Some folks like to hang up a bucket and grow a tomato plant out of the bottom of the bucket, letting the stem grow downwards towards the earth. What’s the point?
By growing the tomatoes suspended upside-down, snails and slugs are unlikely to bother the plants, and you won’t need to use stakes to stop the plants from falling over. The increased air circulation might reduce some diseases, and it will be harder for pests to get to your plants to nibble the fruit. Also, you’re unlikely to have any problem with weeds.
However, there is one downside. Because you’re growing the plant in an elevated container, there is an increased risk of it drying out if you get a hot season (compared to
growing tomatoes conventionally). Tomatoes are thirsty plants anyway, and if you’re growing them upside-down you’ll need to be sure to keep them well-watered.
There’s nothing particularly difficult about growing tomatoes upside-down. Cut a hole in the bucket, an inch or two in diameter. Cover the hole with a thick layer of newspaper to stop the compost from falling out the hole. Cut a small slit in the newspaper and push the seedling through it (root upwards, of course). Cover with compost and water well. Hang the bucket high on a wall (so that the fruit is at a convenient height for picking), but not so high that it’s difficult to water. Beware of any nearby electrical cables when watering.
Cucumbers, beans and capsicum (bell peppers) also lend themselves to being grown inverted.
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