upside down

[tel]

Hi all,anyone ever tried growing tomatoes in one of those upside down planters? if you have was it a sucess or was it a failure.Gardeners Delight is the one I'd like to try anyone got any thoughts about that

[veggiechicken]

I haven't tried it but here's how to make a planter Inverted Tomato Planter

[darcyvuqua]

Loads of videos on YouTube on this

[rustylady]

Why on earth would you want to?

[darcyvuqua]

Why on earth would you want to?

I think it's meant for a space saving garden

[RedThorn]

Tried in aus as they're down under so thought a double invert to get it normal....


Seriously though, the plant needs to be at least 8-10" before trying

[AkionTotocha]

Why on earth would you want to?

It's like tomatoes that are grown in pots, but you don't need string supports for? Gravity does all of the support work rather than having to build a frame.

That's the only benefit I can see, having grown my first tomato plant from seed one year and then panicking as it grew straight up rather than bushing out as I had expected.

The adverts say "it helps the nutrients get to the roots!" But I don't think there would be a difference, aside from plant water running through your tomato plant.

[BUFFS]

i got one of those topsy turvy pots from a local excess shop for £1.99,i was given a chocolate cherry tom and i put that in,it is growing away well now,it will be interesting to see what happens when we get a weight of fruit on it,i should have put one of my russian type bush plants into it,no need to pinch out then,you need a strong frame to hang it from,weighs a bl**** ton,and dont let the wife hold its suspension cord,she will go thru the roof..

[muddyfeet]

I bought one of the planters, but then got cold feet about hanging it on my wooden greenhouse, I thought it might get too heavy.

[Rigel]

The weight is my concern too. I don't have much space so do have quite a lot hanging already in those planter bags etc but I suspect a full sized tomato might be a bit much.

If it was a space issue wouldn't you have the same problem in reverse once it reaches the ground?

[veggiechicken]

An idea for you all to consider
Take a pallet and put it, horizontally, up on legs/a stand, whatever.
Put sides around the flat top to make a box.
Line the pallet with membrane.
Plant your tomato facing down through holes cut in the membrane and through the slats of the pallet.
Fill the top box with compost.
Plant top with lettuces, herbs etc.

Dammit, this is such a good idea I may have to try it

[veggiechicken]

That idea ^^^^ is running around in my head now. The pallet could be hung with ropes from a tree branch - on a pulley perhaps. Would be out of the way of slugs too. I can see it now - the hanging gardens of Veggiechicken land

[darcyvuqua]

The weight is my concern too. I don't have much space so do have quite a lot hanging already in those planter bags etc but I suspect a full sized tomato might be a bit much.

If it was a space issue wouldn't you have the same problem in reverse once it reaches the ground?

From the videos I have seen on YouTube the plant ends up the right way up and you get to grow other crops underneath

Rickvanman has a video about it when he was growing in his back yard turned out he gained nothing from growing in upside down buckets

[veggiechicken]

Could you double your growing space by growing out of the bottom and the top of a container? I don't mean on the one tomato and a few herbs per pot scale but on a much bigger scale - like the benches in a GH? This is going to bug me all night (while I sleep) - but I'll wake up with the answer
Good night All

[zazen999]

The problem with the upside down way is that the water runs out the hole that the tomato is in and it is a nightmare keeping it hydrated when the weather is hot. Also the tomato tries to grow towards the sun but when it has fruit on it, it weighs the branches down and they snap.

If you are going to try it, I'd recommend bushy toms rather than vines like GD as mentioned in the first post.