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Cascading Tomatoes

Cascading tomatoes- Make your own Topsy-Turvy

Here’s an innovative way to grow tomato plants. You need a hanging basket 10″ or larger. Make a hole in the middle at the bottom of the basket just large enough to insert a tomato plant . Once you have made this hole, insert your tomato plant thru the hole planting it upside down. The root ball is now inside the basket and the plant hangs out from the bottom. Fill your basket with potting soil and a time release fertilizer and hang it in a sunny spot. I’m going to hang mine on a shepherd’s hook in my flower bed, where there is lots of sun and perhaps another on my deck so that I can have easy access to tomatoes when I need them. I’m sure we can all get creative as to where to hang these baskets, just make sure that they have sturdy support.  The plants can get heavy once they have tomatoes hanging on them.  A smaller variety of tomato such as “Patio Princess” would work better than your large beefsteak varieties due to the weight of the tomatoes. You can also try this method with a 2 liter plastic soda bottle .

So dig out your empty hanging basket from last year or recycle those 2 liter soda bottles and plant a tomato upside down.  If you don’t have an empty hanging basket there are specially designed containers such as the Topsy Turvy now available on the internet.
If you do try this method, please write back and let us know your success story.

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May 24th, 2006 | Tags: vertical gardening | Category: Garden Review, Tomato, VEGETABLES | 4 comments

4 comments to Cascading Tomatoes

• Kapusta

  February 18th, 2007 at 9:31 am · Reply

  Kapusta
  What fruits and vegetables can be planted in pots for city gardening?

  There are many vegetables and some fruits that can easily be grown in container. Vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, cucs, beans, lettuce, potatoes and fruits like strawberries, are easily adaptable to container gardening. The important part is choosing which ones you would enjoy growing. There are varieties that are specially bred to grow in containers and can be found in seeds catalogs which should be showing up this time of year. Some of the important things about container gardening is maintaining moisture in the heat of summer and providing ample nutrients (fertilizer)for fruit production. There are some great books on Container Gardening that can help you get started and the University Extension has some helpful publications as well.

  .

• Larry

  April 2nd, 2007 at 1:01 pm · Reply

  I am considering growing a few tomato plants in an area that gets only partial sunlight. Would it be advisable to supplement light from a grow lamp, when natural light is not available? What about the use of mirrors to reflect sunlight to shaded areas?

  HI
  Tomatoes need 8-10 hrs of full sun each day, plants will be weak and spindly and may not set fruit with 6 hrs or less . You can try the grow light and mirrors , they can provide additional light. I have never tried it. I would be interested in hearing what kind of results you get. My suggestion is (if you can) plant and tomato in a large pot (16inch or more) find the sunniest spot available and see what happens.

• G Shizzle

  May 16th, 2008 at 12:14 pm · Reply

  Kris,

  Thanks for all your sound gardening advice. I’ve recently seen ads for cascading tomato contraption, such as Topsy Turvey. Do you have any experience with these?

  Hi G.
  Up to date I have not tried the Topsy turvey. The novel concept has been around for years. It is a clever way to grow tomatoes on patios and balconies. You can actually make your own with a hanging basket or a tubular container that will hold soil such as a 2 liter plastic soda bottle. When I tried the basket method, I found that the roots dried out quickly (because of wider root surface exposure) and needed to be watered more often. You also need to fertilize more often because the nutrients drain out with the water. The most important factor is to have it hanging securely, once the plant gets heavier with tomatoes it can fall off and break. I’m really not sure what you get for $19.99 plus $8 s&h is it a plastic container and instructions? You still have to supply the plant, soil and food. Furthermore, I would be surprised if you get 30# of tomatoes.

• Denise

  June 14th, 2009 at 8:24 pm · Reply

  I am trying the topsy-turvy, but so far, I am not impressed. I bought two identical tomato plants, and put one in a large container and the other in the tt bag. The container tomato plant is now twice the size! The topsy-turvy plant has curled upward toward the sun (they receive equal sun as they are next to each other) but apparently, the bag shades the plants leaves and seems to cause it to stay much smaller. It has one flower and the container plant has seven. Anyone else find this? Any suggestions?

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