Many gardeners are finding that growing tomatoes in hanging baskets or upside down tomato planters is a great way to grow tomatoes in apartments or balconies that a normal garden or even a normal planter might not be able to do. And in general these planters work pretty well.

They also have the advantage of setting tomatoes and maturing them more quickly that the ones grown on the ground as well.

But if there is one common complaint about growing tomatoes upside down in these planters, it is that they need a lot of water, and the plants sometimes seem to die earlier than they would grown in the garden.

This is really the result of unrealistic expectations. Recall that for many plants like trees, the rule of thumb is that the root system is about the same size as the foliage above ground. Whether that is an exact size for your tomato plants, it should be obvious that these planters have to have a limited root system simply because the size and weight of the planter would be excessive if they were any larger. So large plants (not necessarily large tomatoes) should be avoided if you want them to last the summer. For example, cherry tomatoes are indeterminate and will grow to be huge over the course of a long summer, and will be stressed after a while in a hanging planter. So the tomato varieties for home gardens may not be the best for hanging tomato planters.

Suggested Tomato Varieties

Smaller vined, determinate tomato varieties work well. Celebrities and Roma tomatoes work well, and Patio tomatoes have been favorites for years for growing in containers. Some folks have reported success with Tomato Tumbler, Tomato Garden Pearl, and Tomato Yellow Pigmy.

Recently there are a few new hybrids that are being marketed for growing specifically in hanging tomato baskets. These include Window Box Roma, Micro Tom, Basket Boy Yellow, Basket Boy Red.