Topsy Turvy Tomato Tree – A Review of the Topsy Turvy Tree
Here’s another idea for container growing your tomatoes. The Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter is a very popular planter these days. It’s a simple planter that hangs a single tomato plant upside down in a container. It’s quite effective, and many people consider it to be the ultimate way to grow tomatoes, especially in a balcony or patio. But it does only handle one plant, and it needs someplace to hang. If you are looking for a way to grow even more tomato plants, or don’t have a place to hang a planter, the same folks that invented the Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter have come up with another way to plant your tomatoes.
The Topsy Turvy Tomato Tree keeps most of the advantages of a hanging planter for tomatoes. This means
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- You don’t need to stake your tomatoes
- You will have fewer problems with slugs and other soil based pests
- Less soil borne disease with the use of potting soil
- Fewer problems with weeds
- Air movement is improved, so pollination is improved, and you have few problems with rot
With the tomato tree, they have made the actual tomato container larger than the topsy turvy tomato planter, and the plants come from the side. This allows you to plant 3 tomato plants in one container. In addition, since the container is larger, instead of hanging the tomato planter on a hook, it includes a stand, so the unit is free standing. It still takes significantly less space than a garden unit, and the tomatoes still grow down from the plants, but it greatly increases the yield you get from one tomato planter.
One other advantage to the tomato tree, is that if you want you can put it on a stand, and the unit could be wheeled to a place away from the elements, especially frost. This allows you to extend the growing season on both ends, giving you an early start in the spring, and extending the fall harvest season a week or more.
If you want to learn more about growing tomatoes upside down go to our review of hanging tomato planters.
Filed under Growing Tomatoes by John
Comments on Topsy Turvy Tomato Tree – A Review of the Topsy Turvy Tree »
bryan @ 12:12 pm
we used topsy turvy planters, miricale grow moisture control soil, and raindrip auto container watering kit ( .5 gph tips, 10 min. on every 8 hours.)
Toni @ 7:05 pm
I bought the topsy turvy and they are breaking off when the branches get weight on them. The natural way of growth is up and so when they get weight on them they break. Be warned.
John @ 12:30 pm
Of course most folks grow tomatoes in cages or tied to supports, not sprawling all over the ground if they were growing naturally. The real problem is that we’ve bred tomatoes to bear unnaturally large fruit and they need help to keep from breaking.
Mel @ 6:07 pm
Pretty unhappy with ours too. Now that fruit is coming on, the branches are breaking and the plants are dying.
Ruth in Oklahoma @ 12:24 pm
We bought the upside down tomato planter and patio garden and didn’t have much luck either growing tomatos; same problem, plants just didn’t want to grow that way! We finally managed to get it put together correctly so it was stable, which was another issue. I thought the topsy turvey would do better but I guess not. Should have spent the money for a raised bed garden instead.
Gary in North Florida @ 8:29 am
We tried the regular Topsy Turvy upsidedown planters first with sad results, even watering as recomended, (even tried a auto watering system) the plants dried and the fruit was less than satisfying being dry and tasteless. The sun basicly destroyed the hanging bags. Then we tried the tomato tree planter, the over all reuslts were much better with juicy fruits and the stand was much easier to deal with then the normal hangers. Although sad to say, here in the hot Florida sun the fabric is ripping and tearing near the seams the same result as the upside down hangers. Maybe a above ground bed is the way to go. For the cost of the tomato tree planted (I bought two) I will not continue to throw away the high price I spent last year on something that is maybe good for one growing season.
John @ 1:09 pm
I grew up in Illinois and my dad used to stake the plant to a 1″ x 2″ wooden stake tying it with a rag. It sounds like it’s too late for a tomato cage (what I use now), so you may have to use the stake method. In the future, put the tomato cages up as soon as you put the plant in. It will look ridiculously small at the time but it will probably grow out of the tomato cage. Try and move the offshoots of the main plant by gently putting them inside the cage as it is growing for best result. Good Luck!