Initially, the way to grow tomatoes upside down was invented solely to save space. But even the owners of large plots picked it up, seduced by assurances that it is beautiful, does not require any effort, and the harvest will be greater than in the open field or in a greenhouse.
The result is a mass of both laudatory reviews and disappointments. The method is good, if everything is done correctly, do not build illusions about the unprecedented yield or decorativeness of tomatoes grown upside down.
The essence of the method
Planting tomatoes upside down is still an exotic method, but gaining popularity. It consists in the fact that tomato seedlings are planted in a large container, pulling the stem through a hole made in the bottom. Fall asleep with nutrient soil, water.
Leave the container to lie on its side until the seedlings begin to grow. Attach the container to the support so that the roots are at the top, and the stem hangs freely down.
The crop is harvested as the fruit ripens. Water and feed the tomatoes in the upper hole.
Advantages and disadvantages of the method
Growing tomatoes upside down is a controversial method. And not as easy as some sources claim. Often, gardeners, having planted tomatoes upside down in containers, refuse this method, or remain dissatisfied and improve it on their own.
The method is problematic. He really has a lot of advantages, only each has its own “but”:
- Planting tomatoes upside down saves space.
- Tomatoes are easier to care for. But for watering, you will have to climb a ladder, be sure to do foliar top dressing and treatment with anti-stress drugs.
- Upside down tomatoes do not require pinching. Valid only for varieties that do not need rationing of side shoots. The need to remove stepchildren does not depend on the method of cultivation.
- Tomatoes growing upside down do not need a garter. Only if the variety is chosen correctly, and the tall tomatoes remaining after planting in the traditional way were not used. It is really not necessary to install trellises and drive in pegs.
- There is no need to carry out treatments for diseases and pests – they cannot “get” the tomatoes hung up. The Colorado potato beetle will not start on the balcony, but the whitefly or aphids feel great in the city and can fly. Diseases are carried by the wind, insects, including pollinators, get on the leaves with the “help” of domestic animals and people from the soil mixture. Urban plants also suffer from fungi and bacteria, and among the weeds growing under the porches, there are many belonging to the Solanaceae family. It is unnecessary to talk about tomatoes planted in the private sector – they suffer from the same diseases and pests as soil or greenhouse ones.
- Tomatoes planted upside down in a pot decorate the territory. With proper care, if they do not get sick – yes. Otherwise, the tomatoes look pathetic. But you can plant flowers, lettuce, parsley or other plants in the upper hole.
- Tomatoes housed in plastic containers are easier to water. Maybe. But the water must be the same temperature as the air. If there is no settling tank with a hose connected, a ladle will have to be used.
- The yield of tomatoes grown upside down is greater than in a greenhouse or in the ground. This can be achieved, but only after careful selection of the variety and the use of Topsy Torvi as a container, and it is not cheap. In buckets and bottles made of plastic, yields are usually significantly lower.
- The method does not require additional investments, you can use what is at hand. Yes, if you grow several tomatoes. For a large number, additional fasteners will be required, it may be necessary to make a solid structure for hanging containers that can withstand significant loads.
- You can grow upside down tomatoes in a greenhouse. A small amount – yes. If there are a lot of containers, the load should be calculated – a 10-liter bucket with a fruiting tomato and wet earth weighs about 20-25 kg. You may have to make additional fasteners.
- Weeding, hilling, loosening are excluded from care.
- Reducing the amount of water for irrigation.
- Such tomatoes begin to bear fruit earlier. Yes, due to better soil heating.
- This way of planting tomatoes strikes the imagination of others.
So it’s not all that simple. The method has clear disadvantages:
- not every variety of tomatoes is suitable for growing upside down;
- planting tomatoes in containers with a small bottom hole is more difficult than in the ground;
- at first, the tomatoes do not have enough sun, and they tend to grow upwards;
- if you do not build a special design, for a large number of containers it is difficult to find enough space where at the same time there is a strong support and a lot of light.
When watering, excess water flows down the stems, which increases the likelihood of rot development and reduces decorative effect. In the premises, it is required to install a pallet under the tomatoes, otherwise moisture will ruin the floor.
Tomato varieties for growing upside down
Container-bred tomatoes are best for growing upside down. Or undersized, ampelous varieties of tomatoes that do not require pinching, with small fruits. Large ones can overload the bush, and if they do not break off the branches, they are able to “pull up” the roots. Although they are quickly restored in tomatoes, a plant in a state of constant stress can shed its ovaries, it will develop and bloom worse.
Numerous photos showing determinate or indeterminate tomatoes, overloaded with huge fruits, and supposedly growing upside down, lie. They are made using Photoshop or in conventional greenhouses with traditional planting. This is easy to see if you carefully look at how the leaves grew before they were cut off.
Varieties for growing upside down that can be planted in 5-liter containers:
- Tiny Tim;
- Window yellow;
- Honey bunch;
- Florida Petit;
- Pygmy;
- Pinocchio;
- Micron NK (can be grown in a flower pot);
- Bonsai;
- Room surprise;
- Balcony miracle;
- Garden gem;
- Citizen F1;
- Cherripalchiki F1;
- Tumbler;
- Mascot;
- Red abundance;
- Green petal.
In their natural position, these varieties of tomatoes are often grown on the balcony in plastic bottles or flower pots with a capacity of 2-3 liters. But when the tomatoes are turned upside down, the vegetative mass pulls the root down, trying to tear it out of the containers. Because of the small opening, this is difficult to do, but the sucking processes are constantly broken off. To minimize the effects, the mass of the roots should be greater than in the traditional planting. The storage capacity needs to be increased.
Tomatoes can be planted in 10-liter buckets:
- Manicure;
- Garten Freude;
- Grape;
- Agatha;
- Wagner Mirabell;
- tomato White filling;
- The hut is rich;
- Yellow (red, orange) hat;
- Mystery;
- Sanka.
Selection of containers
Special tools for Topsy Torvi tomatoes are best suited, but they are expensive. You can take plastic buckets for food with a capacity of 10 liters. Intended for the storage of chemically active substances, remaining after the production of paints, building mixtures cannot be taken – they gradually poison the plant. If the tomato does not die, then the fruits will definitely be saturated with elements that are poisonous to humans.
For certain varieties of tomatoes, plastic water bottles with a volume of 5 liters are suitable. General requirements for containers:
- chemical neutrality;
- strength;
- containers should not collapse under the influence of light and moisture.
Planting hanging tomatoes in buckets with a capacity of 20 liters is not recommended. Their mass after watering will be 40-45 kilograms. Tomatoes can break off under their own weight or from strong winds.
Soil preparation
Ordinary garden soil is not suitable for planting tomatoes upside down. If the crop is grown in a greenhouse, you can take the substrate from there.
For self-preparation of the soil mixture take equal shares:
- peat;
- compost;
- well-rotted humus (it is loose, contains little nitrogen).
Mix, add a glass of ash and a tablespoon of superphosphate to a bucket of substrate. Before use, steam with boiling water, allow excess water to drain and cool.
How to plant tomatoes upside down
For plastic bottles, carefully cut off the bottom. Do not throw away – it will serve as a lid. The bottom of the bucket is perforated in the center – you need a neat hole with a diameter of 3-5 cm. In all types of containers, small slots are made with a soldering iron or a hot nail on the side facing down and a little higher to drain excess water.
Overgrown tomatoes are well suited for planting:
- Cut off the lower leaves, leaving only the crown.
- Take out the seedling from the old container.
- Inserted into the wide opening of the landing container.
- Push the top into the lower, small hole. In this case, the root and the stem devoid of leaves must be completely inside the planting container.
- Cut off a small piece of foam rubber or a new sponge. It is wrapped around the part of the stem that is in contact with the lower opening. Seal to retain water when watering. If there is not enough foam rubber cut off, additional pieces are inserted around the perimeter of the hole.
- Gently cover the root and stem with a nutrient substrate. Too long shoot can be bent. Adventitious roots will quickly grow on it.
- Watered in several doses. The plastic container is covered with a lid, the bucket is covered with cellophane.
- Lay on its side in a bright place, but protected from direct sunlight.
- You can hang a tomato from a support no earlier than it takes root, new leaves appear. This takes no more than a week.
Features of care
It is important to correctly fix the container with the tomato on the support. After watering, it should not bend or move. You need to make allowances for strong winds, which can shake and rip the container.
Water and feed the tomatoes in the upper hole. They should not dry out even for a short time. You can’t use cold water – if this number passes in the ground, then in a closed container it can lead to the death of tomatoes.
Top dressing is given only in liquid form, preferably organic. At the initial stage of growth – a solution of fermented mullein or green manure (nitrogen). Then – an aqueous extract of ash (potassium). Phosphorus must be added to the substrate.
Some gardeners neglect foliar feeding and anti-stress preparations both in the beds and in greenhouses. Tomatoes grown upside down are sprayed every two weeks. It is recommended to use a chelate complex intended for vegetable crops, humates, epin or zircon, and when the ovaries fall off – boric acid. They are not given separately, but a cocktail is prepared and filled into one bottle.
At the first sign of disease or pest damage, tomatoes should be treated with the appropriate drug or folk remedies. In order to identify the problem in time, the bushes are inspected daily.
When the roots of tomatoes fill the container, in plastic bottles they become exposed to the sun. And the black containers heat up, which can lead to the death of the bushes. It is recommended to tie the container with a light-colored cloth – this will protect the roots of tomatoes from the sun and high temperature.
Testimonials from truck drivers
Tamara Borisovna Filonova, 48 years old, Tyumen:
For three years I have been growing tomatoes upside down on a closed loggia with artificial lighting. In the first season, she planted De Barao in a cropped 5-liter bottle, got 2 frail tomatoes, but was not disappointed, but took into account the mistakes. The next year I planted Sanka. I used 10-liter buckets perforated from below. Harvest pleased. This year, my husband welded pipes under the ceiling, arranged additional lighting from different sides. You may even be able to close a couple of jars of your own tomatoes.
Igor Mikhailovich Maslov, 68 years old, Krasnodar Territory:
Although I am an elderly person, I try to introduce all the new items in my area. I planted undersized tomatoes in 10-liter buckets upside down. I took care of it correctly, fed it from above and along the sheet all summer. Watering was difficult, because each time I had to climb a ladder with a large mug. I got a crop that is not that bad, but much smaller than in the open field or in a greenhouse. I have enough land, so I consider the experiment unsuccessful.
