My husband wants to try an upside down tomato plant, but he doesn't even walk or do a thing in the garden.
I would like to know how you are making yours, AS I would like to get him more involved in the garden other then picking and eating.
I think if I let him do an upside down plant, that I turn over to him, he just might do something.

So please let me know how your going to make yours, cause I don't want to buy a "kit"

I think the Arkansas Traveler is grown all the way up to Tulsa, so I think you should be fine..
Dawn is the house tomato girl.. she should be here to answer your questions in the morning.

I would like to know how you got your hands on a Merced tomato plant, I was told that they are no longer planting them for two years now..

and hang on to your hat, the winds this year has been just crazy.!

Shankins,

Welcome home to OKC and congratulations on the "new" life you are making for yourself here. I hope you find peace and happiness here.

Now, the tomatoes.....

Arkansas Travler has stood the test of time, having been grown in its' current form for over 30 years. It produces well in the heat and the tomatoes are yummy.

Black Krim is one of my all-time favorite heirlooms. The only problem with it is that the coloring is deceptive and you may find yourself picking them too early at first until you understand the particular reddish-greenish-maroonish color they have when they are truly ripe. The flavor of a ripe Black Krim is out-of-this-world.

Merced is a once-highly-recommended hybrid that has been dropped from commercial seed production. It was bred to be a very reliable producer in our climate, and it delivered as promised. However, it was NOT bred for flavor, and you can tell. It is not that it necessarily tastes "bad" (although that is how many people describe it), but just that there are many, many varieties with better flavor. (Kirts, you will occasionally see Merced in some stores because some wholesalers bought up all the seed they could find when they heard it was being discontinued. The will continue producing and selling it until they run out of seed.) You may like the flavor of Merced just fine, but I didn't. Everyone's taste buds are different, so some people love it, some hate it, and some are in between.

Washington Cherry is one I haven't grown, but pretty much all cherries grow well here, and most of them taste the same as all the other cherries. A couple of cherries that offer truly outstanding flavor are Black Cherry and SunGold, but they are hard to find commercially as plants, although they are available as seed.

I am not a fan of upside-down tomato planters and consider them a novelty. You will never get really good production from them. Part of the problem is that you have to hang them somewhere, so their sunlight will be limited because of that. They also dry out really quickly which can lead to several problems, including blossom end rot. And, finally, they weigh a LOT by the time you add up the weight of the container, soil, water and plant. Am I saying you shouldn't try the upside down planters? Heck, no. I'm just saying they have a lot of drawbacks you need to be aware of so you can be proactive and try to keep them from ruining your fun.

As for the W-I-N-D.....this year we seem to be having it in excessive amounts, even for Oklahoma. At least in our part of OK (I'm way down south in Love Couny), March was fairly backwards this year....coming in like a lamb and going out like a lion, and those strong winds have stuck around through April. We've had a lot more wind-related problems here than usual.....power outages, broken trees, loss of tree limbs, etc. I know, though, that in July or August we'll be wishing for a good stiff breeze to come cool us down. ...

Thanks to Kirts and Dawn.
I'm hopeful that this will give me at least enough tomatoes to eat and share (a few)...I used to plant enough to can, but I don't think that will happen this year...who knows?
Kirts, as far as the planters go, I'm using 2 kitty litter buckets. I just did NOT want to have to buy something as finances are very limited. The best illustration I've found so far is referenced below. You may also search GW...lots of references to this sort of gardening. One watering recommendation I've seen is to use 2liter bottles as water funnels stuck into the soil..this provides slow watering and not as much run-off (run-down??) I'll probably put a bucket underneath to catch any remainders until I see how that works. And, if I didn't garage sale it, I just may have a drip irrigation system that I could use on a timer...have to see. I'll have plenty of sun where I'm putting them. My only fear is the weight of it, so I"m going to see how I might reinforce the handles/buckets OR maybe some sort of bottoms-up support. I'll let you all know how it goes...thanks for your warm responses :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Upside-down tomatoes

I don't know...I hear people say that about the wind every year. I think you forget just how crazy windy the Oklahoma springtime is!

Thank you for the link :)