Upside-Down Gardening: Fab or Fad?

You don't need to flip your plants to get the benefits of this fad -- hanging them right-side up delivers the same results.

Since the New York Times brought the world of upside down gardening to the front lines (and front porches) of the planting community, everyone seems to be buzzing about growing their veggies in this non-traditional way.

But how exactly does it work? With The Gardener's Supply Co.'s upside down model (pictured above, $19) you place your plant in the cage, cradle it with soil, zip up the breathable lining and close the the cage. Sounds easy enough, right? And because it's up in the air, you don't need to stake or weed the plant or worry about pests. Worried about appropriate water distribution? Gravity does the hard work for you. Nervous about your plants getting enough air and sun? By hanging them up high, you'll put them in a prime spot to get all those goodies.

Now, before you get flip-happy and start digging out all your plants in favor of higher pastures, take note: While the Times' article does confirm that crops in the air are less susceptible to pests and blight, horticulturists, agronomists and plant scientists still have no proof as to whether the upside-down part of the equation offers any more benefits. Which is to say that simply hanging plants right-side up could achieve the same results.

Charlotte Germane, of the blog Daffodil Planter: Gardening with a Sense of Humor, poked fun at the excitement, posting a photo of an upside down chair and asking if devotees of the fad would also seek the health benefits of "upside downing" for themselves. Hey, if plants live a better life with their bottoms up, why shouldn't we?

But when reached by email, Germane was more supportive. "Gardening should be fun," she explained. "If this planter seems like fun to people -- hooray! Although it's an oddball plant fad, it has its roots (ha!) in fundamental issues of health and even survival. Growing some of your own food is one of the most important things people can do, and it can make a significant difference in a family's diet."

Rosalind Creasy, author of 18 books on edible gardens, including the 1982 classic Edible Landscaping -- and the upcoming second edition of the book, out November 1, 2010 -- is on the same page. "If it gets people growing tomatoes, that's good. Then we have them hooked!"

But she was also quick to clear up the actual benefits of the trend. "When plants are hanging five to six feet above the ground, you're not going to have a problem with the fungal spores in the soil splashing up onto the plant leaves when it rains," she explained. And the higher up your plants are, the better air circulation they'll get. "At ground-level, wind runs into foliage, leaves, and the lawn. It gets slowed down on the way to the plants. If they're hanging, there's better access." But it's important to note that these advantages apply equally to regular hanging right-side up plants, as well as the trendier upside-down versions.

Does that mean that Creasy, a 40-year veteran of edible gardening, would consider the method for her own landscape? "I have hanging baskets, over the years I've grown strawberries in them and it keeps the snails, slugs, even the birds away. But upside-down planters? Well, I don't think they're very attractive. I think it's kind of a jumble of leaves with a green plastic bag just hanging there. It just doesn't ring my chimes."

As for the downsides of this method, Creasy stressed the environmental-unfriendliness: upside down planters require more water, more fertilizer and lead to more waste -- who recycles those plastic containers anyways? She also reminded us that plastics can only be recycled so many times, so even if the planter itself is made from recycled plastic, it may not have much of a future once it leaves your garden.

The bottom line here -- upside-down gardening itself is not going to change anybody's life. But if it's the gateway process that brings so-called black-thumbers into the world of gardening, it's worth the hype. "People have no idea how much fresh delicious food they can produce," says Creasy.

But let us know what you think!




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