Anyone use Topsy-Turvy Tomato planters?

[drtmama]

I have seen the commercials for those Topsy-Turvy planter things.

Anyone ever try them? If so, do they work?

Thanks.

Jackie

[cynthia_h]

If these are the "upside-down" tomato-growing items, I just did a search here at THG on "upside-down" and got TONS of hits on upside-down tomato methods. (a few other things, too, like "turn the container upside-down to remove the dirt")

If this is something else, I'd still try a search at THG on "Topsy-Turvy" to see who else has tried it. (I personally have no knowledge of or experience w/it.)

Happy gardening.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[drtmama]

I am sorry I did not make it clear.

Yes, it is the upside-down tomato planter thingies!

Thanks, Cynthia!



Jackie

[Lauraluvstomatoes]

I did a topsy turvey and it worked ok - I did peppers. It was hard to keep watered evenly . . . really no different than containers except the water flowed out of the bottom. My kids loved it so that was worth it!

[JustPeachy]

Check out this site. The guy tells you how to make your own for under 6 bucks.

http://www.upsidedowntomatoplant.com/

I think I may give it a go with one of my plants.

~Emily

[Rob]

My kids loved it so that was worth it!

Pretty much the only reason I did it: for the kids. I planted a tomato plant, and it appears to be doing fine so far.

It's a little messy. A lot of water drips out the bottom during waterings, and streams over the leaves.

[oldschoolvdub]

From what I understand, they say that all the nutrience go down into the tomatoes and not have to work so hard pushing it up through all the branches. Just the simple law of gravity. I just started one a couple days ago myself. We'll see what happens. Good luck on yours.

aaron

[The Helpful Gardener]

I find no difference in upside down versus right side up containers, but will continue to stick mine in the ground for better rooting...despite my shorter growing season I get six to seven foot plants with tons of fruit which I do not get in containers. Natural soil wins everytime...

But if it gets the kids interested in gardening, buy two...

HG

[lil-things]

Check out this site. The guy tells you how to make your own for under 6 bucks.

http://www.upsidedowntomatoplant.com/

I think I may give it a go with one of my plants.

~Emily

I went to this site and could not find this make your own for $6.00 could you give more info on this. Thank you

[elevenplants]

Check out this thread. There's a link on there that will tell you how to make your own, for a heck of a lot less than 6 bucks, too. And there are pictures of the ones I have started.

http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12930

Good luck!

Rebecca

[TeraH]

I have been growing tomatoes upside down for about 3 years and Im getting better at it. 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.

Here are some good articles I found when I was making my own planters -
http://www.practicalhomeandgarden.com/h ... to-planter
http://www.amateurarticles.com/growing- ... pside-down

[KiloJKilo]

I am a first time user of the topsy turvy with very little gardening experience (which is why I bought them to begin with) having no gardening space where I live, I decided to grow the tomatoes outdoors using this method. I may even use one for peppers or eggplant. I will keep you all updated in sorta a noob kinda way

[tn_veggie_gardner]

I had one in the storage closet all last year. I think I'm going to try it finally, this year. I think, in a way, they are like peat pellets. A lot of people despise them & do not use them, don't reccomend you use them, but with proper use, they can be great. =)

[KiloJKilo]

I'd be interested to know how this progresses for you

[Greenhorn]

I tried one last year. It’s a novelty.

It has some advantages and disadvantages.

It’s great if you have a sunny place that you can hang tomatoes or other plants.

I like being able to spin the plant so it grows more evenly and gets light to all sides. I turn the plant once or twice a day. It also makes it quite easy to pick the tomatoes.

The biggest problem with it, is using the planter over again in the following years. I have a bad back and am not looking forward to having to dig out the dirt to put another plant in and then have to lift it back up to hang it again.

The turnbuckle occasionally sticks when it gets dry, so I put a little cooking oil on the turnbuckle so it will turn freely.

When you pour water into it, the water has a tendency to run right through it without the soil soaking much water up and without the plant having much time to absorb the water. One of the tricks that many people are doing is to cut a 2 L pop bottle in half, drill a small hole in the cap of the bottle, so the water slowly runs into the plant. A half bottle acts much like a funnel, and makes it easier to water and helps regulate the water flow. It seems like it takes a lot of watering, perhaps two or three times a day.

It would be best if you have a place you can mount it where you can water at arm level, and be able to pick the fruit at arm or eye level. I found it works out very well for decks. I built an arm to hold it out a few feet away from the deck, as far away as I could still be able to reach it reasonably from the deck to water it. To pick the tomatoes I walked down on the ground in front of the deck and the fruit was at a nice convenient level that didn’t require back strain to pick the tomatoes.

The plant grew so well that the vines started dragging the ground so I took some twine and coached the vines to grow back up to the planter. Keeping the vines off the ground does seem to reduce the amount of diseases and snacking animals ( ground hogs, chipmunks, squirrels, snails)

[tn_veggie_gardner]

Good trick, Greenhorn! Thanks for the info. I'll probably do that when I test out my Topsy Turvey this year. I have like 20-25 2 liter bottles i've been saving for various gardening uses like this & for propagation.

[GardenJester]

hmmm... I wonder if you have to deep bury the seedling also like you do when planting it regularly?

[Greenhorn]

hmmm... I wonder if you have to deep bury the seedling also like you do when planting it regularly?

I suspect in theory it would be better to bury the plant deeper, however I generally think it would be harder because you probably have to hold the root ball and work some dirt around it carefully without damaging the vine. It would probably be a little difficult to do. It’s also best to work with a seedling that’s fairly mature; like about 24 inches tall; this way the plant will be able to quickly bend and grow up toward the light. If you try this with a plant that is too small the growth has a tendency to be slower in the shade and the plant keeps on trying to grow back into the pot.

[Joyfirst]

To mee it seems like tomatoe torturing. I prefer to grow them upright, even if in the containers.

[jamie70]

i have had my tt going since the first of april and i have to say i was very impressed with it. i purchased for around 10 bucks and used the soil it said to use and a good sturdy plant. it has about 7 tomatos on it right now. i would post a pic if i could figure out how to do it!


ok it wasn't supposed to be sideways but i will figure it out

[gixxerific]

I hate to tell you this but those are supposed to hang upside down. Not on there side like that.

[jamie70]

yeah but gravity is different at my house...j/k

[gixxerific]

I see that.

They do look pretty healthy. It is hard to tell unless I put my monitor on it's side.

Good luck

[stazzy04]

I actually just planted mine today. My boyfriend bought it for me for my birthday because he knows how much I love to garden.

But last year, both my grandmother and my mother had one, so here is a review on how theirs did.

From what I heard, my grandmother's did okay. Her biggest problem was the wind. She said they do better when you have them hung up by a wall or something to help protect them, because the wind would swing the container and damage the plant.

And my mother's did fairly well until she got lazy with watering it. Then her tomatoes began getting pretty small, although they did continue to grow. She did somehow manage to get a weed inside the top of the container. Not quite sure how that happened. Lol.

Good luck!

[supagirl277]

Holy cow! How big do tomato plants usually grow? There's no way mine would get 6 ft high! I have tt planter too so I'm looking forward to seeing it's results.