I have never tried on of these, but am thinking about trying one for strawberries as well. Ive got a huge veggie garden and just dont have room for strawberries. Ive heard from people that they arent very useful. Ima keep checking up on this post to see if i should invest in one, let me know how yours goes!

Lots of discussions on these things all over the GW forums that a search will pull up for you if interested.

As austin said, most don't find them to be even close to what they are cracked up to be - no matter what you try to grow in them.

Dave

I did a forum search and found a long thread on Topsy Turvy hanging planters.

From what I can gather, they can work, but they are fickle.

Some complaints about the planters:

-weight
-need to water daily
-the actual hanging planters don't always stand up to the elements.

Many people had their pics posted, and some people had success. No one seemed to have tremendous success. I am trying the strawberry planter, which has the strawberries grow out the side and not the bottom. I haven't seen anything in any of the posts about how TT planters grow strawberries. I guess I will find out as time goes on.

Here is the link to the other TT post.

Here is a link that might be useful: TT Planters

Either way if you enjoy it its worth while. The main things to remember is use plenty of soil and make sure it gets plenty of light. Since its above ground it gets heated from all sides, moisture will be a challenge and when you plants get really going you may water more than once per day! The plants will grow if you pay attention to its needs; water, nutrients and sun!

I had a few topsy turvey planters when I lived in an apartment and had no place else to garden. I had minimal success. One year a couple pepper plants did well, but the next year everything was a failure
As far as the strawberry planter, I had NO success with that. It was very frustrating to get the plants to go all the way in the holes. I never felt like they took root in the soil. Watering was a major problem, because the water didn't seem to go throughout the soil. Lastly, mid-way through the season, the whole bag ripped at the top due to the weight, and fell to the ground. That ended my strawberry growing for the season. For all the investment in buying strawberry plants and soil, I got maybe 10 or 15 strawberries. Sorry to give a bad review, since you've already started, I hope you have better luck!
I now have a house with a yard, and have a small strawberry patch :)

i was at a solar exibition where I learned about stack gardening. This is my term but essentially the containers are stacked on top of each other so all your space is vertical. These are pretty innovative and rely on a limited amount of soil. I tried that this year but the weight of the planters was too much for the bottom planter so I ditched it. I will try in the fall for my lettuces and smaller veggies I just need more research. The web is amazing for that.

Here is a link that might be useful: one example but I am making my own

I am now placing my Topsy Turvy planter on a plastic deck chair. I thought about hanging it, but it just seems leave it exposed to the mercy of the wind and rain.

Also, like I said before, I did not fill all 15 holes with strawberry plants, just eight. I've put all eight plants on one side (the "front" side) and have the back resting against the chair. I am keeping my planter on my balcony deck because the deck gets more sun for longer periods of time. I am hoping with less plants, the water and nutrient issue won't be such a factor. I am spraying Teracycle's Worm Poop fertilizer on the strawberry plants. I might also put it in the watering can so nutrients are replenished. Lastly, because I am not hanging the planter, I can pull the top off and make sure I water the top soil evenly. I can already tell this makes a difference in how the water is distributed. The extra water is draining out the bottom instead of the sides where the strawberry plants are stuck.

I'm not sure if any of these things will make a difference, but I figured it can hurt to try to address the issues people have brought up with the planters in the past.

My other solution is to take out some of the strawberry plants out and place them in a metal bin I have on my deck. I didn't intend to use this bin for gardening, but it is a nice size and would allow the roots to go deep.

Sounds like a big waste and an unnecessary hassle. I just took a look at the strawberry topsy turvy online. That is one cheap-looking plastic gimmick! Can you even reuse it?...that is to say, if the plastic bag does not rip.? Is the plastic bag some sort of garbage-bag material? How much do they charge for this thing? Âdid I mention eyesore?

If youÂre just going to end up sitting the topsy turvy on the ground anyway (or on a chair)...then you would fare much better with a traditional strawberry planter, pictured below. They are sturdier, very inexpensive, and can be reused.

Or, if youÂd rather hang your strawberries, you could use one of many types of regular hanging baskets, also pictured below. They are inexpensive, sturdier, and reusable as well.

My neighbor was also unsuccessful with her -tomato- topsy turvyÂs last year. So she tried the same thing ~ setting them upside-down on the ground...but they were already dying anyway. Zero tomatoes for her. She says she will definitely use regular containers this year...

Bottom line: itÂs a great TV gimmick, with extremely successful advertising.

"Consumption. This is the new national pastime. F**k baseball, it's consumption, the only true, lasting American value that's left . . . buying things . . . People spending money they don't have on things they don't need . . . So they can max out their credit cards and spend the rest of their lives paying 18 percent interest on something that cost $12.50. And they didn't like it when they got it home anyway. Not too bright, folks, not too f**kin' bright." ~George Carlin

LOLOLOL

Mr. Topsy Man is laughing all the way to the bank.

Organicislandfarmer ~ that is an awesome stack in your link, by the way.

star stuff - I get have more than likely wasted my money, but since I have already invested in the Topsy Turvy, I am going to try to make the best of it.

* Posted by star_stuff Greensboro NC 7 (My Page) on
Wed, Apr 21, 10 at 19:38

Organicislandfarmer ~ that is an awesome stack in your link, by the way.

thanks, so far so good, getting lots o berries!

I tried one for tomatoes. It was going well so I bought two more and put in a pepper and another tomato. I found that was premature. First, the thing that holds the plant in the planter is a split sponge. That stays moist if you are watering and means that the stem of the plant also stays moist more than normal. The real issue though was wind. One night the wind kicked up and three plants sheered off at the base. I planted in the ground with the next plants and they did awesomely well. The Topsy Turvy did not fare so well. They are dead and deservedly so.

If tomatoes and strawberries were meant to grow upside down, they would be trees and not plants.
Just my 2¢...but I understand they'd have some use for those with space issues.

This is what I'm going to try for strawberries this year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hanging basket

I'm trying strawberries in one this year. So far so good, but I just put them in the planter about a week ago. I tried tomatoes and peppers in them (the traditional ones with the growing hole in the bottom) last year with mixed results. The cherry tomatoes did ok. Regular tomatoes did not produce much. Habaneros produced really well, but a New Mexico chile did not produce at all. Tomatoes and peppers don't seem to like growing upside down too much. I am trying both a strawberry planter and a pepper planter with side ports this year. We shall see . . .

My strawberries appear to be going strong growing out the side of the Topsy Turvy. As I mentioned earlier, I only put in 8 strawberry plants, not 15. I have the TT planter sitting on a chair facing the sun. At last count my 8 plants have about 35 strawberries between them. One Strawberry is partially red already.

I am extra diligent about watering and fertilizing. For most of my veggies I use a spray fertilizer once a month, sometimes more depending on the plant, but my strawberries get a good spray once a week. I thought this might be overdoing it, but since the strawberries keep coming, I'm not worried. My spray fertilizer is a 2-1-1 solution.

I thought about this since for some reason I cannot seem to get strawberries to grow. Lots of nice leaves, no strawberries. I wondered if one of these (without the foam insert)would do the job...