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.

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?
--

- Billy
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is
now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of
conception until death." - Rachel Carson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI29wVQN8Go

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072040.html

I haven't used them but my son has grown his tomatoes with the upside down
planters for two years now. He started out with two, last year he had six,
this year he plans on hanging ten along the rafters of his patio cover since
it faces south and gets full sun all day. He's had great success with them.
He uses Miracle Grow Moisture Control potting soil. He said he had a problem
keeping the plants watered the first year so used the moisture control the
second and it worked out very well.

Val

"Not@home" wrote in message
...
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.

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.

In article ,
PhoenixWench wrote:


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.

Happy gardening :-)

Welcome Sylvia !

Bill

PS You write well.

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA

We have 5% of the world's population; we have 25% of the world's
known prison population.

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 have tried them but found them to be more of a gimmick than as great
as they are advertised to be.

If you are tempted to try them don't buy the overpriced ones you see
advertised. Use the suggestions that others have posted to make your
own. And, as others have said, use some mix that retains moisture well.
I found that smaller tomatoes (the "cherry" varieties) work better
than the larger ones.
--
Bill R. (Ohio Valley, U.S.A)

"You are never to old to play in the dirt"

To see pictures from my garden visit http://members.iglou.com/brosen

Digital Camera - Pentax *ist DL

Remove NO_WEEDS_ in e-mail address to reply by e-mail

On Mar 23, 4:44*pm, "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.

Harder to water plants when they're above your head. Even harder
when the plants need LOTS of water, such as beefsteak tomatoes.

For patios or porches, try an Earthbox-type subirrigation planter.
Cheaper homebuilt from Rubbermaid totes than purchased.

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

Well, the results are in on this device, probably not scientifically
accurate as I only had one, and it was, around here, a lousy year for
vegetables in general, with out very first ripe tomato coming in the
week of September 15.

I start seedlings inside under lights, so I had enough of the same
species at the same size to plant one in the inverted device, two in a
large pot on the patio, and eight in the garden. There are a number of
these devices, and the one's they carry in the garden centers around
here are flimsy, but cheap; I got one through a catalogue and it seemed
sturdy and well made, but with the device, the recommended soil, and the
recommended fertilizer, it came to about $50.

I have an irrigation system that waters the garden twice a week; the pot
on the patio and the inverted device had to be watered by hand (not easy
as it is elevated and thirsty).

The first ripe fruit was from the pot on the patio (it has good
sunlight, while my neighbor's trees keep growing and are starting to
shade my garden. The next fruits (larger and more abundant, were from
the garden. The inverted device produced only three tomatoes, two small
and one normal, and seemed to fade quickly. One day I went out and the
plant was gone. My wife, fed up with watering it, had pruned it out of
existence (she couldn't take down the device as it is quite heavy and I
had elevated it, anticipating that the vines would prosper and drag on
the ground. Incidentally, now that summer is over, we have a good crop
of tomatoes, but the ones that develop in the cooler weather never seem
to get tender.

So I would say that the inverted device doesn't work, or at least it
only works to separate you from some of your money. For next year, I'm
going to put my efforts into convincing my neighbor that his trees are
damaging the roof on his garage and should be cut down.

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.