Here you go lisaann! And here is the link for my upside-down setup, which I will update as it goes. Any other info will be welcomed from others trying this method.

Dave

People!

Will you please look at those pictures and let your mind go craZy!

Thanks sooo Much, Pepperhead, for taking the time to post those pictures.

I had butterflys in my stomach, when I saw you had made the post! Okay, going back to admire the pictures, and think!

Hea Guys, Please chime in and admire and comment!

I told you guys this is amasing!

My favorite picture is the view from the computer room! What a great way for someone to maximize on limited space.

We have posters here, who could try this method out and amaze their neighbors! It takes on a whole new meaning to container gardening!

I sure hope those guys growing in small areas see this!

I'm back again, and my new favorite pic is 6/18 six weeks after!

Here is my upsidedown tomato. It's a Lemon Boy planted in a 5 gallon bucket and hung from the stairs to the apartment above mine. The bottom of the bucket is about 5'6" off the ground and the tomato almost touches. ( it would if the branches did not curl upward.) There are about 15 tomatos plus a bunch of knubs just poping out of the blooms. It does not get enough light where it is hung, but it was my only choice here at the apartment.

This verity was too big for the bucket. It dries out too fast. I water it with 16 oz. water bottles through a hole in the lid. It's up to 5 bottles a day now.

I have 3 more 4.5 gallen buckets that I'm going to plant in August. I'm going to try a Brandy Boy, a Health Kick Hybrid, and a Bush Steak Hybrid(a patio tomato).

Pepperhead - That is some system you have going there.

OH MY GOD, Michael,

I love it! And I can see your tomatos! Great pic!

Great pic, and tomato! Your's is way ahead of mine, where you are.

Those things do dry out fast, I found out the first year. I never had tomatoes wilt before, so I thought something else was wrong, then I realized they were drying out in 2 days! That's when I came up with the drip irr. idea, and it spread to the rest of the garden. I found out that the slow drip system soakes the soil more completely than pouring it on, and it takes about 1 1/4 hrs. of 1/2 gal/hr emitter every two days in average summer weather to stay moist. Last summer, in high 90's and 100's frequently, I had to water every day for a while, and the plants dropped all their blossoms (the ones in the ground, too). I tried some compost on top as mulch, but it didn't do much.

I have actually noticed differences in the tomatoes grown in 4, 4.5, and 5 gal buckets; it doesn't seem it's that much, but the ones in the 5 gal. buckets are less rootbound when I dump them at the end of the year, and the 4 gal ones dry out a lot quicker, but then the water is running out of them much faster when watering - less than 1 hr. - so it would be better if they were all the same size. Last year I planted a cherry in the only one I had out there, and it didn't cause as much of a problem, but this year I started looking very early (actually, the entire winter! lol) for 5 gal, and even got some 6 gal ones from work - some calcium based ice-melt they use, that wouldn't hurt the tomatoes! I didn't use them, however, but I do have all 5 gal. now.

Dave

We are trying one this year and it looks great after only a week. It is an ultra early.I plan on doing more of them. Our garden is pretty full, but our ideas are bigger than it is.

Bumping this up, because I feel like looking at the pics, and I want everyone else to!

wow, this is really awesome! I wonder if I could do this too? I'm very inspired... off to look at pepperhead's pictures...

pepperhead-
That looks like a great setup. I just have a few questions for you.

3rd picture (hole placement)- I think I see some wire in the bottom of the bucket but I can't tell for sure. Is that just to help keep the paper and soil in?

5th picture- Did you start with the green fence then go for more height with the red one? What's the size of those posts and deep did you have to go? I can't quite tell if the green posts are T-Posts or wood; they look like T or U posts). Did you have to use a bag of concrete in each hole?

6th picture- If the padlock doesn't work you may have to put up an elec fence to keep your tomatoes.

You can't really do a WOW or similar thing so what do you do to keep the roots warm. It would seem like they would be more susceptible to winds while hanging. Any tricks to deal with that?

Thanks,
Flyer

pepperhead, that is truly amazing! Thank you for the great pictures and step-by-step info! What about peppers, do you think it would work for them, or any other bushy variety of veg? About the blossoms dropping, what has your experience been with applications of epsom salt? I tried it last summer and it worked great!

Michael, loved your picture! Are your neighbors eagerly awaiting your ripe tomatoes?

quote:

Originally posted by flyer:
pepperhead-
That looks like a great setup. I just have a few questions for you.

3rd picture (hole placement)- I think I see some wire in the bottom of the bucket but I can't tell for sure. Is that just to help keep the paper and soil in?

5th picture- Did you start with the green fence then go for more height with the red one? What's the size of those posts and deep did you have to go? I can't quite tell if the green posts are T-Posts or wood; they look like T or U posts). Did you have to use a bag of concrete in each hole?

6th picture- If the padlock doesn't work you may have to put up an elec fence to keep your tomatoes.

You can't really do a WOW or similar thing so what do you do to keep the roots warm. It would seem like they would be more susceptible to winds while hanging. Any tricks to deal with that?

Thanks,
Flyer

That must be just a wierd piece of paper in that 3rd picture - no wires except for the handle.

As for the posts, I had to come up with something to bolt the buckets to, but I really didn't feel like cementing wood into the ground, and digging post holes and all that. So I pounded 2"(?)x8' u-posts (that I got free from a place I deliver to - amazing what a few free hot peppers through the years will do! lol) into the ground, then bolted the 2x4 pieces to them, to bolt both the 2x6 supports and the buckets to. That many posts pounded deeply into the ground was enough support w/o concrete. I just pounded the ones on the end, then located the rest using a laser level, and pounded them in as far as they would go - different for each one, so the 2x4 pieces were then located the same way, starting on the ends, clamping them on the posts, then drilling and bolting. Time consuming, but it was only once!

I never tried to plant these early, though, since the soil heats up fast, they catch up quickly with the in-ground earlies. I never had trouble with the wind, though I have delayed putting them out for a day or two, due to wind. They strengthen very fast, and start curling upwards toward light amazingly fast.

drynitro,

I have tried this with peppers and eggplant, with no better success, as with tomatoes. And nothing seemed to help last season, due to the heat - I tried a few things, but it was just WAY too hot! I hope it isn't that way this year.

Dave

Hi pepperhead-
Thanks for the answers. I'm actually looking at doing the same thing and have a few more questions to run by you (sorry).

11th picture- It looks like you extended the 2X4's about 2' down from the tops of the U-Posts (depending on the depth of the U-posts) but I noticed a difference in the attachment points of the bolts. The bolts on the first are spaced about a foot apart but look to be about 4" apart (and at the bottom of the 2X4) on the rest. Did you find that you actually got better support by placing the two bolts close together and low on the 2X4? I would have thought that spacing the bolts apart (as in the first post) would have given better support.

Did you drill a whole right through the U-Posts/wood and use a fly-nut on the end? My wife & I had originally thought about tying wire around the two pieces because we were concerned that we might damage the integrity of the metal post by drilling holes in it but it obviously didn't cause any problems for you. What size whole did you use? I'm hopeful that there isn't a difference that would prevent using T-posts because I already have a few of those.

I'm know there are a bunch of ways to do this but I figured that you basically have a "tried and true" system that is supporting 100's of lbs so it obviously works the way you did it. Is there any way you could take a close up picture of the two sides of a post connection?

Thanks again,
flyer

I'll check it out when I get home and take a few more pictures of the posts attachments. Here's the website where I got all the stainless hardware - the bolts, washers, nuts, and t-nuts - which have held up without a hint of corrosion in 5 years, even inside the pots. The bolts I used were 5/16", and the hole was just 1/64" larger for the metal, while the wood was that size, to make for a firm fit. I'm sure you could figure a way to use the t-posts - I used these because I got them free!

I remember when I drilled the holes in the u-posts that some drilled like I was drilling through aluminum, while others were so hard that it seemed like I was drilling tempered steel! I may have had some holes already in some posts, and I used them to save myself drilling some holes, thus making placement different.

Dave

Thanks pepper,
I can't wait... 5 yrs with not even a hint of corrosion sounds great. I know your structure is sturdy; those buckets must be 25ish pounds each.