide it could help. But you need to decide that relatively early in the season after the plants have come up through the first layer.
Total cost? She might be able to get a mayonaise jar of cement dust for free if there is a broken bag at Home Depot and she tells what she wants it for. That leaves a scrap of construction fence and something to use as posts. I've used conduit driven into the ground and drilled with some holes to hold the cord that holds the fence pieces. But tell her how terribly expensive it was if you like.
Interesting. I've never heard or read about using cement dust.
You can strip 2/3 of the bottom leaves before planting and plant as you describe. Even just stripping the leaves and plating deeper will develop a strong root system.
Where the leaves are snipped, add a sprinkle of rooting hormone. The root will develop faster, be stronger an feed/water the fruit better.
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