What is an Upside Down Planter?

An upside down planter is a type of planter used to grow plants upside down. These planters may be either made from scratch or purchased. Upside down planters typically look like buckets that may vary in size. The buckets are made to hang up and usually have a small hole in the bottom so that plants may grow through the hole. Some people additionally plant herbs or other types of vegetables in the tops of upside down planters.

One of the main reasons a person might use an upside down planter is because he has little room for planting a garden. With an upside down planter, it doesn't matter as much how much ground space is available for planting because these planters hang up. People also often find that there are many other advantages to using upside down planters, including fewer pests to deal with and less maintenance overall. Insects and leaf diseases also may not be as much of a problem because plants growing upside down never come in contact with the soil. There is additionally no need for weeding, tilling, or plowing when plants are grown hanging upside down.

A person who wants to start using an upside down planter can probably find them for sale and ready to use in many lawn and garden stores. In most cases, all that is required to get started is some potting soil and the plant seedling. The seedling of the plant is threaded through the hole at the bottom of the planter bucket, and the rest of the bucket is filled up with soil. Some of the more popular plants that are often grown in upside down planters are cucumbers and tomatoes, but there are many other types of plants that may also work well growing upside down. When garden space is extremely limited, it might be a good idea to plant smaller plants, such as herbs, in the tops of upside down planters.

It is typically easy to make an upside down planter from scratch, and this may be preferable to purchasing one when a person is trying to save money on gardening supplies. Any type of bucket may be used to make an upside down planter, but plastic 5-gallon (about 19-liter) buckets tend to work best. A hole is typically drilled into the bottom center of the plastic bucket so the plant seedling can be threaded through. Some people also place something like a piece of silt or a coffee filter over the drilled hole to give their plants a little extra support. After the plant is in place, the bucket may be filled almost to the top with potting soil and hung up in areas that receive good sunlight.