On Mar 28, 11:03*am, PhoenixWench wrote:
z wrote:
On Mar 23, 9:24 pm, Charlie wrote:
On Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:28:10 -0700, Billy
wrote:

In article , Charlie wrote:
On Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:30:02 -0500, Jangchub
wrote:
On Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:44:36 -0400, "Not@home" wrote:
A few years ago I only saw the inverted tomato planters on late night TV
ads (the kind where the pitch man screams at you) and figured they were
a gimmick. *But now they are showing up in the more reputable catalogs I
get.
Do these work? *I'm tempted because we live in a city with limited
garden space, and apparently these could be used on a porch or patio.
i am trying one this year. *I have a tomato plant growing in it now in
the greenhouse and by the weekend it will be moved out of the
greenhouse. *It is growing very quickly and healthy.
I think this will prevent a lot of diseases which splash up onto the
foliage from the ground. *I'll be interested to see how well it does.
If it does well I am going to make more using those IKEA bags which is
basically the same material the Topsey Turvey is made of.
Victoria
For those who aren't too picky about looks, I've done this with a
five-gallon bucket, using a wad of spaghnum to hold the initial root
ball and plug the one inch hole I cut.
Charlie
And? What did you think of the results? Giving up dirt?
Not as bad as I expected, but not as good as ground 'maters. *I had
the water problem Val mentioned. *They are sorry looking things, fer
sure...like some animal hung up ready to be gutted. *From a distance,
without the specs on, they looked like a mossy octopus hanging from
the rafters.

I plant indeterminate 'maters, so they hang clear to the ground. *I
would imagine that a determinate variety would at least look purrtier.

I only did that one year....since, I've planted cherry 'maters right
side up in hanging buckets and let them drape down, covering and
shading the bucket. *The cherries do very well this way, and have the
benefit of not having to train/tie/stake them upwards for six to ten
feet. *I ran a piece of split garden hose around the rim to soften the
angle of the dangle. *Still takes a lot of watering and fish juice,
etc.

Giving up dirt? *Not a chance, just trying to grab a little more
growing area on our small spot.

Charlie- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

yeah, that's what I was thinking; seems like there would be more
mechanical problems with the whole upside down process, and i can't
see any advantage over having a suspended bucket and letting them
drape down like you said.

definite advantage in not having to worry about those persistent
diseases in the soil; disadvantage in that buckets need a lot more
attention to the soil because of their small capacity.

If you don't mind a first time poster sticking her nose in, I used these
last summer with great results, but...

While the plants did very well - we got tons of sweet tomatoes with no
weeding - there were a few hiccups to deal with.

First, the screws they supplied to hang the planters were so dull we had
a lot of difficulty getting them securely into the eave even after
pre-drilling. We wound up only using one of the supplied screws - the
other planter we hung from a convenient existing bolt.

That aside, the planters get ungodly heavy when full of dirt, so once we
had the plants installed we only 1/3 filled the plater - just enough to
immobilize the plants - then finished filling them once they were
hanging - not easy but the only practical solution.

That weight also means selecting a site with a sturdy location to drill
into that can handle both the weight of the planter full, but the
additional weight when you water.

Watering requires a bit of effort too - small opening in that protective
lid, so a narrow-gauge waterer with a bend is handy - hubby made one out
of copper tubing.

I also used the Miracle Grow Moisture retention soil for the reasons
noted. I still grow most of my toms in buckets, mostly because I change
the soil every year and avoid the problems associated with planting the
same crop in the same soil. The 'used' soil gets recycled into a new
heap for other uses - usually the flower garden raised beds.

Oh, and Hello :-)
I garden in the Catskills, and as a recent transplant to the region have
a lot to learn about the this area, its capabilities and limitations,
which is why I decided to join this group - to pick all the brains I can
find :-)

My previous gardening experience was all on Long Island and while we may
be in the same state the differences are sometimes daunting :-/

Anyway, pleased to meetcha!!! My other main hang-out is alt.callahans,
so I haven't changed my sig stuff - but my name is Sylvia.

And, from having been over there for a few years, I may say that she
is a kind, helpful, and interesting person to communicate with.

cheers

oz