topsy turvy

[healingrainbow]

Does anyone have a topsy turvy? I'm thinking about getting one so that I can have the best fruits and veggies and the fun of growing plants. I need to know exactually what you're getting, what you have to do, and the pros and cons 'cause sometimes I get these products that seem to work for me, but sometimes I find out that I just can't keep up with the work. I'm looking for the laziest way to grow food ^ ^

 

[christdiedforus]

Someone was talking about this last year but I never do recall them telling us what the results were.

 

[miss-a]

I have a friend who used them last year. He opted out on them this year. I helped him plant them last year and found them difficult to plant and they weigh a ton when they're filled with soil. I couldn't have gotten them up over my head to hang if I'd been doing it myself. He did however have a pretty good yield of tomatoes.

For me, personally, I can't see the benefit of the upside down thing. I tend to think it's a gimmick and the planters are over-priced. I think you'd do just as well any kind of hanging pot as long as it was big enough and filled with good soil, or a pot that was not hanging for that matter.

 

[keith99]

I was at a presentation given by an expert that is now consulting with these guys (or a very sililar company). A minor part of his presentation was saying that they work very well, if you pick the right tomatoes. But often people pick an indterminant with a long production cycle. Double fail. These are for limited space and just because they are upside down does not mean the plant will need less soil than it would otherwise.

Inshort pick a plant that would work in a pot that hold as much soil as the topsy-turvey does and you will get similar results to planiing in a pot in the same location.

Almost forgot, sun requiement do not chance. So for example at our house where the front faces North this will work great in the back, it will fail miserable in the front.

 

[paul1149]

I just picked up two at the community recycling center, but I'm not sure how I'll use them. There are pros and cons. The pros come to mind for me, as I just came in from tying up my beleaguered tomato plants, after a raging storm tore them off a metal fence. Once you've tied up the upside-down planter, you're pretty much done tying.

But the downside is the limited amount of soil makes for a mineral/nutrient/humus dearth. Do you have to artificially fertilize to make up for it? Another thing - daily watering is critical, for the same reason.

 

[miss-a]

Unless you change out the soil every year, I think you would have to fertilize. Neptune makes great organic liquid fertilizer that you can water in or spray on the plants. And Miracle Grow now has organic granule and liquid fertilizers.

 

[NathanielRH]

Hello.

The contraption that this person(s) put forth onto the world was no less than a marketing scheme in order to scam people into believing that this method of upside-down plant growth actually yields anything more than a plant which stands up-right.

The scam is that it doesn't. The roots gravitate toward the earth's core and knows which way it is facing. All turning it upside-down does is make the plant-life work a little harder to live a normal life.

The yield is no greater-or-smaller and here is what you've asked:

Pros - More space to plant your tomatoes on a smaller premises, already put together.
Cons - Heavy dirt to carry, harder on the plant.

 

[twinserk]

i bought 8 or so of them to experiment with, and the plants in the topsy turvy are about 1/3 of the size of the plants in the ground. Both sets were planted at the same time.

 

[wayfaring man]

Have had somewhat sub par results overall with tomatoes and strawberries in topsy type hanging bags. Somewhat better yield in larger containers which sit on ground.

Made a hanging rack with 7 bags alternating from tomato to strawberry, and since water runs through them some...put medium potted plants directly beneath...tomatoes and peppers.

Plastic that bags are made of seems rather UV sensitive, thinking they should be wrapped before planting with a more durable fabric.

Got most in a clearance section for 3-5 $ each.

Have seen where some have adapted plastic 5 gal. buckets to be hanging garden also.

Did have fairly good success with mixed greens in one with multiple holes around the side. (Especially the chicory, whose greens are good for the ol' eyesight !)

If had to pay full price for most of them would be feeling a bit taken.

Also found the tomatoes needed support (though the determinate type), used strips of green cotton fabric gleaned from roadway scavenged T-shirt, to tie dangling branches up a little, helped keep the wind from flailing them around unto tearing and breaking.

Also mulched top layer to help slow drying out. Do need frequent watering when quite hot and sunny.

Does eliminate having to weed, (but so does heavy mulching), also convenient height for picking fruit and/or worms off of...

From a 1-10 ...say they rate a 4 or a 5 overall.

wm

 

[If Not For Grace]

It's ok if space is a problem (city dwellers) but a 5 gallon bucket works the same as the "kit" just put a hole in the bottom of the bucket and use the handle to hang. But if you got so much as a flower bed, I'd go the conventioanl route with wire cages, trim off "sucker" leaves for a faster yeild.