I haven't done it and personally doubt it is worth the bother if you are actually wanting to grow many tomatoes. It is just one of those unusual, odd things that catches one's attention....sort of like the tree tomato or the aero-garden. People see the topsy-turvy tomato thing and want to try it for the sheer novelty of it. With a 5-gallon bucket, you'd need a really strong, well-anchored hook to support the weight of the bucket, soil, water, plant, etc. If it really were a worthwhile endeavor, everyone would grow them this way, and everyone does not. (smile) If you want to grow it as a conversation piece, or as a novelty or oddity, why not try it? Just don't have high hopes for a big crop. For what it's worth, if I were going to try it, I'd probably use a semi-determinate or determinate tomato (less total weight) and a small-fruited one at that (for better overall weight distribution). It will be really important to keep the thing well-watered, or any fruit it produces will be more prone to blossom-end rot than a tomato planted in the ground. (However, that is true of any tomato grown in any container--right side up OR upside down--as they tend to dry out more quickly.) Also, keep in mind that most places you'd hang a container might get too much shade and it will need lots of sun to produce ripe fruit. Good luck, Dawn

Since you did also ask "why it isn't great" ... I always wonder if anyone else is going to say this, but guess not, so maybe I'm alone in feeling this way. But gosh darn, to me those upside down pots just look so unnatural and unattractive. You're left looking at a plain ugly empty looking pot or pail at eye level. No leaves cascading over the edge to camoflauge or soften it. Maybe if there were some wave petunias or trailing lobelia planted on top that would hide the pot? But then they'd be competing with the tomato for nutrients. Aesthetically, I much prefer my plants right side up as nature intended. But each to his/her own.

Hi everyone, I want to experiment with "Upside-down" tomatoes this year but have one question that has not been answered on any of the posts I read. For upside-down planting, which type of tomato is best; determinate or indeterminate? I read about folks whose plants have broken off as they attempt to change direction and I wonder if that is because they planted the wrong type. I also read that many have a problem with water weeping on the stem and others who find it necessary to water multiple times per day. I will be trying out an idea for making the bottom of the container a reservoir by a method I have yet to devise, lol. If no one knows which type of tomato is better, I guess I will just have to plant one of each and let you all know after the harvest.

Carolb, are your macadamia nuts ripe in June? I've always thought of them as a late summer crop. Interesting. BTW, how do you plan to force them open? Do you have one of those special macadamia nut openers? Plllog, yeah, there's a lot of stuff down here that isn't well known in most of the US, and that list was only what's available for sale in June, not including the year-round stuff like mulberry, banana, papaya, etc,,, or the things that fruit and aren't sold because they're too delicate like muntigia calabura (Jamaican Cherry). And then there are the various medicinal fruits only available from specialty shops. When I look at the lists from the bigger nurseries I have to look up a lot of them, too.