See how to grow tomato plants up high to eliminate the need to stake and tie them.
Growing tomatoes can be a time-consuming and labor-intensive task, especially when it comes to staking or tying them up. However, there is an alternative method that can save time and effort: hanging tomatoes. In this video, Mark from Self-Sufficient Me shares his hanging tomato experiment, explaining how he did it, what the results were, and whether he would do it again.
Although hanging tomatoes is not a new concept, Mark’s approach is slightly different from the products available on the market. He grows the tomato plant in a container, allowing it to flop over from the top, which prevents the stems from breaking and avoids the water running out of the drain holes. Mark’s experiment started on July 9th, and he chose a Tommy Toe cherry tomato as it is fairly Hardy and a good fit for the top of the pot. He used an old decking wood to make a clamp or wood sandwich that he screwed together to keep the container stable. He filled the pot with a good quality potting mix that already had fertilizer added and added a small amount of garden soil in the container to prevent the medium from drying out too fast.
Key Takeaways
- Hanging tomatoes is a time-saving and labor-saving method of growing tomatoes.
- Growing tomatoes in a container and letting them flop over from the top can prevent the stems from breaking and avoid water running out of the drain holes.
- Although there are some improvements that can be made, hanging tomatoes is a viable alternative to traditional tomato growing methods.
The Hanging Tomato Experiment
In this experiment, Mark from Self Sufficient Me wanted to find an easier, faster, and lazier way to grow tomatoes without using a trellis, staking, or constantly tying them up. He tried hanging them instead. He used a Tommy Toe tomato, which is a cherry tomato and fairly hardy, and grew it in a container.
To avoid the water running out of the drain holes and causing diseases and problems, Mark let the tomato plant flop over from the top of the pot. He used a post that was at least 2m high and secured the pot to the top of the post using some old decking wood that he screwed together to keep the container stable.
Mark filled the pot with a good quality potting mix that already had fertilizer added and added a small amount of garden soil in the container to prevent the medium from drying out too fast. He planted the tomato as deep as possible up the stem to give it more chance of growing extra roots from the stem and grow stronger. He finished off with a mulch to help decrease water loss through evaporation, protect the surface roots somewhat from the heat, and prevent the soil from crusting up making the water run off instead of penetrating down.
Initially, the tomato plant grew upwards, but eventually, the forces of gravity made it hang down. Mark watered the tomato plant by reaching up, but he suggested using a step ladder or a long gardening water wand for those who are vertically challenged.
The tomatoes ripened well, and many were ready for picking. Mark liked this method of growing tomatoes because he didn’t have to stake, trellis, or tie them, which saved a lot of time. Pests and animals found it a little harder to get to the fruit, and Mark liked how it looked and saved space.
However, Mark thought that he could have grown two plants in the container to double the crop and harvest and save even more space. He also suggested growing it on a bench across two posts or something like that to make it more stable and a better growing platform with several containers on it. Lastly, he forgot to water it a few times because it wasn’t in his eyeline, so he suggested using a self-ordering system like a clay pot on the inside that you could just fill up so that there was never any chance of running into any water stress or anything like that.
Overall, Mark was happy with the results, and he reckoned he could improve on this design. He was definitely going to give it another go next season and probably on a larger scale.
Initial Challenges and Solutions
Growing tomatoes without a trellis or staking them can be a challenge, but Mark from Self-Sufficient Me found a solution. He tried growing tomatoes by hanging them instead. Although there are products on the market that grow tomatoes from the base of a container or grow bag, Mark found that watering the container or pot caused water to run through the tomato plant and cause diseases and problems. To avoid this issue, Mark decided to grow the tomato plant in a container and let it flop over from the top.
Mark started his hanging tomato experiment on July 9th, about 12 weeks ago, using a Tommy Tow tomato. He needed a high spot to grow the tomato plant, so he found a post that was at least 2m high, which is the maximum length a normal indeterminate tomato vine grows. He used some old decking wood to make a clamp or wood sandwich that he screwed together to keep the container stable.
Mark filled the pot with a good quality potting mix that already had fertilizer added and added a small amount of garden soil in the container to prevent the medium from drying out too fast. He planted the tomato as deep as possible up the stem to give it more chance of growing extra roots from the stem and grow stronger. Then, he finished off with a mulch to decrease water loss through evaporation, protect the surface roots somewhat from the heat, and prevent the soil from crusting up.
Initially, the tomato plant grew upwards, but eventually, it grew well and hung down due to the forces of gravity. Watering wasn’t too hard as Mark just had to reach up, but he suggested using a step ladder or a long gardening water wand if you’re vertically challenged.
One important point is to ensure that the container has a wide and smooth rounded edge to it, so the stems can just curl over. Depending on the weight of the fruit, the stems might curl straight over or break in a few places or rupture slightly, but generally, that’s fine as tomato plants heal over.
Mark likes this method of growing tomatoes because he doesn’t have to stake, trellis, or tie them, which saves a lot of time. Pests and animals find it a little harder to get to the fruit, and it saves space. He also likes how it looks, and if you wanted, you could grow other plants down the post or at the base. However, Mark thought that he could have grown two plants in the container for the top of the tomato to even it up and double the crop and harvest. He also suggested that growing it on a bench across two posts or something like that would make it more stable and a better growing platform with several containers on it.
Overall, Mark is happy with the results, and he reckons he could improve on this design. He’s definitely going to give it another go next season, probably on a larger scale.
Experiment Implementation
Mark from Self-Sufficient Me conducted an experiment to find an easier and faster way to grow tomatoes without using a trellis or constantly tying them up. He tried hanging the tomato plants instead. He used a container and filled it with a good quality potting mix that already had fertilizer added. He also added garden soil to prevent the medium from drying out too fast, as the container was up high on a post in a plastic pot, which received more sunlight and wind.
Mark chose a Tommy Toe tomato, a cherry tomato, which was fairly hardy and a good fit for the top of the pot. He needed something high, at least 2 m, because that’s about the maximum length a normal indeterminate tomato vine grows. He used an old decking wood and made a clamp or wood sandwich that he screwed together to keep the container stable. He planted the tomato as deep as possible up the stem to give it more chance of growing extra roots from the stem and grow stronger.
Mark finished off with a mulch to decrease water loss through evaporation, protect the surface roots somewhat from the heat, and prevent the soil from crusting up, making the water run off instead of penetrating down. Initially, the tomato plant grew upwards, but over the weeks, it grew well and eventually hung down due to the forces of gravity.
Watering was not too hard; Mark just had to reach up. He noted that pests and animals found it a little harder to get to the fruit, and he liked how it saved space. The tomatoes ripened well, and many were ready for the picking.
One important point to ensure is that the container has a wide and smooth rounded edge to it. That way, the stems can just curl over, and they might lean on that edge depending on the weight of the fruit. They might curl straight over or break in a few places or rupture slightly, but generally, that’ll be fine, even if it is broken a bit, as tomato plants heal over.
Mark thought that he could have grown two plants in the container for the top of tomato. He also suggested that growing it on a post like this is possibly not the most sturdy way of doing it, and perhaps a bench across two posts or something like that would make it more stable and a better growing platform with several containers on it. Further, he forgot to water it a few times because it’s just not something that’s in your eyeline. So perhaps a watering system, a self-ordering system like a clay pot on the inside that you could just fill up, would be a good idea to ensure that it was never any chance of running into any water stress or anything like that.
Overall, Mark was happy with the results, and he reckoned he could improve on this design. He planned to give it another go next season, probably on a larger scale.
Results and Observations
The experiment of growing tomatoes by hanging them from a post has yielded positive results. The tomato plant grew well and the tomatoes are ripening well and many are ready for the picking. The experiment was conducted using a Tommy Toe cherry tomato plant, which is fairly Hardy and was expected to be a good fit for growing on top of a pot.
The container used for growing the tomato plant had a wide and smooth rounded edge, which allowed the stems to curl over without breaking. The pot was filled with a good quality potting mix that already had fertilizer added, and a small amount of garden soil was also added to prevent the medium from drying out too fast. Mulch was used to decrease water loss through evaporation, protect the surface roots from the heat, and prevent the soil from crusting up.
Watering the hanging tomato plant was not too hard, as it just required reaching up. However, it was suggested that a self-ordering system like a clay pot on the inside could be used to ensure that there is never any chance of running into any water stress.
The experiment showed that growing tomatoes by hanging them from a post saves time, as there is no need to stake, trellis, or tie them. Pests and animals also find it a little harder to get to the fruit, and it saves space. The method also looks good and can be used to grow other plants down the post or at the base.
However, it was noted that improvements could be made to the design. Firstly, two tomato plants could have been grown in the container to even it up and double the crop and harvest. Secondly, growing it on a post like this is possibly not the most sturdy way of doing it, and a bench across two posts or something like that would make it more stable and a better growing platform with several containers on it. Finally, a watering system could be used to ensure that the plant never runs into any water stress.
Overall, the experiment was successful, and the speaker is happy with the results. They plan to improve on the design and give it another go next season, possibly on a larger scale.
Advantages of Growing Tomatoes in Hanging Containers
Hanging tomatoes is a method of growing tomatoes without the need for trellises, stakes, or constant tying up. This method is advantageous for those who want to grow tomatoes in a more convenient, space-saving, and visually appealing way. In this article, we will discuss the advantages of growing tomatoes in hanging containers based on Mark’s experiment.
One of the benefits of hanging tomatoes is that it saves time and effort. Unlike traditional methods of growing tomatoes, hanging containers do not require staking, trellising, or tying up. This means that gardeners can focus on other tasks and not worry about constantly maintaining their tomato plants.
Another advantage of hanging tomatoes is that it makes it harder for pests and animals to access the fruit. By growing tomatoes in containers that are elevated and hanging, pests such as snails, slugs, and rodents will find it more difficult to reach the fruit. This reduces the risk of losing crops to animals and pests.
Hanging tomatoes also save space. With limited garden space, growing tomatoes in containers can be a great way to maximize space. By hanging these containers, gardeners can grow tomatoes in areas where traditional methods are not feasible.
Lastly, hanging tomatoes can be visually appealing. The cascading effect of the tomato plant as it grows over the edge of the container can be a beautiful addition to any garden. Additionally, gardeners can also grow other plants down the post or at the base, which can add more variety and visual interest.
Overall, hanging tomatoes can be an excellent way to grow tomatoes for those who want to save time, space, and effort. While there are some limitations and improvements that can be made to this method, it is worth considering for those who want to try a new and innovative way of growing tomatoes.
