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 ...
” 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’??
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
Are you growing another batch of upside-down tomaters this year?
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.
” 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... ;)
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!
” 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... ;)
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.
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 :)
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.
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.
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.
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.
One tablespoon of Epsom Salt per plant when the seedlings are first planted does the trick.
Ever heard of Earth Box? There’s directions on how to make your own on the ‘net.
Tell me how you do the potatoes in a trash can please
"...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.
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
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.
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