How to plant hanging upsidedown tomatoes Anyone????

[Cackling Hen]

Quote:
Thanks think I will try this have the glass water things I like the 2 in one basket

 

[silkiechicken]

Never tried hanging a 5 gallon bucket but have grown them out of a bucket. Cherry types tend to do the best for me in the restrictive root bound state they tend to get by the end of the season. The slicers and romas tend to just get leafy and not produce much for me in a small 5 gallon container. I start seeds in Feb, and don't "plant out" till late may in Everett, transplanting in larger containers 3 times during their indoor stay to get tomatoes late fall, half of which will always get killed and lost to frost while green. I've found siberia, early girl, and the cherries to do the best in our short cool summers outside in the soil. I've only done buckets down here in oregon on the balcony of the condo.

As for watering the plants... In the heat of summer in corvallis OR, I doubt a glass bulb would be nearly enough water. I was giving each 5 gallon bucket a GALLON milk jug of water every day in the summer! And none of my buckets have drain holes because of downstairs balcony.

Late may

Late august

 

[Cackling Hen]

WOW those are beautiful All I want is one darn tomatoe I can grow anything But when it comes to tomatoes I get nothing I do have a little luck with the cherry tomatoes Ok time for a plan

 

[Jx2inNC]

Don't know if you are still needing help or not.. I don't have any ideas on a "pretty" tomato hanging setup, wish I did! We did have the green topsy turvey tomato planter thing last year and it worked great. The plant did grow upwards towards the sun, but with time it will start to grow down as well. We had a VERY long plant, so if you do one of these you will want to hang it high... I believe we had it hanging on a power pole headheight (about 5'7 for me) and it grew all the way to the ground. make sure you plant the tomato plant deep and choose a plant that does not have any blooms yet. If you choose a plant that is too mature it probably won't do as well. As for the bugs, they will still attack. Have you tried using Seven dust, or do you prefer not to use any pesticides? The marigold idea someone posted earlier is a good idea. We are trying it out this year. The topsy turvey instructs you to water often as tomatoes are 80% water. I believe we watered it every night (when it was very hot and not raining) and used a 2 quart tea pitcher. Hope this helps, somewhat!

 

[natsum1978]

I tried hanging tomatoes this year and they are OK. I used two of these kits http://www.gardeners.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Gardeners-Site/default/Link-Product?sku=38-599. They are kind of spendy and I wish I hadn't tried it. The plants turn upward and look like hell. They do have tomatoes on them and are producing but look horrible.I am just going to stick to growing them in the ground from now on.

 

[DuckLady]

Quote:
I filled mine about 2/3 of the way and then planted tall marigolds in the top. I used cast iron hooks made by Cetawin's hubby and they held great.

 

[happychickengirls]

I have used the topsy tomato planters for the last three years. I have to say I did not have much luck with them. Although cherry tomatos seemed to do better than the big tomatos. They always curved upward towards the sun. It is just natural if you think about it. Plants will always bend their leaves toward the sun. I honestly said good-bye to all of them this year and put them in my tagsale.
Bye- Bye and off they went! I am back to a little garden of just tomato plants. I did want to mention that to fill the hole in the bottom they used a sponge with a slit cut into the side. This kept the dirt from coming out and you were then able to slide the tomato plant through the slit to the hole. They also recommended using dish soap mixed with water. You pour this into the soil and I guess it fills in the gaps of the soil. It sounds weird I know but thats what the directions called for. They were quite heavy also. Anyway thats my experience with the topsy turvy planters. Good luck to you and your tomatoes!!!!

 

[chrissum]

This out of the sister site, the easy garden:
http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=24932&p=4
They used dog food bags, the whole thread was interesting.....

 

[domino7]

To me it's just another gimmick. I've seen many of them in backyards I work in. I really don't see any advantage.

 

[littlebean]

I'm going to be trying the upside-down thing myself this year, but instead of topsyturvy planters or buckets, I'm using old milk jugs. I figure if it's free, it can't hurt to try it.

Wish me luck!