Comments on GardenDesk: Do Upside Down Tomato Planters Work?

I don't know about the upside-down tomatoes but I'...

2009-02-23T00:49:00.000-05:00

I don't know about the upside-down tomatoes but I'll enjoy watching their progress through you. =)

I will be watching to see how this does for you. I...

2009-02-20T12:55:00.000-05:00

I will be watching to see how this does for you. I saw a neat iron stand in Gardener's supply catalog that has arms to hold 3 or 4 of these...for a mere $99 or so, but it was very handome. :-)
I would worry about drying out in our hot summers.

I tried this a few years ago, like Scott, in a buc...

2009-02-19T15:22:00.000-05:00

I tried this a few years ago, like Scott, in a bucket with a hole in the bottom. I got a few tomatoes but the quality was poor and it wasn't worth the trouble. When I thought about it later, I realised tomatoes hate having their leaves wet and it often leads to wilt disease. I look forward to seeing how yours works, and I hope it's successful, but I doubt it will be anything like what you'll get from regular tomatoes.

I've been reading Jorge Garcia's blog (Hurly from ...

2009-02-18T13:58:00.000-05:00

I've been reading Jorge Garcia's blog (Hurly from the t.v. show LOST) recently and he loves to do consumer tests on things like this. He happens to have quite the green thumb himself. Here are his two posts on this product.

http://dispatchesfromtheisland.blogspot.com/search?q=topsy+turvy

And also, I have a neighbor who tried them with very poor results.

My sister loved hers - first-time use last summer,...

2009-02-18T02:17:00.000-05:00

My sister loved hers - first-time use last summer, hanging from the corner of a pergola on her deck. It had quite a large reservoir up top, so was easy to keep watered. It's best to choose a determinate-type tomato plant to grow in one.

forgot to mention I linked to your blog on my curr...

2009-02-17T16:44:00.000-05:00

forgot to mention I linked to your blog on my current post.

Instead of planting flowers in the top, leaving ex...

2009-02-17T14:10:00.000-05:00

Instead of planting flowers in the top, leaving exposed dirt to speed evaporation, couldn't a person just put the bucket's lid back on, with a small watering hole cut into it?

I am trying 3 of these this season because of my l...

2009-02-17T13:05:00.000-05:00

I am trying 3 of these this season because of my limited space. I am however trying a different version of this one that has a 4L reservoir on top to help keep the tom's moist. I would imagine the one without the reservoir would be difficult to keep from drying out in the summer heat.

here is the link to the one I am trying.

I like this idea, and in our moderate climate (it ...

2009-02-17T12:43:00.000-05:00

I like this idea, and in our moderate climate (it rarely gets really how here in NW Washington), they might work better than in hotter climates. We have such limited space, these upside down baskets might work well. We can hang them from our clothes line.

They're interesting but I can't get over how ugly...

2009-02-17T09:55:00.000-05:00

They're interesting but I can't get over how ugly they are. I garden to beautify my home not just to attain food. I find a tomato in a pot on the front porch just looks better than one hanging from a bucket.

I think it really does depend on your climate. Sev...

2009-02-17T09:48:00.000-05:00

I think it really does depend on your climate. Several people tried them around my neighborhood and they looked like champs coming out the game with strong stems and thick bushy leaf growth, they staggered to an unimpressive finish.

It appears that when our blazing hot summers really start cooking, so do the roots!

Do keep us updated on your progress with them. I'm really curious.

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/8783/img5803ce1...

2009-02-17T09:13:00.000-05:00

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/8783/img5803ce1.jpg

We grew some last year in these 5 gallon buckets, with a large hole drilled in the bottom for the tomato to come out (and petunias on top). We used the handle of the bucket to hang over the fence and hold it up. This picture was very early in the year. The flowers did great all season, the tomatoes were much less impressive than upright ones planted in containers that were sown at the same time. I think the hanging "idea" is great, but in practice there are several problems with it. The plant for several months was trying to grow straight up, making the stalk into a U shape. Once fruit set it weighed the plant down and grew all the way to the ground. It was a fun experiment but we won't be doing this again with tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes might have worked better, but to me its still not worth it. Maybe something like a cucumber would work better, but who knows. We were someone disappointed with our results, but hopefully yours goes better.

I like the idea, but in my dry climate I find hang...

2009-02-17T06:35:00.000-05:00

I like the idea, but in my dry climate I find hanging baskets very unforgiving. All it takes is one weekend out of town without watering, and they're toast.

I can run a soaker hose on a timer for the garden beds, but haven't figured out something reliable for hanging baskets.