Sunday, May 18, 2008

It's a Topsy Turvy World

I want a garden.

But there are two problems.

1. I hate dirt.

2. I hate being outdoors.

Not necessarily a good combination if you want to be a master gardener.

Intrigued with the As Seen On TV commercials for the
Topsy Turvy, we decided to try our hand at upside down gardening. It eliminates a lot of the "digging in the dirt" aspect of gardening and minimizes the "being outside" aspect since we can virtually put them right on our deck. I barely have to get my hands dirty or leave the house. Awesome.

We did a little research and decided to make our own version of the Topsy Turvy.

You will need:

Plants - We purchased fairly large tomato and pepper plants since I am the kiss of death to anything green it seemed like they had a good start on life. (If I were to do it again, I might get slightly smaller plants since the larger plants were harder to feed through the hole in the container.)

Hanging Containers - We purchased containers that were ready to hang, but you can use anything from a 5 gallon bucket to a fancy pants planter from your garden store.

Coffee Filter or Newspaper - To keep the dirt from falling through the hole in the container.



Step 1 - Drill a hole in the bottom of the container for the plant to grow through. (We drilled a hole 2 1/8" in diameter)


Step 2 - Insert plant upside down through hole (this is where a smaller, more flexible plant would be easier)


Step 3 - Put coffee filters/newspaper around the base of the plant and over the hole so that the dirt doesn't fall through


Step 4 - Break up the roots of the plant a little so that they can grow into the shape of the container


Step 5 - Fill with potting soil. I planted herbs in the top of my containers but you could also plant flowers for a colorful touch.


Step 6 - Hope that the birds, dogs, and bugs don't get to them before you do.



I hardly even had to get myself dirty.

3 Comments:

Anonymous said...

I have never heard of this! This year we are trying Square Foot Gardening. It's not too messy either. We'll see how it goes at the end of the season.

Good luck with your garden!

Kristi

Cyndi said...

That's an interesting concept. Be sure to keep us posted on their progress.

Anonymous said...

it seems like the tomatoe plants are already too close to the ground, what will happen as they grow.