Cindy on Cognitive Workout

Hi Everyone,
Just had a “cognitive workout” in the container garden today, and thought I’d share some of my adventures and problem-solving with you. While surfing the web, I came upon a gardening practice which I had never heard…growing tomatoes upside! There are supposedly many benefits of this: 1) better air circulation which equals less diseases, 2) tomatoes aren’t on the ground as long, therefore rot less, and 3) pesky animals who also like to eat tomatoes have a harder time reaching them.

Last weekend I purchased a Grape Sweet Olive Tomato plant and prepared a container to be used for my upside down tomato pot. Using a 5-gallon paint bucket, I cut out a 3″ hole in the bottom of the bucket, and did the same thing to an item I found to use as a lid.

My first cognitive challenge was: How do I put the dirt in the bucket without it falling out the other end when I turn it upside down?

Answer: Put a coffee filter over the hole.

Next step: Fill bucket with dirt.

Next cognitive challenge: My lid is not a snap-on lid and I didn’t have enough dirt to completely fill the bucket. How do I keep the dirt from falling out this end when I turn it over to plant the tomato plant?

Answer: Stuff plastic bags over the dirt along with a lid about the size of the bucket and turn on its side.

Next challenge: How do I plant the tomato plant?

Okay, the coffee filter pulls away easily, but now the dirt is falling out both ends. How do I keep it from falling out the bottom hole once I hang the plant upside down?

Solution: Cut a slit in a paper plate with a hole in the center to put around the tomato plant. But the plate is so big, I can’t fit it into the 3″ hole, even when I crumble it up to make it more pliable.

Solution: Cut the plate down so that it is slightly larger than the hole that was cut.

Ahhhh, final success!!! The tomato plant is hanging upside down without the dirt falling out!!!!