Anyone tried the Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter??

[sydneysmom]

I keep seeing the ad for the Topsy Turvy Tomato planter and our Home Depot has a huge display.... I'm kind of skeptical if this thing works or not. I really didn't want to make a vegetable garden again this year, but I LOVE homegrown tomatoes.... Has anyone tried it ??

 

[DaniB]

Yes! We did last summer. And it really does work! We would have had a whole lot more tomatoes I believe if the plant had gone in it sooner (had grown quite a bit in a month). AND if the topsy turvey planter had not fallen on the ground and broke the tomato plant's stem...

Although we purchased two, we only tried one last summer. This year we will put both up.

Only make sure you secure the planter into something that can really support a HEAVY weight! The first time my husband put it up, we didn't realize how heavy it would become and that's how it fell down and almost snapped the stem.

 

[Purseval]

Waste of money, it was a gimmick. Look around yard sales, you can get them for $1 or so and try them out on the cheap. If you live near me I'll give you one, we aren't going to use them this season because they don't do as well as pots. If you are really tight on space and have no other choice they are better than nothing but that's about all the good I can say for them.

 

[Tinkerbell58]

We're going to try it this year. We bought a few at Bed, Bath & Beyond and used a 20% off coupon.

 

[eatatmidnight]

We had one last year. We were hoping it would be a great way to get tomatoes to grow without the deer eating them. It did grow very well until it got long enough for the taller deer to stand beneath and eat the leaves from the bottom.

If you don't have trouble with deer, I'd give it a shot.

 

[wdwfan16]

Somebody who had one told me it worked but you needed to water it twice or day or the thing would dry out. His did. I would not get one.

 

[mickeytattoo95]

I didn't have luck with it. It was a hassle to water and the kids weren't nearly as involved as they were with the plants that grew in the ground. At least they could reach those to plants to tend them.

I know people who like them, but if space is the issues, you'll be fine with a few pots and tying them to a pole as they grow.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

I thought this looked cool http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=486267 . We have a dog who will dig it up if I put pots where he can reach them (and he is tall with a long reach).

 

[Justsyd2]

Yes! We used it last year, and will use it again this year. We had no problems with it.

 

[Mickey527]

I have problems with the soil in my yard where I can't get normal loking plants to grow. I had my soil tested and they said it is fine but my tomatoes always seem to grow misshappened, not nice and round. I also had stunted broccoli and pumpkins, they just don't look like what you find in stores.
I tried Topsy Turvy last year and hung it on my back porch. I had alot of trouble with watering it, all the water I gave it ran out the bottom and all over my porch. My plants were always too dry.
I did get 2 tomatoes from it and they were so much nicer than the ones I had grown in the ground.
This year I am planning on buying a stake to put in my yard and will try the Topsy Turvy in that. Then I can overwater and if it runs out it won't be all over my porch. I only hope I can find something strong enough because I did get lots of green, just not too many tomatoes.

 

[Colleen27]

It is higher maintanence than growing tomatoes the old fashioned way. I personally wouldn't bother unless I was living somewhere that traditional gardening was impossible for some reason (poor/contaminated soil, wildlife, space). They take a LOT of watering and very good, rich soil or regular feeding. If you're going to try it, I'd recommend using a determinant (bush) tomato rather than a vining type, because they stay smaller and thus have lower water & nutrient requirements.

 

[benolathe]

Warning - requires a LOT of water as it dries out very quickly in the hot summer sun.

Hung one from our deck last year - the plant got very large, but only had three tomatoes develop on it. Just about the time they were getting red, the squirrel thought they looked really good. So, he jumped from the deck ledge and clung to the vine, picked the tomato off, and sit it on the ledge for his own personal little buffet! Found the tomato on the ledge with a portion of it eaten out. Left it there for my daughter to see, and later the squirrel came back to eat some more of it. Threw that tomato away - so he picked himself another one! BTW, I know it was a squirrel because I saw him jump onto the plant at one time. Of course, I chased him away. But obviously, he came back later when there was no one around to bother him.

After that, I gave up watering the thing and threw it away.

 

[sydneysmom]

I thought this looked cool http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=486267 . We have a dog who will dig it up if I put pots where he can reach them (an he is tall with a long reach).

that's fantastic !! that's another reason why I was thinking about going this route... I did a veggie garden last year and everyday I was pulling our 2 basset hounds out of it. they're nuts. for some reason, they LOVED being in the garden. UGH. I might try this though.... thanks for posting that !!!

 

[surfergirl602]

we just got some at big lots for five bucks. So far, working great! We're going to get another and put cukes in it.

 

[nilseks]

In my experience, not worth it. Used *SO* much water, way more than traditional tomato plants...I watered and watered and yet it always seemed dry. We only got one tomato out of it, whereas my plants in the ground that were bought from the same place produced 20-25 tomatoes each.

 

[Kewz1]

I got mine for free from my mom. I just put the plant in two days ago but it has grown already.

I hope it works -- Looking forward to homegrown tomatoes!

Oh, and thanks for the heads up about watering.

Kristen

 

[MammaNicholas]

Last year I got one, and I think my tomatoe plant didn't make it to the end of the 1st week.

After doing more research and watching you tube videos, I've decided to try again. I set mine up on March 27th, and a few days ago, I noticed over a 2 dozen buds on it. So, so far so good here. Right now I give it 2 gallons of water a day, as recommended. But as it gets hotter, I'm sure it will need to be doubled. Oh, and I also used Miracle Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix this time.

On you tube, they also show you how to make one out of a bucket.

 

[DaniB]

Wow, we easily got a couple dozen tomatoes out of ours, and that with a half-broken stem that never healed properly.

Ahh, now I should mention we used a "cherry tomato" plant! Sorry I forgot about that before. Ohh, and we added tomoto plant fertilizer.

I don't know how it would work with a regular sized tomato plant... We prefer the little tiny tomatos as they are perfect for lots of salads and bite-size snacking!

We found it had to be watered every day.

And to the PP who mentioned they had it hanging off their porch - that could be why it didn't work for you. Tomato plants need lots of sunlight.

 

[n2mm]

BIL tried last year....too much watering. It drys out and needs water all of the time. We do it the old fashion way and it works great. Sorry, a waste of $$.

 

[puffkin]

We used cherry tomatoes in ours and got tons off of the plant. We probably would have gotten more, but we put it in really late.

We hung ours off the end of our wooden playset.