Upside down tomatoes
I'm in process of planning out my veggie garden for next year and am considering those new fangled tomatoes which hang upside down all summer. If nothing else, they surely must be space savers. I'm interested in the "anything else" part, other than saving space. Truth to tell, I have my doubts and am inclined to plant my tomatoes firmly in the ground, right side up. However, space is limited to 12' x 12' raised bed in my back yard, so the temptation is great to grow tomatoes in the upside down containers. I wonder about yield, taste, care, watering, and anything else. Any feedback and/or advise for a newbie from Cincinnati Ohio?
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rainbowgardener
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Hi again Gerri! Type topsy-turvy tomatoes or upside down tomatoes into the Search the Forum feature and you will find a bunch that's been written here already about people's experiences with them. I haven't heard any end of the season wrap up about how it all went, maybe I'll ask for some, but the reports we had were pretty mixed, with some people saying they did well, but a lot of problems reported...
I have one and my friend has two.
I also grow tomatoes in the ground.
To be honest the Topsy Turvy did well the first time, we got about 6 tomatoes out of it. After that it sprouted about 3 tomatoes extremely slowly.
Ours didn't do so well, but I look at my friends and his tomatoes are growing like crazy. I don't know what it is, maybe it's a dice roll.
I also grow tomatoes in the ground.
To be honest the Topsy Turvy did well the first time, we got about 6 tomatoes out of it. After that it sprouted about 3 tomatoes extremely slowly.
Ours didn't do so well, but I look at my friends and his tomatoes are growing like crazy. I don't know what it is, maybe it's a dice roll.
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NatGreeneVeg
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The topsy turvy is simply a container. You can do the same thing with a five gallon bucket. It is difficult to compare multiple experiences when everyone uses a different growing medium, different varieties of tomatoes, had different methods of watering, and different or no method of fertilization, as well as different locations of environment which include variables of temperature, sun, shadow, wind, etc.rainbowgardener wrote:Hi again Gerri! Type topsy-turvy tomatoes or upside down tomatoes into the Search the Forum feature and you will find a bunch that's been written here already about people's experiences with them. I haven't heard any end of the season wrap up about how it all went, maybe I'll ask for some, but the reports we had were pretty mixed, with some people saying they did well, but a lot of problems reported...
If you provide the plant with everything it needs, it should do just fine. With this method, you'd have to provide nutrient rich growing medium, consistent water, full sun, and follow up with nutrients later in the season. Unless everyone is providing optimal necessities, there will be lots of issues. Everyone will have inconsistent results.
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rainbowgardener
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Nat GReene - You are obviously right about the inconsistencies, different climates as well as different ways of treating the plants affect the results, so it's hard to compare unless one person does it both ways, treating them the same. We did have some one earlier in the spring trying the experiment, but I don't think we ever got a report back.
But the topsy-turvy is not the same as growing in a 5 gallon bucket and has its own special issues. It is designed to be hung, so it cannot be very big or it would be too heavy to lift and hang. So there's definitely less soil there than in a 5 gallon container. Then with the upside down position, the small container full of roots is in full sun and likely to be baking. I would bet that the roots in one of those get much hotter than in the ground or even in a ground level, larger container. Also with the upside down position, the water instead of running down into the roots, tends to run down from the roots onto the plant. A couple people mentioned problems with dirty water running down all over the plant.
So I'm not saying you can't grow tomatoes that way, but I am saying that it has problems and the plants would need a lot of care, lots of watering, fertilizing, pruning etc, more than tomatoes in a regular container, which already require more care than tomatoes in the ground.
But the topsy-turvy is not the same as growing in a 5 gallon bucket and has its own special issues. It is designed to be hung, so it cannot be very big or it would be too heavy to lift and hang. So there's definitely less soil there than in a 5 gallon container. Then with the upside down position, the small container full of roots is in full sun and likely to be baking. I would bet that the roots in one of those get much hotter than in the ground or even in a ground level, larger container. Also with the upside down position, the water instead of running down into the roots, tends to run down from the roots onto the plant. A couple people mentioned problems with dirty water running down all over the plant.
So I'm not saying you can't grow tomatoes that way, but I am saying that it has problems and the plants would need a lot of care, lots of watering, fertilizing, pruning etc, more than tomatoes in a regular container, which already require more care than tomatoes in the ground.
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rainbowgardener
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NatGreeneVeg
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You can actually grow a short plant/plants in the top of a five gallon bucket or the topsy turvy. Both the five gallon bucket and the topsy turvy are designed to be hung. The topsy turvy has one version that is on a stand. For those who have problems with water, they can learn from that experience and if they want to try it again, can use a coffee filter with a small X in the center to put the plant thru. The key is to do it before the seedling get's too big. You can also add some small pieces of coffee filters to secure the hole. Watering with a simple drip irrigation set on a very slow drip on a timer should be sufficient watering. But rain water is always best for plants. Any houseplant will tell you that if you use rain water to water them.rainbowgardener wrote: Then with the upside down position, the small container full of roots is in full sun and likely to be baking ... A couple people mentioned problems with dirty water running down all over the plant.
The technique can absolutely work, but you have to work with it and not against it. One of the main benefits, assuming you're using clean potting soil, is that you avoid soil born diseases.
I have been growing tomatoes upside down for about 3 years and I'm getting better at it. One good article I found about why the tomato is sometimes a difficult subject and why it should ripen on the vine I found here - https://www.practicalhomeandgarden.com/growing-tomatoes
That site also has a good article on the particular subject of growing tomatoes upside down - https://www.practicalhomeandgarden.com/the-upside-down-tomato-garden
One good tip is to put alot of vermiculite or other moisture holding material at the bottom of the bucket (this will be at the top when the bucket is inverted). This is because the tomato plants 'drinking' roots tend to be the deepest, or shallowest when upside down - this helps keep moisture around those roots that need it most.
That site also has a good article on the particular subject of growing tomatoes upside down - https://www.practicalhomeandgarden.com/the-upside-down-tomato-garden
One good tip is to put alot of vermiculite or other moisture holding material at the bottom of the bucket (this will be at the top when the bucket is inverted). This is because the tomato plants 'drinking' roots tend to be the deepest, or shallowest when upside down - this helps keep moisture around those roots that need it most.
