Upside-down tomatoes

I gave in amd got this today- I have some Tumbler Tomatoes ready, and put 2 in the "Topsy Turvy" container- I will post photos weekly to show it's progress.

Thanks JoParrott, for starting this thread.I look forward to seeing how they do for you....

Best of luck,
Dave

Can't wait to see what kind of success you have with these. I have been really curious about them.

So far it isn't growing really fast- but our night temps are in the mid 40's. so I don't expect mush for awhile. I rotate it when I see it reaching for sun- I put some slow release fertilizer about halfway up in the soil. I'll post a photo in a few days.

I have been very curious about these. My Italian-American guy would die laughing if I tried to grow tomatoes upside down. My seedlings are still so small that I would be afraid that they would fall out.

HI I bought one last year but kept forgetting to water it so it did not do any thing.
Poor little plant, I am going to try again this year but I am hanging it on my front porch
so I will remember it better.

I just spoke to a woman yesterday who said she used one of these last year and it worked great, as in LOTS of tomatoes, but that it needs LOTS of water. Well, of course, so do my conventionally planted container tomatoes. So JoParrott, I am left wondering what is so special about this device that, with a little effort, I couldn't duplicate myself at a fraction of the cost. A lot of times these As Seen On TV items are just a unique idea that is packaged with a bit of a twist and an inflated price. (I'm not criticizing anyone for paying for these things, I'm just curious about how they're made and how possible they might be to produce as homemade.) I wonder why a 10 or 20 pound bag made from the tough material used to hold wild bird seed, for instance, couldn't be modified to grow upside down tomatoes. Just wondering.

I know I shouldn't have paid so much for my upside-down tomato planter, BUT I truly enjoyed it last year. (I bought the free-standing one.) I planted 3 Juliet grape tomatoes in it and they did very well. I water all of my many plants on the patio each day so that was not a problem. I planted petunias in the top and it made a very attractive and productive planter. I took it apart and stored everything but the base inside and it's all ready to be put together for this year. BTW...It's easy to put together.

I see no reason for someone not to make their own upside down container- but I also am wondering- why does the tomato need to be planted in the bottom? Why not just plant it in the top of a large bucket or container and let the plant tumble down over the sides? To me that would be a heck of a lot simpler- If I had a lot of hanging space I would grow mine that way, but I don't.

This message was edited Apr 28, 2009 11:07 PM

Glad to find this thread....I am doing the upside down thing this year and it seems to be going pretty well. I took 2 of my babies to a Retirement Home yesterday and they caused quite a stir. Hopefully some older retired gardner will adopt them. I am using 2gal pickle buckets and have them on drip irrigation...getting 1 minute, 4 times a day. These have been upside down for 3 weeks and just set fruit. I am using an indiduous (sp) celebrity hybred that makes a medium size fruit so maby the plant will not break from the weight....its early yet...we will see.

I think I will cut some x's in the sides of my planter and tuck some small flowers in- it just looks like it wants to be beautified! Beachglidr, your photo is really good- that has to be a lot of weight there- I know my one is very heavy. I really think a better idea is putting plants in the top and letting them trail down. Wouldn't that be less stress on the roots? Just a thought- One could even make a bag from landscape fabric and/or shadecloth-possibly lined with some sort of paper or fabric for more moisture retention. They could be supported with Macrame type hangers.

Hi,
I have planted the upside down tomato planters for a couple of years now. I put cherry tomatoes in them so my GDs who are 4 can go pick them. They think I am the greatest Grandma because they get their own upside down tomatoes they can pick and eat every time they come over( baby tomatoes for my grand babies). The planters are within their short reach. It also keeps them out of the other tomatoes.
Its pretty fun

This message was edited Apr 29, 2009 10:10 AM

   You might want to look at the tomatoes forum. There are several old threads there with headings like "upside down" and "topsey turvey" discussing this subject.

   For several years I have grown some cherry tomatoes in upside down milk jugs in our sun room just so I could have some thing for salads in winter and spring or as a conversation piece. The yields are small and it is a bother to water so often, so it isn't worth doing in summer when you can plant tomatoes outside.

    You can mix a few water-absorbent crystals into the soil to help guard against occasionally forgetting to water them. Also you may have to hand pollinate if the blossoms don't set fruit.

Simple question: what is the benefit of having them upside down?

I lots of senior gardeners aroudn DC used to say I should bring my in-ground plants before the first frost or freeze --pull them up, bring them inside, hang the de-soiled plants upside down which supposedly allowed the fruit to keep ripening for several more weeks. It seemed to work, but I think it was not that much better a way to ripen the tomatoes than just plucking them and putting them on the window sill --except if there are too many tomotoes to put there all at once.

My hunch is that the old practice somehow led folks to believe there's some magic in the inverted position --sort of a, Wow, look at all those tomatoes on the upside down vine! (without allowing for the fact they were growing right-side up for many prior weeks) Thus the invention.

Just my own thought --I'm open to any explanation that there's some real benefit.

Sorry, Off topic for a minute: Beach, is that a solar vent fan on the end of your greenhouse? If yes, are you happy with it?

Now, back to upside down tomatoes....

cathy4....yes it is a solar vent fan and it works as advertised. However, it just does not draw enough to impact temps inside the house. I still am experiencing 108+ on an 85 degree day even with misters. I have a lot of work to do there before I can use the GH for anything other than a winter over location. Its on the back burner for the moment but hope to have a solution before winter. I also have a DIG drip irrigation system installed that work like a charm. Each bucket has a drip which is on a timer for 1minute 4 times a day....watering problem solved. Thanks for asking...you are very observant.

Thanks for the quick answer, I've been looking for venting and it caught my eye.

The idea of cherry tomatoes hanging for Grandkids is great, my GD likes to pick them too but that would make it easier to get to them. May just have to try a bucket with a hole.

It's time for a new photo- the plants are growing but not a lot. But since it is Tumbler, I don't think it will be a really big plant. It is loaded with tiny buds.

I have a topsy turvy mater growing also. It's doing pretty good so far.

I was going to make one and lucked out - just got one in the mail yesterday as a gift! What do you guys suppose is the absolute best growing medium for tomatoes in one of these things? Most of my plants are grown in containers - some in potting soil and some a mix of spag peat, pine park fines, and perlite. Has anyone had especially good results with a particular medium in one of these things, with tomatoes?

The only thing I've heard from friends was that it dried out pretty fast, so maybe something with good moisture holding properties.

Here are my Tumbler tomatoes-look close and you can see many babies-

Here's a tip that may save someone's upside down tomato- I have seen mine get limp and puny for 3 days- at first I blamed it on the winds we are having. All the time I have been checking water with my moisture meter- it was reading OK- But today I decided to give it a "rectal" check- up through the foam disk at the underside- it was DRY! I poured water in until it came out the bottom, and now the plant is very happy! The meter was not getting down to the root zone, obviously. I would have been so sad to lose the plant- it is just putting on tiny tomatoes.

I got one for my birthday from my sister... First I thought she hated me, it was a bugger to get together, get the plant in there all the soil and hoist it back up on the porch. I put some cherry tomato's in there for Billy *My Boy) to pick. It has been growing for 2 weeks now, and I will have to wait and see what it does.

Hey any updates on these? I thinking about trying this next year.

Edit: I found a larger thread on the topic: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/188624/

This message was edited Aug 21, 2009 9:07 AM

Here's my update- I will not grow them again. It is, IMHO, just a waste of time and energy. It requires about 3 gallons of water daily when it is mature. and it was just a huge disappointment- I saved the container, and may cut holes in the sides and plant flowers next year. But to plant a hanging tomato I would say just get a sturdy container and put the tomato in the top- it will spill over naturally, and the roots can grow normally. When I took mine apart the root system was abnormally small- I think that was because roots will not grow upward!

Good to know.

Wow, thanks for the update.

I agree with JoParrott. I tried this this year too and they are easier to grow well in the ground or a regular pot. I think I might try strawberries in the pot next year with some adjustments. My tomato wanted to grow up not down.

I've had good results with a 5 gallon bucket with holes drilled in the bottom, and a large tomato cage stuck in it. It, too, takes a lot of water, but not 3 gallons a day. It can become top heavy in the wind so put it against something sturdy like a fence or wall if you can.

I can imagine there are many ways to grow tomatoes in hanging containers, but the upside-down method is not one-at least for me- Any sturdy container that has drainage and adequate soil capacity will do- just choose a varirty that is developed for containers so the root system is not too big- Tumbler was a good one for me. Regular feeding is very important, too. I am already planning for next year!

I have to agree with Jo, it can not withstand the desert sun and after only being out for 3 or so months, has discolored and the plant in it has not grown much. I have not gotten any fruit off of it yet.

Topsy Turvey started out very well using cherry tomatoes in one and a combination of two each all different in the other two planters.

Can't value rate them because the blight put "all" plants down after the third set. We got some tomatoes from all plants but it was a wipe out here and all over our community.

I shall revert to all heirlooms hoping for better resistance in the earlier matters next year. I will accept less fruit for a few plant that have a decent chance of finishing the season. This is of course my opinion based on some experienced observation.

I am not showing my wipe out by way of the blight. Think we have all seen enough of that misery.

I totally agree! I bought three of the darn things back in April and put in gorgeous plants. I nursed them along through the hottest part of the summer and the cherry type yielded a few very tough tomatoes. Jet Star and Mountain Pride set a couple of fruits which never matured.

I watered them every day, fed them Bloom Booster Miracle Gro in pellets and in water-soluble formulas, gave them several 1/2" top dressings of Black Kow and compost and dosed them with alfalfa pellets and tea to no avail. The plants all remained stunted and mal-formed and struggled to grow upwards, one of them even pushing against the bottom of the planter with enough vigor to deform itself.

I kept taking suckers and cuttings off of the plants and rooting them and watching them take off. It wasn't a matter of poor plants, for sure.

The bags of soil were hanging under a lattice roof and I'm sure that the always-hot roots were the biggest factor in failure to put on fruit.

If you could keep the bags in deep shade and keep the soil cool while the plants get full sun, they *might* work.

But for me, these things were a total waste of everything. (money, time, space, energy, water, fertilizer, soil, plants - really - everything!)

Would have been much nicer to have baskets of flowers and sweet potato vine hanging in those spaces all summer.

I think the consensus is- Forget the Topsy Turvy Gimmick! Somebody made a fortune from we gardeners who are always looking for a better way- but fool me once------------ if I do any hanging maters in the future, they will be properly planted with their "feet" in a HB, and the plant allowed to grow to the sky, then trail down when it wants to!

Blight or no blight Topsy Turvey was a lot of work for less than stellar returns. I have the same basic feelings about the growing boxes. Large viney things need a field as large as their tops to send out enough feeder and support roots to carry the top growth. If one wishes to give twice a day care to grow them I feel the method would end up being closer to hydraphonics....so why not do hydraphonics in the first place to grow cardboard flavored and textured tomatoes with skins tough enough to make California to the East Coast?

My tomatoes tasted great (don't know what type other than medium size), but as others have noted the skins were somewhat thick. I figure with all the soil, water, fertilizer, the gizmo itself, the attachments for the gizmo, not adding time & effort, each tomatoe costs about $37.00! Don't think I'll do this again. :)

Next year's advertizing will feature about four "but waits". They have had their run. I figure give-a-way pricing about four for twenty bucks.
They are strictly a novel grow unless you might be using them in roof top or high rise porch cubby hole growing.

If this blight hangs around for years to come tomatoes will be very difficult for gardeners not wishing to use a constant spraying with various fungicides.