"Topsy Turvy" tomatoes

[JackE]

My TV is filled with ads for upside down tomatoes. If that really works in actual practice, it would sure be any easy way to grow - no weeds, no support problems, super easy picking.

Have they got something there that we should be looking into? Anybody ever tried this? Or seen any growing successfully? Is it just a bucket of soil with a little hole in the bottom for the plant, and you just pour water and fertilizer into the bucket? I can visualize that having great commercial potential if it works!

Jack

[Wi-sunflower]

Save your money, Jack.

There were several threads here at TV last year about how useless they are.

Carol

[JackE]

Hi Carol--

I figured that - but what an easy way to grow if it worked. You could hang the buckets on a galvanized pipe with drip/fertilizer emitters above each container - no weeding or cultivating, no weaving or tying or cages, no stooping to pick - almost labor-free!

You couldn't just use garden soil though. You'd probably have to use a super rich compost/potting mix-type medium with Perlite, peat and all that stuff.

Jack

[Wi-sunflower]

Yes the idea is good, but their implementation of it isn't.

Basically the container is a bit small for a full sized tomato plant. Many have said the plastic of the container doesn't last a full season. And the worst part is that most people don't realize how HEAVY a full sized plant and the wet dirt will weigh and often the holder isn't strong enough to hold it up and the whole thing crashes.

IF you have a good strong hook/holder, using a good old 5 gal. plastic bucket with some holes drilled in the bottom for drainage would probably work as well if not better.

Personally I would plant in the top and let the plant drape over the side and not do it from the bottom. The pics in all the commercials are obviously faked because if you've ever done any plants draping, they ALWAYS turn to try to grow UP toward the sun, not down as the pics show.

Carol

[BigBrownDogHouse]

Originally Posted by Wi-sunflower

The pics in all the commercials are obviously faked because if you've ever done any plants draping, they ALWAYS turn to try to grow UP toward the sun, not down as the pics show.

Carol

I had a nice set up I made in hanging baskets about three years ago. They were doing very well and like you said, grew upwards toward the sun. I was excited to have tomatoes in a hanging basket.....just something new!
However, we went on vacation and in all the madness of pre-vacation running around, I disconnected our garden hose for some reason.
The friends I had watching the hanging baskets couldn't get the hose back on the nozzle(Yea, I know sounds amazing don't it?) and watered the hanging baskets with cups of water. Well, they didn't do so well in the heat of summer with us gone and by the time we got back, they were pretty fried. I was only able to revive two of them.

Hanging plants certainly need plenty of water to keep from drying out. I knew that but thought my friends knew that too.

Now, even though we have other folks watering all our plants and garden, I still get nervous when heading out of town for a few days in Summer.

Anywho! Every morning when I drop my youngest off at school, one of the houses across the street from school has two Topsy Turvy's blowing around the yard on the ground. They must have really liked them to take such good care of them.

[JackE]

Now, even though we have other folks watering all our plants and garden, I still get nervous when heading out of town for a few days in Summer.

When we first retired in 2003, we bought an RV and travelled for a couple years. My wife worried so much about her daylilies getting watered that she didn't have any fun! A nephew was paid to do it, but my brother wound-up with the job.

When diesel fuel hit $4.00 I sold the RV and decided to grow vegetables instead. Cost almost as much though - with all the equipment etc I "have to have" :-) But it's going to a very good cause so my wife doesn't object. :-)

Jack

[BigBrownDogHouse]

Originally Posted by JackE

When we first retired in 2003, we bought an RV and travelled for a couple years. My wife worried so much about her daylilies getting watered that she didn't have any fun! A nephew was paid to do it, but my brother wound-up with the job.

Jack

I get stressed out with it too. I've had issues in the past when I thought I had someone I could trust with watering and we would come home to a yard full of dead flowers and hanging baskets. Now with my tomatoes I have been very careful with who I trust with the job.

I had two people last Summer during vacation handle the job. A neighbor and then a young man we have do our dogsitting. My neighbor was supposed to do the flowers on one side of the house and the young man do the tomatoes on the other.

The kid took care of the tomatoes fine.
My neighbor who I always seem to be helping out, only managed to keep about half of my flowers alive on the one side. I figured he watered as far as his hose could reach and that was it. He didn't bother to use my hose which of course would have reached everything.
He also gave me the old "it rained pretty heavy on Monday" routine. Well, when it's upper 80's and lower 90's, a rainful on Monday isn't going to do much for plants cooking in the sun on the following Saturday.

We are already trying to line up some extra friends for this year's vacation.
My one new buddy also grows tomatoes so I am hoping he will take care of ours and I could do the same when they go out of town.

I don't think I will ever go back to hanging tomato baskets again. I don't even think I am doing hanging flowers this year. My neighbor has too much fun killing them.

[JackE]

I can identify with that! My only neighbor is my brother - and he doesn't garden. Non-gardeners don't take this stuff seriously. They don't understand that all this is virtually a life and death issue with us! :-)

[Homebrew Joe]

My parents bought a couple of these units two years ago. They worked ok...until the first big windstorm hit. They tend to swivel.

I've since inherited these gadgets, as my parents don't do all that much gardening any more. I've got plans to see if I can anchor these units and put a couple of pepper plants in them and see what happens this year.

[organichris]

I've done it before, somewhat unsuccessfully, which I mainly attribute to poor lighting.

I'm doing it again this year, and so far so good. I'm not using that stupid cheap plastic Topsy Turvy thing though. I'm using a 5 gallon bucket.

I think you could expect to have a similar yield to that of growing in a pot of a similar size. I just like to experiment with stuff like that. Plus I ran out of space and had a bunch of extra plants, so...

[lowlylowlycook]

While flipping through the channels I noticed a listing for "Grow Bigger Tomatoes". I was curious to see what kind of scam someone was selling and it turned out to be for Topsy Turvey.

It seems that their newest design makes at least a bit more sense in that the tomatoes are inserted into the sides instead of the bottom. I'd guess it's not much worse than having a normal hanging planter.

It also looked pretty big and would need a good deal of support.

[carolyn137]

In the current issue of Consumers Report that came today the Topsy Turvy's were severely criticized on ALL fronts.

[clamato]

I love the grow bigger tomatos infomercial ! The tomatos on their plants are so prolific and perfect you almost cant see any leaves. And they say that you have no insects..... Right....
Someone on here has to know someone that worked on that show.
I think they hung tomatos on their plants like christmas ornaments.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by JackE

Hi Carol--but what an easy way to grow if it worked. You could hang the buckets on a galvanized pipe with drip/fertilizer emitters above each container - no weeding or cultivating, no weaving or tying or cages, no stooping to pick - almost labor-free!


Jack

Are you sure you dont work for these folks.P

Worth

[JackE]

HI Worth - You missed the key phrase that preceded my remark - "...IF IT WORKED..." But it clearly doesn't work. If it worked, it would be a great way to grow tomatoes - no?

Jack