Upside-down gardening is highly popular. In particular, upside-down tomatoes capture the spotlight! However, they aren't the only plant you can try this neat gardening technique with. When it comes to vegetables you can also grow peppers and cucumbers upside down! Then, some gardeners have also had success with begonia flowers and coleus plants.

Become a trend-setting gardener in your neighborhood and discover the five top benefits of flipping some of the plants in your garden upside down. You'll wonder why you didn't try it earlier!

Save Space

balcony with green potted plants and garden furniture.

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With small gardens on the rise, space-saving hacks are always great to have on hand. Upside-down gardening is a top way to grow a luscious garden if you don't have a lot of in-ground planting space. It makes a fun addition to patio and balcony gardens alike.

Instead of taking up precious floor space for your patio furniture, you can place a few upside-down containers on plant hangers. It's the best of both worlds, you get a relaxing outdoor oasis where you can recharge and still enjoy all the delights of home gardening.

Note: If you are trying out upside-down gardening with tomatoes, choose types that grow small fruits. Indeterminate varieties, like cherry tomatoes, are a good choice because they produce small clusters of fruit over the summer. This is easier for an upside-down plant to support. In contrast, you should avoid varieties like determinate beefsteak tomatoes. These produce large fruits all at once, which can be too heavy for your upside-down plant to support.

Keep Out Rabbits

Rabbit on a garden lawn

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Rabbits are almost always adorable, except when they are munching in your garden. After weeks of dedication, you don't want to see a bunny eating all of your plants. Whether you grow vegetables or flowers, switching to upside-down gardening can help to preserve your hard work from local rodents like rabbits.

Pro Tip - If these furry critters are still after your garden, there are plenty of animal-friendly ways to keep rabbits out, such as planting vegetables in a raised garden bed or picking plants that repel rabbits.

Skip Weeding

Weeding a garden

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Gardening is always fun, but weeding isn't. In an in-ground garden, weeds grow quickly so you have to act fast when they appear. If you have a busy schedule and can't commit to checking on your garden that often, weeds can swiftly become a nuisance. A great way to reduce weeding work is to try upside-down gardening.

While the odd weed can still grow, there will be considerably less to deal with. This is because there simply isn't enough space in an upside-down container for weeds to take over. Plus, when you make your own homemade organic potting soil, there's less chance that any seeds from weeds will be in the mix.

Reduce Chances of Mildew

Powdery Mildew on a tomato plant

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There is nothing worse than carefully tending to your vegetables only to discover that they have a fungal infection like powdery mildew. Powdery mildew (Oidium neolycopersici) is a common problem for tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. If the foliage on your plants looks like someone sprinkled flour on it or if it has patches of white powder in circles, powdery mildew is likely the culprit. It is very harmful and can cause you to lose up to 50 percent of your harvest.

The spores from this fungus spread on the wind, so upside-down planters won't offer complete prevention. However, they can make it easier to space out your plants and boost airflow, For instance, if you are planting cherry tomatoes, space the containers 2 feet apart. This helps air to move freely around the plants, lowering the humidity that powdery mildew thrives on.

Plus, with the plant hanging at eye level it's much easier to reach and prune leaves that show signs of infection. This can help you stop powdery mildew in its tracks.

It's Whimsical and Fun

upside down tomatoes

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Of course, one of the absolute best benefits of trying upside-down gardening is that it is simply fun! As an entertaining experiment for the whole family, grow a few plants upside-down and the rest in-ground. Then at the end of the harvest season, you can compare to see which worked best!

Turn Your Garden Upside Down

Flip your gardening plans upside down this growing season! Whether you plan a project so the whole family can discover the delight of gardening or you are simply saving space on your balcony you'll have a wonderful time! Plus you'll also benefit from fewer rabbits munching on your favorite plants and save some time with less weeding.

Have you tried upside-down gardening? If so which plants or vegetables worked best for you? Share your experiences below to help other green thumbs try out this exciting gardening trend. Then, don't forget to share it on socials too!