Build Your Own Upside Down Tomato Planter!

You have seen the topsy turvy planter advertised on television. But you can get as good and typically better results by creating your own, larger upside down tomato planter. This article will tell you how to create your planter and the advantages of growing tomatoes this way.

1. Get an empty 5 gallon bucket, preferably one that has not been used for any painting, mixing chemicals, or anything else toxic.

2. Flip the bucket upside down on a hard surface, then, using a 1 1/2" hole drilling bit, find the center of the bottom of the bucket (there will be a dimple in the center) and drill a hole there. Alternatively, you can trace a hole of 3" or less in the center of your bucket, then poke a hole in the bucket and use a jigsaw to cut out the circle.

3. Use a 3/8" drill bit, drill about 6 holes at various spacing through the bottom of the bucket to provide extra drainage.

4. Find a very sturdy place to hang your bucket and use a large utility hook to hang the plant. I have seen several gardeners who build a frame out of 4"x4" timber, using one timber on each end and one top-brace between them. You will need to bury the supports in concrete or at least in a hole a couple of feet deep and filled in with tamped gravel and dirt on top. Make sure that you can easily reach the top of each bucket to water the tomato art plants.

5. Finally, get tomato plants from your local nursery or ones you started early, and while the bucket is hanging feed the plant through the inside of the bucket gently bending the branches to get them through the hole. The plant should hang by itself from the root ball. Then simply fill the rest of the bucket at least 3/4 full with a good quality soil.

There are several advantages to growing tomatoes this way:
1. The tomatoes are guaranteed well drained soil
2. The tomatoes themselves will never lay on the ground and rot
3. Many people claim that more of the nutrients flow into the fruit
4. Depending where this strategy is used, it can be a space saving technique.

Source : Ezinearticles