If you have a garden, your probably used to sowing seeds, watching them grow then planting them in the ground or pot. But, did you know you can plant some varieties upside down??
Benefits of upside down hanging planters
What happens if you hang a plant upside down?
The idea is that it keeps your plants off the ground away from pests. Your plants will also grow upward toward the sunlight letting their fruit hang low keeping them clean and away from the eager eyes of birds etc.
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With the water flowing downward onto the plant itself it also means moisture and nutrients aren’t washed out as quickly and can drip down feeding the leaves as well as the roots, eventually producing a stronger plant( and more tomatoes)
What you need for this project
- A large milk jug
- scissors
- A Roll of Tape
- Enough compost to fill your container
- Something sturdy to hang your planter with, I tused thick wool and 3 kebab sticks
- Some small tomato seedlings. I used a tumbling variety called Garden pearls.
How to make your upside down hanging planters
- Cut the bottom portion off of the milk jug.
- Then cut an extra strip from the bottom on the jug
- Use this strip to over lap the cut end of the jug which should reinforce the thickness adding stability to your planter and helping to prevent the plastic from stretching from the weight of the soil after it has been hung up.
- Fix this in place with tape.
- Punch two holes in your jug, one at each side, as close to the center of the plastic strip as possible
- Now push the kebab sticks or whatever you chose to use to hang your planter through the holes made in the 2 layers of plastic
- Now, choose your plants. I used cherry tomatoes called Garden Pearls that we grew from seed, but you could use strawberries or other vining or hanging plants.
- Now gently lay your jug down on its side and half fill with compost.
- Gently Insert your chosen plant into the bottle and gently work the plant leaves through the bottle opening. Leaving the roots inside the neck of your bottle.
- Now gently fill the rest of the container with soil to hold the roots in place.
- Fill the container leaving 3-4cm from the top of the jug.
Hang your planter using some string and water well.
You will need to water everyday and extra if it’s super hot.
I also like to feed my hanging plants once a week when the flowers start to form to keep the plant healthy and ready to produce a bounty of tomatoes.
As you can see, I covered the top of the hanger with the leftover base we cut off.
I cut 5cm off the length and put it on top so I can water through the gap but the “lid” helps prevent water evaporating so easily.
You could also use bark, small stone chips or gravel or even straw to help keep the soil from drying out.
What other plants can grow upside down?
You can choose most trailing or climbing plants. Squash, cucumbers, strawberries, bell peppers. Experiment with lettuce and different leaves too.
Have fun with this project. Remember if you want to find other projects to try head to our projects page here . Remember to let us know what you use your hanging planter for.
