Comments on: Cascading Tomatoes

By: Lois

Lois — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:40:09 +0000

If you have nothing else to do but take care of the topsy turvy, it is great! If you don’t drip water it every day, twice a day, you get bottom end rot. My tomatoes were small and few but the pepper plant is thriving in it. After 2 attempts at it, I give up and will try container gardening with a resevoir so that I can go away for a weekend without getting a babysitter for my tomato plant!

By: Sheila

Sheila — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:35:25 +0000

I tried the Topsy-Turvy this year. I planted a determinate called Banana Legs and there were tons of them. However, I thought they were tasteless and I ended up feeding them to the chickens. There were a couple of times the plant wilted, but it always recovered. I will try again next year, or maybe even this fall ( I have a couple of volunteers that are transplant size ) The good thing was that it was not touching the ground and therefore was away from predators. Something is eating the tomatoes I planted in the ground. I may also try cucumbers next year and rig up some kind of wire frame for them to climb on.

By: Franne

Franne — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:27:15 +0000

I tried the Topsy-Turvey this year with dismal results. I am usually a pretty good gardener overall, and the concept for this seems to be a good idea. However, no matter what I did (or didn’t do), it did not result in having any tomatoes at all except for a few runty puny ones.. My dad had great success with his. I did not. The plant was spindly and did not produce as well as I had hoped. It’s an expensive idea that has limited success. I will try it again next year and hope for the best. This year was over and done with early because of the poor results I experienced.

Thanks for the comment! Frannie.

By: Carol

Carol — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:53:44 +0000

I have a topsy-turvy planter. Green peppers in the top and a tomato growing out the bottom. The peppers are doing much better than the tomato. I have about 6 peppers of medium size. I’ve picked about 4 very small tomatoes and don’t expect to get much more. The plant seems to have stopped growing and is not flowering anymore. I have been feeding it time released food and cont’d watering, and lots of sun.

HI Carol
You may have to feed your plants a little more. With plants growing in both directions, they may have depleted the soil and there’s not enough nutrients to keep them going.

By: Denise

Denise — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 03:24:26 +0000

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?

By: G Shizzle

G Shizzle — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:14:57 +0000

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.

By: Larry

Larry — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 20:01:41 +0000

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.

By: Kapusta

Kapusta — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 16:31:06 +0000

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.