I have never done it as I have less room to hang things than to set things on, but it works fine.

I have seen it done and there really is no issue with it at all as far as growth, health and yield are concerned.

Having said that the topsy planter sold by Territorial is an AM Leonard product and it is kind of small and dries out quickly, I do not recomend it. It's also 20 bucks which is horribly overpriced for what it is.

The upside down tomatos I have seen were in 5 gallon buckets (which lend themselves readily to this use) and this offers much more root space and won't dry out as quickly.

Growing tomatos upside down is basically the same as growing them 'right side up', but the container size and materials still matter just as much.

Thanks Guy.
That's what I wanted to know. And I was thinking like you, I have some five gallon buckets allready, and intended to use them instead of paying $20 for the ones in the catalog. Just interested in whether the concept would work.

The only negatives with the 5 gallon buckets is the fact that they get brittle very fast when exposed to UV very long. So I'm thinking if I paint them on the outside with a good latex exterior house paint they may hold up for a while. The other question I haven't figured out yet is how to monitor the soil moisture. I'll either need a tall ladder or hang them on a pully that can lower the bucket. Any other thoughts?

Thanks for your help.

Steve

The 5 gallon buckets do indeed get brittle, but I have found most of them last a couple-3 years in my zone 5, maybe less in your area.

As far as moisture, one thought is to simply water every day once the plants get to any size. A long water wand might help. Tomatos are very thirsty plants and in a 5 gallon bucket will probably *need* daily waterings once summer is around. A large plant on a hot day can suck up 2 gallons of water. Beyond that you might just try the lifting trick. Yes, it will be heavy, but it will lighten as it dries and I think you will be able to determine the difference when wet or dry. You would only need to lift it an inch or two.

Have fun. ;-)

"it will lighten as it dries and I think you will be able to determine the difference when wet or dry."

I think you probably put your finger on the answer. It won't take long till I'll be able to recognize the difference by just pulling up on the rope slightly.

Steve

I tried it last season with 5 gallon buckets. It worked. I got tomatoes and chile peppers to grow. I didn't think my yields were worth doing them again this year, and they definitely required more work than SFG.

I even purchased a plant stand to hang them from the Topsy Turvy company. This season, I'm thinking of conventional hanging plants. Except for my strawberry bag which I'll be trying again.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Various Containers

I grew upside down tomatoes last year. I find the cherry type tomato is the best for growing upside down.

Click on the URL.

Here is a link that might be useful: Upside Down Tomatoes

now this is interesting :D How high up do these need to hang? will my daughters old swingset be high enough? strong enough? the bar across the top is about hmm, six feet off the ground, just the cheap swingset from walmart many years ago.

I have started two different tomatoes from seed, one is super sweet 100 hybrid from burpee, the other is burpees super beefsteak tomatoe. with these work with this method?

if not, how about doing this with beans? any other veggies work well with this system? I have quite a few 5 gallon buckets, and will definately have to try this!!!

sally

Sally, if the bucket is hung at 6' that leaves around 4.5 or so feet for plant to hang. This will be enough for many varieties, but some of the indeterminate varieties will grow taller. Not a huge deal though, you can just lop off the tops (bottoms?) or let them sprawl.

Beans I think would become a mess. Beans kind of 'reach' for something to cling to. I suspect they would tangle themselves into a knot. (I assume you are talking about pole beans).

wow, forgot where I put this post...thanks for the answers, think I'll give it a shot, that MIGHT keep the kids off the swingset...I'll have it moved into the backyard. (kids are way to old for that thing). The beans are actually bush beans, not pole.

Ok, say I let them sprawl on the ground, best mulch to use??? I haven't been able to do much in the yard for six years, I'm sure i'm going overboard this year, but ya gotta try right? And, i've never been a veggie gardener, tried tomatoes and bush beans one year, not much in the way of doing anything, had them in containers that I know now were NO where near big enough :D.

Since my 11 yr old daughter and I are the only ones to eat tomato's or any other veggy, how many plants would you say we might need???? I know way too many seedlings are growing than what I need, thinking two or three??? or is that too much? I don't want my neighbors to all hate me :D

thanks again!

sally

2 or 3 productive tomato plants should yield plenty for 2 people who just want the occasional slice on a sandwich or to cut one up in a salad.

I generally grow 10-15 tomato plants each year and I give grocery bags away to people, make sauce and can a dozen or more quarts of tomatos. In my family we are all tomatos eaters so you can try to guesstimate from there.

As for mulch, it kind of depends. What is there now? Sand would be good in this case. I would probably stay away from the 'soil conditioning' mulches because in addition to helping the soil, they also harbor pests that will munch your plants. If you were growing in the ground I would say the pros outweigh the cons, but since this is just to keep the plant off the soil I would go with sand or plastic sheeting like you find in a hardware store.

I bought one of the Topsy Turvy planters for fun. A few observations: (a)I mixed a lot of those water holding crystals (presoaked, they constituted maybe 1/5 to 1/4 of the volume) into the soil mix, plus generous compost and a sprinkling of Osmocote. I didn't have to water them constantly. (b) Plant growth was rampant--I had to move the hanger right to the top of my 7' deck height, and the vines still trailed on the patio underneath. I never pinched or pruned any of the shoots, and they went crazy! (c) I agree that smaller tomatoes do better. The first year I used a Yellow Pear plant and the second, a Sweet Million cherry. Both produced better than my in-the-ground plants. (d) My upside down plants didn't develop any disease problems like I sometimes see in my other plants, because they were in a different location.
Of course, there is nothing unique about the results from this container--you can probably get similar results more cheaply from other hanging homemade containers, such as the 5 gal buckets. I just wanted to mention that the official Topsy Turvys do work just great--I think the key to any of these containers is water retention, and the Soil Moist granules are a godsend--you just have to use way more of them than the manufacturer recommends, in my experience!

IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO ALL CONTAINER GARDNERS! NOT All containers are safe as growing containers..... go to this link; WWW.RONZ.ORG.NZ/PDF/HDPE_FACT_SHEET_15_APRIL.PDF; and read what is discussed. Do some research before risking damage to yourself or to others from using non FOOD SAFE containers or bags. Just because you have certain types containers around or that you used them before is NOT a good enough reason to use them again! I grow tomatoes and other plants in food safe containers like milk jugs and water jugs since they do NOT break down in the sunlight liked HDPE PLASTIC.

IÂm sorry to say that I was gullible enough to try a ÂTopsy Turvy planter this past week on a lark. Unfortunately, the water in the container constantly dripped down the plant (Yes, water is subject to gravity!) and kept both the stem and leaves coated in dirty, soil-containing water 24 hours per day. And anyone who has ever grown tomatoes knows that the one thing you do not want to do is keep the leaves and stems of your plants constantly soaked in dirty water. The healthy little plant I placed in this ridiculous container lasted only about 3 days before dissolving into a little ball of dead, green goo. How the heck this company can get away with selling a product so patently bad and ill advised is beyond me. For me, this worthless little emperor has not a STITCH of clothing! Please spread the wordÂif you buy this product you are very likely doing nothing more than flushing your hard-earned money down the toilet.