Topsy Turvy: Planting veggies upside down?

[Orchidflower]

Topsy Turvy® Planters

I assume someone has used this already for growing tomato plants? But has anyone planted parsley or mint in one of these? And, if so, how did it do?
Since I purchased two of them, think I'll use one for cherry tomatoes and one for Italian flat parsley and some mint, since his instructions say you can plant two tomato plants in one Topsy Turvy then I should be able to plant both the parsley and mint together in one of these things.
Anyone use these before? And any tips that he doesn't give that will help?

Also was wondering if anyone has planted green peppers in one of these? And how did they do?

Since blood meal kept the deer from munching on my tomato plants and other veggies last year, I think I will pour blood meal at the top of the dirt on these and hope (fingers crossed) that it works. Guess I could sprinkle cayenne pepper on the veggies, too, to discourage Mr. and Mrs. Deer.

 

[KB]

My Master Gardener group planted one of those last summer with a cherry tomato plant, with interesting results. The roots all stayed in the bottom of the container (think gravity) so we wished we had planted the plant much higher in the container. Or actually put the roots at the very top. That would allow the roots to grow from the top to the bottom.

We had very little produce compared to tomatoes grown in the ground or half barrels. I would think it might work well for herbs; not sure about peppers.

Because gravity pulled the water to the bottom of the container, you need to make sure to water more often than you would expect. Also hanging in the hair will cause the container to dry out faster than a plant in the ground. So, keep a sharp eye on the watering so the roots don't dry out.

It sounds like fun. Enjoy.

 

[MasterBlaster]

There are 228 reviews of this product on the Amazon website. The verdict is all over the map from crappy to great.

Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Felknor Ventures 82506 Topsy Turvy Upside-Down Tomato Planter

 

[RonBoyd]

There are 228 reviews of this product on the Amazon website. The verdict is all over the map from crappy to great.

Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Felknor Ventures 82506 Topsy Turvy Upside-Down Tomato Planter

Yeah, like Reviews are an excellent source of information.

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[Orchidflower]

My Master Gardener group planted one of those last summer with a cherry tomato plant, with interesting results. The roots all stayed in the bottom of the container (think gravity) so we wished we had planted the plant much higher in the container. Or actually put the roots at the very top.

KB: I'm thinking that if I put most of the plant into the container before adding soil that the soil would kill the leaves AND the entire plant? True or not true?

Plan to buy a larger ($5 type) of cherry tomato plant. Maybe I could put half of the plant into the soil and it would work?

I'm really cautious about sticking the entire plant into soil. Any experience with doing this? And will the plant keep growing? I'm no Master Gardner as you can tell.

And I didn't even think of looking at Amazon to see if they sold these, so thanks, MasterBlaster.

Agree with RonBoyd somewhat as I think some of these companies that have reviews blow off most of the negative ones but always post the positive. However, I have gleaned lots of good information from reviews myself...if you just sift thru and separate the honest from the bogus.

 

[Orchidflower]

There are 228 reviews of this product on the Amazon website. The verdict is all over the map from crappy to great.

Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Felknor Ventures 82506 Topsy Turvy Upside-Down Tomato Planter

NO kidding about the reviews all over the place! I have NEVER (slight exaggeration allowed) seen anything like this on Amazon before...REALLY all over the place..Wow!

 

[KB]

You can plant the roots, some of the stalk and smaller branches under the soil. You can't plant the entire plant, nor can you plant all or most of the plant under the soil. Plants need their leaves above ground to create their own food (using sunlight, water and oxygen.

You might try buying a larger plant so you can the roots and some of the stalk in the soil...

We're not going to try one of these again We have 700 sq feet of vegetable beds, an asparagus patch and 6 half wine barrels to plant. We'll use the barrels to show the public how they don't need a lot of room to plant vegetables.

Good luck if you decide to try this. If it were me, I would buy a $20 large plastic pot, fill it with good potting soil and plant my tomato in that.

 

[Glo]

Last year was the first time we tried tomatoes in these planters. We had very few, and I mean very few, tomatoes. But, I think we made the mistake of planting heirlooms in there. This year, we'll try again but will use something standard like early girl or better boys. Also, it takes lots of water to keep these plants moist. Last spring DH and DS installed two covered rain barrels at our down spouts. These produced enough water to water my garden and flowers all summer long; never used a bit of city water. My neighbor, who happens to be my gardening hero, says that a lot of his friends use these upside down containers for tomatoes with fabulous results. I'm going to try again.

 

[Orchidflower]

There are 228 reviews of this product on the Amazon website. The verdict is all over the map from crappy to great.

Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Felknor Ventures 82506 Topsy Turvy Upside-Down Tomato Planter

Last night I took this link and read all the positive and negative reviews for tips. There are some good ones hidden in those posts if you care to take the time and trouble to review them...but it does take awhile as there are quite a few. But, I feel it helped me alot to hear what the people who failed said, as well as, what the successful ones said. Ironically, it seems to be split 50-50 on that, too.

 

[Tesaje]

If you look at how the plants grow in these, you see them grow out the bottom then up. Tomatoes work ok because they have shallow roots and are a vine. Parseley is a bad idea because it has a tap root and does not vine. Mint is ok - shallow roots and weak rangey stems. Mint tends to crowd out & choke other plants. This is a gimmick method but. If you want to do it just pick a type of plant that is amenable this.

 

[mickeyd]

DW bought one of those topsy-turvy deals a couple of years ago. I think we got 6-8 tomatoes and about a dozen peppes that summer. Was not worth it IMHO.