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Vegetable Gardening

Upside down tomatoes

13 years ago

I have for 3 years tried to grow upside down tomatoes. They do real good at first. They try to grow up like nature wants and come from under the container and keep growing up for maybe a foot or more. The vine gets so heavy that it starts going down and twist because of the weight of the vine. When it starts going down is when it stops doing good. You can look at the stalk and where it bends up to grow up, this is where it it re bends to go down and it damages the stalk right there. Any thoughts. Anyone have luck growing them? I have hung some small weights on them this year to try to keep them going down. Whatcha think about that?

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Comments (7)

2fennelshirts
13 years ago
If you have room to plant them in the ground, do so, you'll get more tomatoes off of one plant in the ground then you would growing 3 plants upside down! Do the test.
kriswrite
13 years ago
I don't know anyone who's had real luck growing tomatoes upside down. Part of the problem is tomatoes need LOTS of root room. They are also heavy feeders, and it just seems impossible to give them enough water and nutrients in those little containers.
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Jerry, They look great. I didn't know you were doing that. All of my tomatoes this year are in raised beds in cages. I have been thinking of ways to do the same thing next spring except in five gallon buckets hanging from my cucumber trellis. I just like to play with stuff. I like the pots you use because it adds a decorative effect to the whole thing. We did pick and eat our first (two) ripe tomatoes today. They were great. Every year it seems after we eat the first ripe tomato, we are soon flooded with tomatoes. I'm looking forward to it. Ted
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IÂm sorry to say that I was gullible enough to try one on a lark this past week. The water in the container constantly dripped down the plant (Yes, water is subject to gravity!) and kept both the stem and leaves drenched 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.
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Reporter looking for gardeners who've tried the upside down tomato planters that are so popular right now. What was your experience with them? Where did you set them up - on a patio in the city or in another situation? Did you get a lot of tomatoes? Did the planters hold up? Did you have to water a great deal? Would you recommend them - and if so, to whom?
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digdirt2
13 years ago
It is a just gimmick and one that ample folks have discovered the hard way, doesn't work. A search using 'upside down tomato' pull up 50+ discussions of folks who have been mislead into trying this. So after 3 years of trying why not give up on it and plant your tomato plant normally?

Please don't buy into all the hype and rigged photographs the advertisers use with these things.

Dave
ldj1002
Original Author
13 years ago
I do have the room and have 6 plants out. I just thought it would be interesting to try. BTW, which way do the roots grow? If they grow down then the plant would probable be root bound and never grow above the original root ball.
bluebirdie
13 years ago
I tried to grow tomato up side down a few years back when most of my yard was still blessed with Ivy from the previous owner. I only tried cherry/grape type tomato but even those did poorly.

After a few years of evacuating ivy, I now grow tomato in raised beds on the hill. Haven't looked back since.
msplankton
13 years ago
it's fun to experiment, and you may want to choose a petunia to grow! i was given the plastic one to find it was manufactured in China, which doesn't have the best safety record. so, i grow my tomatoes in soil i know about, and pretty flowers in the other. good luck!
seysonn
13 years ago
I fully agree with msplankton.
Three years ago I did just that; planted cascading petunia
on the top. I did not buy any kit. I just made my own from a green color 5-gal bucket. Another draw back of this is that sometime in hot days, you have to water them twice.
Even If I did not have garden space, I would not plant tomatoes upside down. I woul rather plant them in the same container size as a hangimg basket. Also, I would plant small fruited tomatoes like cherry or roma, not a mortgage lifter. hehe

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