Success of the Topsy Turvey hanging planters.

Sounds like a great plan! I'd love to see how you retrofit the bags. Hope you do a picture-laden how-to!

Dadoo wrote:

boffer wrote:And I'm sure they're prettier than small five gallon buckets.

Irrigating Topsy Turveys can be a booger for sure; best of luck on your endeavor.

Er, ahem, yes they're prettier than the buckets... Plus my lovely wife would plant me in the garden if I hung those Lowe's silver buckets on the shepherd's poles.

Now I'd like to see a picture of the hanging buckets!

Boffer, do the vines on your plants break when they bear fruit? I tried an upsidedown planter I got at the Christmas Tree Shops last year and they did wonderfully- until the tomatoes got so heavy the vines broke. I was able to duct tape them back together and tie them up, but do others have this issue?

Maybe it has something to do with the kind of tomato. I had a Creole tomato in one last year, and had no trouble with the vines breaking. But they don't get bigger than medium-size, so maybe that's it.

Originally "topsy turveys" were the family-sized coffee cans hung from the roof eaves/gutters with wire .... and that was 50+ years ago.

As far as tomatoes went, it's my understanding that it was used primarily for bush varieties (determinates).

In the warmer climates with long growing seasons for toms'; I suspect a vining tomato would simply laugh at you & change directions back upwards, within a couple of days.

It's hard enough to keep vining toms' going straight up a stake or trellis if your mounting point isn't on a East/West axis. Another problem down here is the mildew/fungus-factor. I'd probably wager money against anyone trying to grow a indeterminate heirloom down here in zones 8-10 in one of those topsy-turvey set-ups. My guts tell me you'd either have a tangled broken mess (growing in the wrong direction), or be battling massive fungus attacks.

However, I have used the newer incarnations of the product for hybrid cherry varieties like Juliet and Sprite before.

I sent my friends in PI a topsy turvy and they say the tomatos are growing in a U shape. Probably indeterminate because the seeds that came with the kit croked after 2 weeks.

Kay

I tried one in a bucket last year. Had some cherry tomatoes but it is not easy to water. This year I was going to try a pvc pipe with holes and sand like I use in my strawberry pots. Thanks for the determinate idea Acara. I had an indeterminate last year and the vines would twist and grow back up after a few inches.
I had geraniums and thyme on the top of it.

For watering, I just run a 1/2" header out to the area, then run a 1/8" feeder line off that, up the pole or wall, down the wire and into the opening. I usually install a cut-off valve and dripper or mister head and tuck it into the top cover.

You can see the set-up in the top of this picture (coming down to the baskets);

My sister had a Topsy Turvey but it didn't go so well. We have since started calling them Topsy Turvey Tomato Killers.
I think I would rather have mine growing up a trellis.

I did have a couple of problems with that Creole tomato I mentioned in mine, though I don't know if it had anything to do with the Topsy-Turvey. It had a spider infestation (never seen that before), and the tomatoes below the center would get splits around the stem. I think this was due to the excess water draining out of the hole and all over the tomatoes.