How to Make an Easy Inverted Planter

Thank you! I'd like to share a recent picture.Its growing like a weed. I have nine buds now. I can't wait until I can eat my own tomatoes! Next year, I'm going to try this method to grow cucumbers. I wonder if it will work with bell peppers.

You MUST get your cat some catnip. I've grown this for my cats. They LOVE this and will roll around in it when planted on the ground. Do realize it will attract other cats to the area; at least it did with me.

Try putting a milkcrate over the catnip plants until they are sturdy and bushy, or just let your cat graze what sticks out of the crate, I'm still working out the perfect scheme myself, I want to make some kind of "pleasure pen" for the cats, like a little arena, mice could be released too.

in answer to your question, pegolino, since we're talking about plants growing from a quite small orifice, the system lends itself to those plants producing from one major stem such as tomato, cucumber and pepper. The beauty of the system seems, particularly with the larger containers. that you can plant your basil, lettuce, lemon balm "topside" above your tomatoes - if you wish. If determined, I don't doubt these latter could be grown inverted but one would require something like a 1/2 inch mesh secured to the much-larger opening in order to retain the soil mix - and the plants.

Quite right, laminterious. Having cut collars from these containers to protect young plants from the full sun and to rabbit-proof emerging plants, I know the plastic to be susceptible to UV damage and have had it disintegrate in my hands.

These containers however, being non-returnable, are very plentiful. If I get one season from each, I'll be happy. The lumberyard twine that I've used, also, will yield to UV exposure. The wire coat hanger support mentioned previously would clearly serve better.

Great way to recycle those pesky wire coat hangers too!

Hmm, replying to my own comment is weird, but I want my comments to stay together... We didn't have any rocks/pebbles to put in the bottom, so we put in a layer of peat most. Then, after we had the soil in and the the planters hung up, I took a pair of 100% cotton balls and shoved them (gently) up the neck of the bottle, one on each side of the stem. This will keep the soil from trickling out, and they are very soft (obviously!) on the plant stem. We're going to make some more of these for some pepper plants. Here in Edmonton, Alberta, the growing season is so short that we're looking forward to bringing these in in the fall at night to get to grow some things that we normally couldn't otherwise!

Another great thing for the bottom of any planter is those nasty, impossible to recycle, Styrofoam packing peanuts that you get in packaging. I don't know about where you live, but you just can't get rid of them here.

Most plants don't actually grow with gravity. Plants tend to grow roots down stem up because the roots grow towards moisture trapped deeper in the soil and the stem grows towards the sun which is typically above the earth, if that changes we're all screwed. The hanging tomato planter just became a "space saving" trend product as far as I know.

Great instructable. I was just going to mention strengthening the rim with duct tape or fiberglass tape. The weight from the soil, water and plants could easily rip those holes, and then a little water on the carpet would be the least of your worries. Water absorbing granules would make your planter easier to maintain, as the planter would then require less frequent watering. One place where these granules can be found is in bulk is a disposable ultra absorbing type diaper. At this stage in my life, I no longer have access to diapers (thank G-d), but I'd love to hear if anyone has tried this. It would be much easier (and cheaper) to pay a friend a buck or so for a clean diaper than to pay over $5 for a small container of granules, and I'd feel a lot better about using a diaper in a planter than merely throwing it away. Once again, great instructable. thanks for taking a very old idea and teaching it in a fresh and attractive way. I remember making on of these as a Girl Scout (we didn't do the heat gun thing, though.), and the instructions we had weren't as good as the ones you have here. I've seen commercial "upside down planters," and your method is both better for smaller plants and for people to try out before making the commitment to the weight and expense of a large planter that holds a standard tomato plant.

Thank you for your remarks, and the project, laminterious. Hope by the time things start to sprout, that I've mastered my Mac OS X system sufficient to post images.

On starting seeds in the planters: If one were to center a dry, peat pellet over the hole before filling with soil mix, after the seed had been inserted and the watered pellet had expanded, I doubt anything would be needed to prevent soil escape. Since not all seeds sprout, a couple of seeds to each might be better. Just keep the stronger if both proved fertile.