Wanting to be a bit experimental this year (what have I got to lose but a bit of time and a small amount of money?) I decided to grow one of the plants upside down. I have re- used an old hanging basket that had a hole in the centre. I gently pushed the plant down though the hole, put some bubble wrap around the inside of the basket that I punctured with scissors, and filled the basket with a mixture of garden soil and multi-purpose compost. I did break a few leaves as I pushed the plant through as it was a bit too large for the opening I have sprinkled the top of the soil with some large leaved basil seeds and hopefully they will germinate.
The basket has been hung in front of a south facing wall so it is in the prime place to do well. The other two tomato plants have been potted up in the greenhouse in containers. I have used a minimal amount of compost as was demonstrated on Gardener's World this week As they are cordon varieties I have put bamboo canes into the pots to stake and tie in the plants as they grow. Now I just have to sit back (apart from, watering, checking and feeding once the first truss has set) and let Mother Nature do her thing.
It will be interesting to see if it works anyway and if it does you'll have a different hanging basket to the usual!
ReplyDeleteThat looks interestin, I hope it works for you. You can, apparently, do the same with Runner Beans.
ReplyDeletePlease let us know how this works out. I've seen upside down planters often in catalogs and magazines and have long wondered how the poor plants do
ReplyDeleteBeen thinking of you often, though my life hasn't left much room for blog comments lately.
Hope you're feeling recharged and happy these days. Hugs from across the sea.
What a great idea! Tomatoes at the bottom and basil on top, an Italian salad all in the one basket! :)
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Looks an interesting way of planting, Simone - tomatoes at the bottom and basil on top - a perfect combination:)
ReplyDeleteThat looks interesting, show us the results. I like greenrabbitdesigns idea!
ReplyDeleteJulie xxxxxxxx
I watched Monty AFTER I'd put the tomatoes into gro-bags, so I will have to wait and see how his and your experiments turn out!
ReplyDeleteSuch a clever idea!
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I look forward to seeing the progress of the upside down one Simone! Xxx
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