Best Tomato Varieties for Hanging Baskets and Upside Down Planters
Many gardeners are finding that growing tomatoes in hanging baskets or upside down tomato planters is a great way to grow tomatoes in apartments or balconies that a normal garden or even a normal planter might not be able to do. And in general these planters work pretty well.
They also have the advantage of setting tomatoes and maturing them more quickly that the ones grown on the ground as well.
But if there is one common complaint about growing tomatoes upside down in these planters, it is that they need a lot of water, and the plants sometimes seem to die earlier than they would grown in the garden.
This is really the result of unrealistic expectations. Recall that for many plants like trees, the rule of thumb is that the root system is about the same size as the foliage above ground. Whether that is an exact size for your tomato plants, it should be obvious that these planters have to have a limited root system simply because the size and weight of the planter would be excessive if they were any larger. So large plants (not necessarily large tomatoes) should be avoided if you want them to last the summer. For example, cherry tomatoes are indeterminate and will grow to be huge over the course of a long summer, and will be stressed after a while in a hanging planter. So the tomato varieties for home gardens may not be the best for hanging tomato planters.
Suggested Tomato Varieties
Smaller vined, determinate tomato varieties work well. Celebrities and Roma tomatoes work well, and Patio tomatoes have been favorites for years for growing in containers. Some folks have reported success with Tomato Tumbler, Tomato Garden Pearl, and Tomato Yellow Pigmy.
Recently there are a few new hybrids that are being marketed for growing specifically in hanging tomato baskets. These include Window Box Roma, Micro Tom, Basket Boy Yellow, Basket Boy Red.
Let us know in the comments below what varieties have worked well for you.
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Filed under Growing Tomatoes by John
Comments on Best Tomato Varieties for Hanging Baskets and Upside Down Planters »
Juan Delgado @ 12:11 am
How can i e-mail this article to a frind?
Charlie @ 9:38 am
Well, I’ve read and read, and still no one has stated how to make an upside down tomato cage. Can someone stop all the double talk and explain how to do it, what to use, how big. etc — Thanks
John @ 10:36 am
One of the touted advantages of hanging upside down planters is that you don’t need to stake them or use cages, so at least we won’t be writing about upside down cages. If you are looking for something that stands on the ground instead of hanging you could take a look at the upside down tomato garden or the topsy turvy tree planters to get some ideas on what works, but it will depend a lot on the variety of tomatoes you want to grow.
David Jones @ 6:44 am
Hi there charlie, this is how I made my upside down planters. The only reason I opted to use these were because I developed a spinal disorder that left me crippled. I got my son to cement two 4×4′s 8ft.apart. We used 8ft. long and put 2ft. of them under ground. this made a strong support to hold the weight of the planters. We screwed with deck screws a 10ft 2×4 from one of the upright 4×4′s to the other one with 2 ft past the end of the posta on both ends.
I made the planters out of 5 gal. buckets. I used 6 of them 4 in the middle section and on on each end of the hang overs. This pretty much balanced the weight and spaced them far enough apart to grow. We drilled 2 holes in each bucket about 6 inches from the bottom. This way we could plant two tomatos in each bucket. we drilled a few small holes in the very bottom for drainage. Then hung the buckets from nails
driven into the 2×4 cross rail.filled with soil and planted
I cut some circles from sponges the size of the holes in the buckets that the tomatos were in and then cut a slit into the sponge halfway through. pulled open the sponge and slid it around the plsnt stem and compressed it a bit to fit into the hole to keep dirt from falling out. I also planted a varity of herbs and radishes in the top of the buckets to make a ground cover so the sun did not dry the dirt out so fast. The bonus was herbs my wife used for cooking. and a few radishes for salads. this year I made some out of
3 gal. planters I got for free from a local nursey. I hope this will help. Let me know how you do. I have alot of time on my hands and enjoy the mail. David
Rusty Yonkers @ 7:11 pm
David, I am totally fascinated with your description of what you built. But I have a couple questions. First, what size did you make the holes in the side for the tomatoes? Second what size did you make the drain holes at the bottom? Did you put anything in the bottom holes to keep dirt from falling out of them? Third, how did you rig up the buckets to hang from the bar above? Did you use like heavy wire or something attached to the bucket?
I was initially going to get a couple topsy turvys to try out, but this sounds much more durable, cheaper, and longer lasting.
diana @ 10:04 pm
you can also use those store bought cloth grocery bags small slice on the bottom tuck plant in the fill with soil and hang since there are fabric they do drain
joann @ 9:33 am
I have a topsy turvey and may have used the wrong type of tomatoe plants (Big Boys). I have a three plants and each has at least a dozen green tomatoes. One plant has 2 yellow/red tomatoes already however, on the bottom of the tomatoes it looks like the tomatoe is rotten. Am I using too much water?
John @ 9:22 am
That sounds like blossom end rot, which can be aggravated by uneven watering.
Erick @ 9:30 pm
I made one out of a regular tomatoe cage that I simply cut the rings down one of the vertical support wires, then bent the ring-wires to form hooks, then hooked them to the vertical wire. to actually attatch it to the planter. simply buy or make S-hooks, bend the bottom of the vertical wires into hooks, and hook it to the planter. Easily done with a good set of line-man’s pliers & a set of locking-pliers.
Mary Beth @ 10:46 am
I had GREAT success in growing a Patio Tomato plant in the hanging Topsy Turvy last year. I do however caution on the new “stand” version of the Topsy product. Instead of one hole, for one plant, there are three holes all on one Topsy Turvy for growing three plants. There is just not enough root space for three plants! That is why Patio, or container tomato varieties, work well with the topsy Turvy system. I looked forward every morning to see the endless blooms appear. The tomatoes grow much faster in the Topsy than in the ground…I mean there would be blooms appearing overnight. Bugs do not bother the Topsy bc it is hanging and therefore it is easy to go organic. Avoid “bushy” type tomato specimens and shoot for vine varities. Topsy Turvy is fun, but please water DAILY. By the way tomatoes are not the only vegetable that can be used….any vine vegetable, such as zuccini or yellow squash will indeec work. Have fun…I will use mine every year & they seem to hold up for several years!!!!!