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Growing Vegetables Upside Down (Has advantages)
The New York Times ^ | May 19, 2010 | By KATE MURPHY

Posted on 05/24/2010 3:24:40 AM PDT by Brad from Tennessee

Growing crops that dangle upside down from homemade or commercially available planters is growing more popular, and its adherents swear they’ll never come back down to earth. ----snip---

The advantages of upside-down gardening are many: it saves space; there is no need for stakes or cages; it foils pests and fungus; there are fewer, if any, weeds; there is efficient delivery of water and nutrients thanks to gravity; and it allows for greater air circulation and sunlight exposure. While there are skeptics, proponents say the proof is in the produce.

Tomato and jalapeño seedlings sprout from upside-down planters fashioned out of milk jugs and soda bottles that hang from the fence surrounding the Redmond, Wash., yard of Shawn Verrall, a Microsoft software tester. . .

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News
KEYWORDS: carrots; peppers; radishes; tomatoes
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To: Daisyjane69

” Heat loving plants like tomatoes and peppers will simply sit there and not grow an inch in soil that hasn’t warmed sufficiently (like in a cool or wet spring). “

This is my first year gardening, and we have had a particularly cool and wet early Spring... Not knowing any better, I followed a neighbor’s advice and planted by the calendar (last week in April is considered ‘safe’ around here), and my tomatoes and peppers are doing (or, more accurately, *not* doing) just as you describe - or as I describe it, ‘they won’t grow, and they won’t die’....

Question - what are the chances of them ‘recovering’ and resuming normal growth as the ground warms?? Is there anything I can do (with limited experience, knowledge, and budget) to help them ‘recover’??


21 posted on 05/24/2010 4:26:46 AM PDT by Uncle Ike (Rope is cheap, and there are lots of trees...)
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To: Uncle Ike

I checked your profile to see where you are gardening. I’m in S. Utah (despite my Ohio flag; that’s where I’m from orig.) So being in NM, you’re in the same boat we are, here. Much cooler than normal. (Thanks Al Gore!)

One thing you can do (especially if the plants are still small) is get yourself some rolls of black plastic, or if your garden is small, black trash bags work, too.

Make a square of 3’x3’ black plastic; cut an X in the center. Slip that over your plants, with the plant poking through the X. You can trim that part away. Pin the plastic down with soil, rocks, or landscape fabric pins, or it will blow away. The heat will be attracted to the black plastic and it will warm up your soil much faster. Leave it on all season; it will save weeding later on! You can do this with any of your heat lovers, including melons, cucumbers, beans, etc.

I was trained as an OSU Master Gardener


22 posted on 05/24/2010 4:35:14 AM PDT by Daisyjane69 (Michael Reagan: "Welcome back, Dad, even if you're wearing a dress and bearing children this time)
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To: eastforker

Are you growing another batch of upside-down tomaters this year?


23 posted on 05/24/2010 4:37:44 AM PDT by humblegunner (Pablo is very wily)
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To: EBH

I have moles, voles and groundhogs. I am doing raised beds lined with hardware wire. ;-)

I tried the upside down tomato thingy last year. Too much watering....and the price of our water just went up.


24 posted on 05/24/2010 4:41:30 AM PDT by SumProVita (Cogito, ergo...Sum Pro Vita. (Modified Decartes))
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To: Daisyjane69

” I was trained as an OSU Master Gardener “

Wow — certainly a case of “Monday Morning Serendipity” that I stumbled across the right person to ask, on a thread only vaguely related to my problem....

Thank you so much for the tip, and I’ll be out there sacrificing black bags as soon as the sun comes up... ;)


25 posted on 05/24/2010 4:44:16 AM PDT by Uncle Ike (Rope is cheap, and there are lots of trees...)
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To: Uncle Ike

We have a weekly gardening ping list, are you on it?

If not, would you like to be? Lots of good brainpower on that thread, lemme tell ya!


26 posted on 05/24/2010 4:44:51 AM PDT by Daisyjane69 (Michael Reagan: "Welcome back, Dad, even if you're wearing a dress and bearing children this time)
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To: Daisyjane69

” We have a weekly gardening ping list, are you on it? “

I have, on occasion, dipped into some of the gardening-related threads here, and quite often find that the discussions are way over my head.. (Did I mention that I’m a rank beginner??)

Having said that, yes, I would like to be included in your ping-list, if possible....

Thank you... ;)


27 posted on 05/24/2010 4:49:18 AM PDT by Uncle Ike (Rope is cheap, and there are lots of trees...)
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To: SumProVita

For me the watering came out of the end of a watering can, instead of a hose. This actually has me using less water overall than a bedded garden. Hauling the water at the time seemed like more....but it was really less.

It proved an interesting concept in the long run.


28 posted on 05/24/2010 4:50:37 AM PDT by EBH (Our First Right...."it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,")
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To: Uncle Ike; Red_Devil 232

Obama thinks he’s cool because he’s got czars.

Well, we have our own czar. The VP of Cool Green Leafy Stuff, Red Devil 232.

heh :)


29 posted on 05/24/2010 4:52:21 AM PDT by Daisyjane69 (Michael Reagan: "Welcome back, Dad, even if you're wearing a dress and bearing children this time)
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To: IM2MAD
I haven’t tried upsidedown planters but if I do, I’d add water gel crystals to the soil.

That's an interesting idea. I'm in the process of building a "square foot garden". The inventor of these recommends creating a soil mixture using 1/3 vermiculite. Vermiculite is expensive and hard to find in large quantities. As far as I can tell the purpose of the vermiculite is just to hold water, and obviously the gel crystals work incredibly well for that.

30 posted on 05/24/2010 4:55:17 AM PDT by wideminded
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To: EBH

another way to water, especially if you have a number of upside down pots, is to order a hanging basket watering wand. This is what nurseries use, if they don’t have automatic overhead irrigation.

Simply google that term and you will find loads of them.


31 posted on 05/24/2010 4:57:30 AM PDT by Daisyjane69 (Michael Reagan: "Welcome back, Dad, even if you're wearing a dress and bearing children this time)
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To: EBH

I understand, and if it works for you...terrific. For me, well-mulched raised beds are a lot less work-intensive and they produce a LOT.


32 posted on 05/24/2010 4:58:54 AM PDT by SumProVita (Cogito, ergo...Sum Pro Vita. (Modified Decartes))
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To: wideminded

Actually, vermiculite doesn’t tend to hold much water. It’s primary job (and what makes it so awesome in a square foot garden) is to keep the soil loose and friable. Even when the sun is baking your soil to a crisp, you’ll still be able to work it as long as vermiculite is in it.

Vermiculite is actually a treated mineral, which is why it’s not known for water retention. That said, it is prized in seed-starting and hydroponics because it is a sterile medium.

Your organic materials are your water holders in the square foot garden. :)

I’m jealous of you. I am in an apt with a tiny yard.


33 posted on 05/24/2010 5:04:55 AM PDT by Daisyjane69 (Michael Reagan: "Welcome back, Dad, even if you're wearing a dress and bearing children this time)
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To: DJ Frisat
and give the plants some ‘tomato food’ to boost the calcium content of the soil

One tablespoon of Epsom Salt per plant when the seedlings are first planted does the trick.

34 posted on 05/24/2010 5:06:08 AM PDT by Thermalseeker (Stop the insanity - Flush Congress!)
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To: netmilsmom

Ever heard of Earth Box? There’s directions on how to make your own on the ‘net.


35 posted on 05/24/2010 5:13:38 AM PDT by Shimmer1
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To: EBH

Tell me how you do the potatoes in a trash can please


36 posted on 05/24/2010 5:15:28 AM PDT by Shimmer1
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To: IM2MAD
"...I’d add water gel crystals to the soil. Just one teaspoonful, when hydrated, holds over a quart of water and releases water to the plants as needed..."
I have a giant pumpkin plant that is growing like crazy. Last time I measured, it was growing by over a foot a week at its' main vine. It demands watering EVERY DAY, and I'm afraid it will die when we go out of town this weekend.

I'll definitetly investigate your water gel crystals.

37 posted on 05/24/2010 5:16:08 AM PDT by I Buried My Guns (Novare Res!)
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To: I Buried My Guns

I just found the paperwork for my order. I was wrong. It’s in Converse, TX. Here’s a link.
http://www.watergelcrystals.com/soil.htm


38 posted on 05/24/2010 5:46:09 AM PDT by IM2MAD
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To: panaxanax
“its a gimmick IMO”

Works just fine for me.

I'm on my second year of growing them that way.

Takes regular, daily watering when the weather is dry, but it produces loads of tomatoes.

They still try to grow upwards...and do so for a while but the weight of the plants and fruits pulls them downward. mine reached down to the lawn eventually.

I used two of the planters and had more then enough tomatoes for my family and gave away a lot to neighbors.

It ain't no gimmick if it works for a clod like me.

39 posted on 05/24/2010 6:17:45 AM PDT by capt. norm (Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups.)
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To: Brad from Tennessee
Sure...make it easier for the deer. They'll have less back problems.
40 posted on 05/24/2010 6:22:18 AM PDT by Focault's Pendulum (He's just a clueless hump. A dangerous clueless hump.)
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