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For Bigger, Better Tomato Harvests Grow “upside Down” Tomatoes
Actually there are several excellent reasons. Advantages When tomato plants are hanging upside down, there is no need to drive stakes into the soil to support a growing plant as it develops tomato fruit. There is less stress on the tomato branches since they are not fighting gravity to grow taller. Gravity is actually helping them to grow. This encourages healthy plant growth, and lessens the risk of developing tomatoes settling to the ground where they can rot. There is improved air circulation around the entire plant which also encourages growth, and as a final advantage, the plants are less subject to attack by pests. Disadvantages There is only one main disadvantage to "upside down" tomato plants, and that is a limitation on the variety of tomato plants you can grow. This method works better with smaller tomato plant varieties such as cherry or plum tomatoes. Beefsteak tomatoes will place too much weight on the developing stems of the plants and decrease your yield. How Do You Do It? Get a five gallon paint bucket from a hardware store. Drill a 2 - 2 1/2 inch hole in the bottom of the bucket. Place a piece of old newspaper or preferably a coffee filter on the bottom of the bucket, covering the hole. Place the bucket on the ground and fill it with your potting soil. Place the cover of the bucket securely on top. Turn it upside down. Take out the coffee filter, scoop out a small amount of the soil from the 2 inch hole large enough to fit your tomato seedlings into the scoop. Gently replace the scooped out soil around the roots of the plant and place a couple of coffee filters around the planted seedling to keep the plant and the soil from dropping out when it is suspended. Get a structure strong enough to support the planted bucket. This could be a sturdy plant hanging system sold at any garden center or on Amazon.com,or a strong trellis, or it could be as simple as a large wooden "horse" structure used at construction sites. Now lift up the planted bucket and hold it right-side-up by its handle. Take the cover off of the bucket and support it to the plant hanging structure. Depending on the type of structure you are using, you might simply hang it by the handle. You may find that the tomato plants sway in the breeze a bit too much. If that happens you can simply attach the bucket to the structure using bungee chords or string. Conclusion Many growers are convinced that growing tomatoes upside down will consistently lead to improved tomato harvests. You can expect bigger yields and better tasting fruit overall. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com For more information on upside down tomatoes ,visit www.TomatoGrowingSecretInfo.com. |
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