| Have you seen the late night infomercials about | | | | Drill a 1″ hole through the bottom of the |
| the upside down tomato garden planter? A | | | | bucket. |
| gentleman discusses the device that consists of a | | | | Step two: |
| plastic bag that is filled with soil, add a tomato | | | | Once the hole is made for the plant to be |
| plant and hang from a hook. Within about 6 | | | | inserted, I needed a way to keep it from sliding |
| weeks, you have fresh tomatoes for your dinner | | | | out until the roots took hold. I thought using a 2 |
| table. All this for $19.99... and if you place your | | | | liter bottle would do the trick. I took an empty |
| order in the next 60 seconds they will send a | | | | clean one and cut the about 3″ off the top |
| free one at no charge. | | | | with a small utility knife. |
| Well, that is fine and dandy, but you can do | | | | Once complete, I inserted the bottle opening |
| essentially the same thing for a lot less. I set out | | | | through the hole. I discovered that by using a |
| to create a cheaper version... this is how I did it. | | | | 1″ spade bit, I was able to literally screw |
| Some simple Bucket Garden Books may have | | | | the bottle into the hole. Sometimes things just |
| something similar but this process should be | | | | work out... |
| suffice. I went to the local department store, and | | | | Step 3 |
| found a black bucket for $1.49. This bucket was | | | | Now that the plastic bottle was secure, I gently |
| your normal 'garden variety' bucket with a silver | | | | worked the plant through the hole. I determined |
| handle that you pretty much see anywhere. | | | | this would be better than trying to go the other |
| I gathered the following tools for my project: | | | | way which could damage the roots. I figured |
| - 1" Spade Bit | | | | inserting the leaves through the hole would be less |
| - 1 Drill | | | | traumatizing to the tomato plant. |
| - 1 empty 2 liter bottle | | | | Once the plant was stabilized, I added the |
| These were the materials I used for the planter | | | | appropriate compost and soil to the inside of the |
| - 1 Gallon Plastic Bucket | | | | bucket and hung them from a hook on my shed. |
| - 1 tomato plant | | | | This literally took 10 minutes from start to finish. |
| - 1 empty 2 liter plastic bottle | | | | This was easy to do, cheap and my hanging |
| - Compost or potting soil | | | | tomato plant is doing fine... I made one for |
| Step One: | | | | jalapeno peppers too. You may find some other |
| Turn the 1 Gallon Bucket Upside Down and locate | | | | variations in an off the shelf Bucket Garden Book, |
| the center. This bucket had the original dimple | | | | but this process was very simple and easy to do |
| identifying the middle, so it was very easy to find. | | | | and this worked for me. |