I bought my upside down tomato planters from QVC. It's called Topsy Turvy. Not sure if it has a website or not. It has been on QVC often. I hang mine off the bottom of my deck, although before we moved, I used tree limbs close to the house. Doesn't seem to be that heavy. I estimate about 15 pounds. In fact, the way I check to see if the planters need watering is to just "lift one up" from underneath. If it's heavy, it's soaked. If it's light, it needs water. In summer, I have to water every day but it doesn't take long and because it's hanging off the deck, it's very easy to do. I have a bad back and it is so nice to NOT have to bend over or chop weeds.

I use the Topsy Turvy planter as well. You can also buy the topsy turvy from amazon.com. I'm growing some early girl varieties in the topsy turvy this year, and so far so good.
I have noticed though that the plant is curving to grow upward, and sometimes the leave that touch the bag itself die off fast.

Yes, tomatoes grown in Topsy Turvy do start out curving upward toward. As they mature, though, I've found they settle down slowly and end up growing beautifully beneath the gro-bag. Not sure what caused your leaf problem. I've found that growing tomatoes in the ground or in a hanging gro-bag, the BOTTOM leaves seem to die off first. I just use scissors to clip them off and the plant never misses them. My opinion is QVC seems to have better prices than Amazon.

upside-down planters work quite well, but the ones you can buy typically are too small for most tomatoes.

however, you can easily make your own upside-down planter using a 5-gallon bucket (or something bigger). it'll be heavier and thus need a sturdier support, but it works fine.

I do agree,a five gallon bucket will work. I grew some that way. Not very efficient, though. It was REALLY heavy, hard to hang up, took a LOT of potting soil $$$ to use and, frankly, it was ugly! The flexible vertical gro bags are much easier to use and are attactive. I haven't found them too small at all! Example: I grew a tomato in one that went down over five feet. I harvested over 80 tomatoes over the season from that ONE gro-bag. If you use a five gallon container, you might spray paint it green or beige and improve the looks. Also, be sure and drill DRAINAGE holes in bottom, too. Good luck!

Not very efficient, though. It was REALLY heavy, hard to hang up, took a LOT of potting soil $$$ to use and, frankly, it was ugly!

well, growing tomatoes in any container takes a lot of potting soil. with most tomatoes you want to use 5 gallons of potting mix, minimum. you can get away with less for smaller determinate types, but indeterminates can grow up to 8 feet tall and need lots of soil.

I've been doing a lot of reading on this and I'm seriously impressed. I've given some thought to what I'd hang them from and without getting too detailed it would look something like a clothesline shaped thing made out of wood with hooks. I'd like to site it away from the wind down the slope out back and run a hose for water.

While reading up on this method I saw some people planted herbs and such on the top part so there wasn't any wasted space liked that idea too. I'm wondering if I can't plant grapevines to run up this clothesline like an arbor as long as they don't cast too much shade but the location is by my leech bed not sure about that one.

I want to thank you for opening this thread because I had never seriously consider upside down tomato growing before.

I hope some of you are still watching this thread.

I'm new to this way of planting, but would like to try!
can someone steer me towards a site, or tell me exactly how to use and prepare a 5 gal bucket for hanging upside down and growing a tomato plant?

Thanks
Marcia

I've always wanted to try this but never have...still bookmarked several sites, so here you go. The first one is actually one of our forums and is about squash. The rest will provide the information you are requesting. Have fun!

Tom

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/lab/msg0316462626546.html

http://www.seedsofknowledge.com/tomato2.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_2070905_grow-easy-upside-down-tomatoes.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_2062318_grow-tomatoes-upside-down-bucket.html

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/tomatos.html

http://www.clubwisconsin.com/tomato/

http://www.gardengrapevine.com/TomatoUpsideDown.html

http://www.minifarmhomestead.com/gardening/tomato.htm

Re:Topsy Turvy Planter - How many tomato plants can you put in one container? And can they be re-used season after season? I just saw it advertised on QVC. I too have a bad back and problems with disease and bugs in the ground.
Thanks.
Clare

what are the topsy tervy bags made of? Are they plastic like garbage bags?

I thought about what to use that you had around the house/garden yourself, any old pot will do, depending on what size tomatoes you want to grow. I've just started bite size sweet cherry tomatoes, when they are big enough I will take a plastic terracotta pot put the plant in the hole, fill with dirt and water just like you would if the plant were in the pot instead of the hole. Of course I wish I thought of this way before, could have made a bit of money before everyone catches on that they don't need to send $20 to someone else LOL. I'll let you know how my idea works. I'm going to try it with my lettuce and basil plants, just one of each untl I see if it works. With my back this would be a lot easier, not to mention harder for squirrels and moles/voles to get our veggies.

Wow, I searched for a post using these words last week, came up empty and believed I had posted the question. I am delighted to find it now. I am so sick-up and fed with caging, tying, debuggifying and trimming all under aviary wire to keep my neighbor's rats off my tomatoes I can't stand it. It is a collossal waste of time, and we have no suitable place for the "florida weave" which looks tempting, and our yields stink. We are about to draft our unused industrial "pallet rack" as a tomato elevator/soil box on top with irrigation system, tomato hangs below, and aviary wire supported by rack. Thanks for these encouraging posts everyone!

IÂm sorry to say that I was gullible enough to try a ÂTopsy Turvy planter this past week on a lark. The water in the container constantly dripped down the plant (Yes, water is subject to gravity!) and kept both the stem and leaves coated 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.

I tried making my own containers out of kitty litter buckets...as seen on the above-referenced "minifarmhomestead" website. SO HEAVY!!! I had a double shepherd's crook that I thought would hold them...NOPE. Mine were so heavy that the only thing that would have held them was an old cast-iron clothesline pole. I just about killed off my plants, but was finally able to turn the containers over, remove the plants and plant them "right-side" up... I thought this would be good - enough experimentation for me. Next year, I'm going to go the "self-contained gardening system"
Funkmonk...that may work for you, too. And, there are many, many posts from Gardenweb folk that have used it successfully...the pics are amazing!

Here is a link that might be useful: Self-contained system

My Dad is trying the method of growing upside down this
year. He had blooms and small tomatoes before I did.
I am growing directly in the ground. His HAVE started to
curve up toward the sun but as they are getting a little
more developed they are starting to straighten out. He
didnt spend the money on TV type containers. We built them
ourselves from 5 gallon buckets, and a homeade post to
hold them. The post consists of a landscape timber placed
deep enough in the ground to support the weight of the
buckets. The whole thing basically looks like a double T
with four arms coming from the main pole with shelf brakets
to hang each bucket by. The brackets create a nice hanger
at the end as they already have a curved part. He has had
luck with the smaller type bucket as well which I think
is actually a 2.5 gallon bucket. Keep in mind this is the
first year so I cant say what yeilds will be. I will try
and keep yall posted as to the production of the plants.

One year I grew 2 varieties of cherry tomatoes in grow bags. I started seeds in APS grow starter-containers, then transplanted them to the bags. I hung the bags off my deck, in full sun. Worked out great, until they got invaded by tomato horn worms. The worms got more tomatoes than I did.

Hi, the peppers in sunsi's post at the top of the stream were mine. I love the topsy turvy bags but NOT for tomatoes. The topsy turvy's are too small and tomatoes need much more space and LOTS of water to form a root ball large enough to produce mature fruit. Either create your own, larger grow bag OR purchase the amazing tomato planter from Garden Supply warehouse ... I bought three last year and planted six plants. We harvested well over 900 tomatoes (NO ... I do not work for Gardener's Supply). The TTs are GREAT for peppers ... they grew well into the fall and produced hundreds of bell peppers. I am using the same bags from last year for peppers again and purchased four additional, different grow bags (from Gardener's Supply) to plant cucumbers. I'm trying to post pictures but have not been terribly successful. I'll keep trying ... the cucumbers look like they've caught ... keep your fingers crossed.

One recommendation: I set up a drip watering system on a timer. It cuts on every morning at 6am and stays on for an hour .... all of my plants get a half gallon of water placed directly into the root system each day. I have relatively hands off gardening -- tomatoes. peppers, cucumbers -- all season.

HERE ARE THE PICS: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=10hvee5e.bxubi3be&x=0amp;h=1&y=-lejrj8&localeid=en_US

Here is a link that might be useful: Vertical Planting

I got my mom a Topsy Turvy for Mother's Day - except for making the mistake of planting it and then trying to figure out how to get it to her house without crushing the seedling, it seems to be working out just fine. The water doesn't seem to be running down the plant at all - we'll just keep watching it I guess and see how it works out.
My fave greenhouse always has them hanging all over with different types of maters- the ones that aren't sold yet always look healthy and super productive, so I know that they can work.

Hi, I am new here and this is my first post.

This year I tried the Topsy Turvy Planter from QVC. All the tomatoes I planted in it are doing beautifully and have a few tiny tomatoes starting to form. I also planted 3 in the ground and they are also doing well.
It is very heavy and does have to be watered every day. I am just hoping to avoid diseases and pests and to stay one step ahead of the rodents that just won't go away.
My question is, should I prune the tomatoes? I never have, but I am wondering if it will keep them from getting too large.

OK, I tried it, we will see how it goes. So far it looks like my tomatoes in the ground look better than the one that is hanging upside down. I'm linking to my blog which has pictures of what I did. I hope it works out!

Here is a link that might be useful: upside down tomatoes

Byf, how much soil is in your hanging basket? Seems like there is not room for very much. You may want to put some mulch or something on top to hold in as much water as possible.

Ive done the topsy turvy bit and had moderate success.
You do have to be careful not to soak the plants when you first hang them as the excess water can drain through and destroy the plant as mentioned above, but if you're careful you'll be okay. Best to use soilless container mix.
My main problem with them (for me) is that once the plant starts getting fruit and its weight gets sufficient to pull the plant back toward the ground, the main stem is prone to splitting. This happened to every single one of mine (I have 4 TT planters, and have used them twice each) but the plant still produced tomatoes. The yield however was not so hot.
And critters still managed to get at the plants and tear into my crop.
But Ill be doing another batch in the fall, try peppers then too.
The TT version is definitely reuseable but the foam gasket and foam water 'spreaders' dont hold up. The spreaders are optional (and Im not sure they help much anyway) and the gasket you can make yourself.

jsvand5 ,

Perhaps you may ask me later as I am using 14" wire baskets upside down this year I am growing full sized indeterminate like brandywine and better boy.. I am also a square foot gardener so I don't really believe the space estimates some people give like 5 gallon buckets being necessary(though I do use these on the ground because I pull them out of a green house as is this way). I had a beef steak in a square foot that did just fine and that is 12" X 12" X 6" inches deep last year. The hanging basket has much more space than that. If anything the plants will be just a little smaller and what I consider to be "free air space" anyway. I did use water absorbing crystals to offset the watering needs. I am also using leaf mulch that I kept from fall . I am considering trying a wicking system at some point. On the plus side wire baskets will cool the tomatoes on the hotter days much better than plastic for those varieties not build for the 90s. They also look much better. I used $20 close line poles to hang them.

We shall see.

My husband got me a topsy turvy for Christmas and I planted it up this spring. All was going well, until we had one night of unexpected wind. I had it hanging on a bracketed plant hook that was installed into my house siding when I moved in. The wind pulled the heavy TT bracket and all off the house. The bag committed herbicide by crushing the plant to death and then suicide by bursting at the seams. Not my best planting experiment. Since the bracket didn't work out, I think I will plant in containers or directly in the ground in the future. I just don't have a sturdy enough solution for hanging the bag. And I don't want to spend the money to attempt another experiment.

jsvand5,

I think it is a 14" basket, and I'm kind of concerned about the roots popping out the top, I will throw some mulch on the top, great idea. Thanks!

i tried making one...used a five gallon bucket, left it right side up for a few weeks until the tomato was a foot tall, then flipped it upside down carefully. At first it was great.
then, when i water it, (i guess i over water it), water starts dripping down the stem (which is near straight). the growing tip got soaked and then it wilted off. then the whole plant started to die.

how do you make it so water doesnt drip??? or should i just not water it too much...

my second bucket, when i was flipping it with my brother, he dropped the thing...

I am using topsy turveys right now and they are looking pretty good. I only get 5 to 6 hours a day for them but they are growing and flowering quite well. I think one key might be to plant larger plants. They are sturdier and don't seem to succumb as easily if water drips onto them. But for the most part I get very little drippage from the bottom. If you water in the morning it will dry by the time the sun hits the plants, keeping what few diseases you may have down to a minimum. I will try to post pictures of mine later today for those who doubt that this can work. I'm not saying it's the best way, but some people don't have a choice.

what does it feel like they're made out of?? could it be the weed barrier?? i've never owned one or even seen one. LOL but surely you could make your own, and i do think that i saw that you could poke holes in the weed barrier where you wanted your flowers/plants to grow. so couldn't you make one of those things out of that material?? its supposed to breathe, i think i read. medo who's into homemade things!!!!! LOL **big grinn**

A friend and I were were fascinated with this idea. He bought two topsy turvy planters. I on the other hand am a DIY guy, so built a box on legs. Stood it holes, and planted the tomatoes upside down thru holes, filling it with good soil. I water them daily and they are doing GREAT; FAR better than his tospy turvy's, which he is disappointed he bought. We believe it is the difference in drainage.I had my concerns at first because the plants want to reach up for the sun; but now the weight of the tomatoes growing has gently forced them to straighten out. The stocks are very strong; and I'm excited about a surprisingly prolific result! Good luck and good gardening!

This is how I'm growing my upside down tomatoes.

http://www.instructables.com/id/how-to-plant-hanging-upsidedown-tomatoes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss

Instead of using plastic buckets, use hanging coco baskets! this is much more attractive and you also won't have the problem of having water dripping down your plants as the coco liner drains itself. You can also buy a really big coco basket and put in two plants. Time and money saving!

are the coco baskets working out? do you think you could do peppers in them?

I am trying coco baskets. So far so good. I think you could definitely do peppers in them btw.

What I worry about is water and so far there is a downside to the look on my wicking implementation. A cotton cloth sits in the middle of the pot and dips into a suspended gallon jug. it detracts a little from the appearance I think I would like a more elegant design. I think a 1 liter bottle attached to the post might like much nicer but I will work on it and see of I can get some pictures. It does seem to help keep the pot moist.

I'm using the topsy turvy planters to grow cucumbers and tomatoes. Both very successful. I make my own potting mix, using about 50% coconut coir, 40% compost, and 10% perlite. Using commercial potting soil makes for a VERY heavy load. The coir and perlite are very light when dry, but hold LOTS of water.

Mine are growing very well, can anyone tell me how to post pictures? I've also started growing basil and a few different herbs on top.

is there a fertilizer that is in the stores you can use on tomato plants? and bell pepper plants...I am new at growing...

The Topsy Turvy with STAND sold on QVC and elsewhere has been recalled.

The stand collapses under the weight of the load as the tomato gets larger.

I believe I read it first in my Consumer Report Magazine but I just googled for more info to post a link.

Here is a link that might be useful: TT stand recall

barby692222,

You are generally safer using mixed compost. Bagged mushroom compost, manure etc. You don't have to worry about the quick release nitrogen causing harm this way. If this is your first year there are certainly fertilizers that are specific to tomatoes and simply follow the directions but be very careful because is can go wrong with too much and you may burn or simply end up with foliage and no fruit.
Over the long term fertilizers can cause salt to build up in the soil which can eventually leave it unable to produce.Since I have invested in high performance soil mixes I don't want to have that issue. It will also tend to make your soil less biologically active compared to compost and biologically active soil tends to suppress common diseases.Chitin fed compost(egg shells) is supposed to be a counter measure against nematodes for example.
Check out composting yourself and you can start this year to make it available next year or even buy one of those compost makers and accelerate the process.
My compost contains coffee grounds(and are a must for vermicompost, it is an earth warm magnet ), pine needles,leaves, wood ash, powdered egg shell, grass, weeds(avoid seeds especially in cold or vermicompost) , kitchen scraps, tea bags etc. Its also cheaper.
If you are eager to get started I don't see anything wrong with using fertilizer and some people may prefer it. Growing hydroponic and/or soilless growing does this quite regularly.

Upside down wire basket Toms

The thing I am most concerned with is water. So I built a self watering prototype from assorted junk with a roma growing out of my cold compost(what's to lose? The potted one behind it is another volunteer). I will space restrict it to see how well it can do. I used a yogurt container with a section of old garden hose as a funnel into a plastic water bottle with a shrink wrapped cotton cloth wick. Its fastened with reversible plastic ties.
{{gwi:36928}}

This is a shrink wrapped cotton cloth wick with a gallon reservior into the upside down wire basket.
{{gwi:36929}}

I am also trying this with a smaller bottle . I will add another one as well for a total of three bottles. I will be adding mulch for summer.

{{gwi:36930}}

Without the shrink wrap the small bottles were nearly dry on a hot day. I refill with a funnel.

I have a narrow strip of good sun so any production will be what was otherwise not possible. So far the Toms are quite happy.

I planted my first upside down tomatoes in coco baskets and the very next day they were trying to right themselves by turning and growing up. I kind of felt bad that it seems to be going against mother nature to make them hang upside down.!

Concerning the "Topsy Turvy" planters being recalled by QVC. The units are defective but the repair is simple. I recieved mine and had already planted them before I recieved a call from QVC stating that there was a problem and the manufacturer was working on a repair. I had already noticed that the lower legs could pull out causing the collapse of the legs, so I cut a 9 1/4" piece of 3" pipe and placed this under the unit holding the legs into the stand and taking some of the weight off of the legs. The two that I have are working very well and have endured "straight line winds" of 60mph the other night here in Kansas City. I have been using two of the hanging upside down units for over two years with excellent results.

Hello bear9,

This was what I used. http://www.target.com/Whitney-Design-Steel-T-Leg-Clothesline/dp/B000JYAQJ2

I used soil and stones and shimmed it in with wood lath. I would rather not make them permanent. They don't budge a bit. They do not have a great ornamental quality but the utility is quite good for $22 a pole.

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.

You might want to try a tumbling variety, but I don't think it matters whether it's determinate or indeterminate personally. I've only done indeterminate and that works fine for me so I don't see why determinate wouldn't work.

In the free spreadsheet being offered on this forum, these varieties are listed as being appropriate for baskets:

Yellow Canary
Tumbling Tom
Aunt Ruby's German Cherry
Whippersnapper
Tumbler
Lollipop
Florida Basket
Red Robin
Tiny Tim
Micro Tom

Below is a cool picture of the variety Tumbler.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Tumbler tomato picture

I've seen the new Topsy Turvy Tomato Trees that they're advertising on infomercials this year.

Similar in design to the previous ones, but the bags are larger and now have 3 holes coming out of the sides rather than one hole coming out of the bottom.

Seems as though the holes being on the sides instead of on the bottom might solve the problem of the water draining down the stems?

Here is a link that might be useful: www.topsytree.com

So what are the disadvantages and advantages of upsidedown vs regularly grown tomatoes? Most importantly, is there a taste or quality difference?

That TT with the holes on the sides costs nearly $60!!!

You can get the TT with three holes at QVC for much less. I used it last year and really liked it. My sister liked hers so much I got her another one for her birthday this year.

My recommendation for the three holed TT is to put something smaller such as a pepper plant in one of the holes to prevent the tomatoes from becoming root bound. I made the stupid mistake of putting both a Matt's Wild Cherry, a Solar Fire and a Cherokee Purple in it last year.

this link has been helpfull for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: GrowingTomatoes Upside Down