Threading from the Inside

• Seedlings need at least one set of true leaves and one main stem before you transplant them, advises Ray R. Rothenberger of the University of Missouri Extension's Department of Horticulture. If your seedlings have forked stems, wrap the leaves gently with a small piece of landscape fabric to protect them from bruising or bending. You will need a 5-gallon bucket with a 2-inch diameter hole drilled in the bottom. Once you place the bucket on two sawhorses with the hole exposed, you need to thread the leaves and stem of the seedling through the hole, keeping the root ball inside the container.
  
  

Threading from the Outside

• Threading the seedling through the hole in the bucket from the outside protects the leaves and stem from damage and gives the root system a chance to establish itself before you hang the container. Make sure the lid is on tight before you turn the container bottom-up. A coffee filter placed over the hole in the bottom of the container prevents the soil from pouring out when you turn the container over to plant the tomato seedling.
  
  After you push a finger or spoon into the hole in the bucket bottom to make room for your seedling, gently pull the root ball apart and push it into the hole. Add more soil mix to fill the remaining empty space around the root ball. Your tomato seedling will be ready to hang upside-down once it spends two weeks in the bucket establishing a strong root system, advises San Jose Mercury News gardening expert Holly Hayes.
  
  

Threading through the Sides

• Some gardeners cut holes in the sides of the container, 2 or 3 inches from the bottom, to thread the seedlings, advises Kate Murphy at the New York Times. Push the root balls through the holes and pack a little extra soil into any remaining space. Instead of one plant, the container supports two to four plants. You still need two or more small holes in the bottom to allow water to drain.
  
  

Soil Conditions

• Crumpled paper, sphagnum moss or floral foam packed around the root ball will prevent your tomato plant from sliding out before it has a chance to establish a strong root system, when you thread through the inside. Mixing a bushel each of vermiculite and peat moss, 10 tbsp. limestone, 5 tbsp. superphosphate and 1 cup 6-12-12 or 5-10-10 garden fertilizer works better than using soil from your yard or garden, according to Texas A&M extension horticulturist Sam Cotner.