Upside down tomato disappointment
The time has come to admit defeat.
Several months ago I wrote about the experiment with the upside down tomato. You take a five-gallon plastic bucket and drill a hole in the bottom. Use the handle to hang the bucket from a tree limb. Plant a tomato plant upside down so the tomato grows toward the ground.
If the tomato looks like it will pop out of the hole in the bottom, use a coffee filter to hold the dirt in.
Top the bucket off with good soil, then water.
We ended up planting a pepper plant at the top of the bucket. Therefore there was a tomato growing out of the bottom and a pepper at the top.
The pepper grew fantabulously and we have harvested many.
However, the tomato floundered.
When planted this way, the leaves reach for the sun, so the thing was interesting to look at. However, the leaves yellowed and there was not a single bloom.
When things go wrong, it's sometimes easier just to ignore them. That's what I did with the disappointing tomato. One day, Tommy got sick of looking at the pathetic thing and took charge. He simply snipped it off with the pruning shears. It was weeks before I noticed.
I've read about upside down tomatoes from several sources. My conclusion is that we must have hung the bucket from a place that does not receive enough sun. Either that, or I am totally inept — A concept I am not currently willing to evaluate.
In any case, it can't hurt to try again. Maybe this time with upside down shade plants.