Upside down tomaotes?

I remember last year there was a thread on this subject and a number of folks stated they were going to give it a try. Just wondering if anybody went through with it and how it worked out. I suppose it can work, but my concern is the small root space for the plant. Most plants have at least twice the volume of roots compared to the part you see above ground. Im thinking you would have to be watering alot, as well as being sure you supply a good amount of fertilizer. It would be quite similar to a hydroponic system in that respect. The other concern I had was the amount of sunlight. I would guess that most people hang these from a porch or deck roof. A tomato will never produce up to par without full sun. I have had a number of my customers express interest in these and I am really curious how it worked out for anybody that tried it. Also did you try it in a bag or a bucket?

I tried it in a bucket with very poor results. Very sickly looking plant that produced 2 very small fruits. The same plants in my garden were 6-8 feet tall with baseball sized fruit.

John, i saw your thread and it reminded me of some tomato plants i saw here in Jeff last year. I tried to google a picture of how this person had them set up, but could not.......soooo..... i pulled all of my artistic talent and drew a picture for you.

This person had more than four buckets hanging, maybe about 5 to 7. The wooden base, which now that i think of it looks like a swingset base, was very large and high. I used to drive down this neighborhood a lot and these plants always looked awesome, huge and thriving.

Wish i could have gotten a picture of the real thing, but that is the best i could do.

I have spent a lot of time on the comp today, googling, drawing, importing, (i had to track down my usb cord), posting a deal on batteries...... i have to go and play mommy now.

p.s. my husband is the artist.... NOT me.....

Yeah I tried an up-side-down planter on my deck with poor results. It got plenty of full afternoon sun and I was certain to water it every morning but it only produce about 6 smallish tomatoes. They were heirloom (purple cherokee?) tomatoes so I though that might have been why. Still, for what I had invested in it I could have bought a bushel of tomatoes. I do think I might try it with basil or mint.

Thanks for the input. Thats kind of what I figured. Becky, I dig the artwork. Maybe a good name for that might be "garden gallows". I wonder if that guy used an irrigation system for his tomatoes? I could see that working if the plants were getting a constant drip of water/nutrients. I have read other accounts of folks who tried upside down tomatoes on the web and they expressed similar disappointments. I dont think its something Ill be recommending to my customers. Thanks again.

I also tried the up down thing last year, with ok results. Just to be honest, I had a bad tomato year all around. I thing to remember is the upside down planters, just like hanging pots are very heavy feeders. They need to be fertilized at least , with a water soluble mix, compost tea, etc.

Bill, you do make a good point. Last year was the pits for tomatoes. We had a cool spring and then a couple rounds of blight came through during the growing season. You are also right on the money by saying they are heavy feeders. Being root bound in those things makes them go through water like crazy. If you are not fertilizing every time time, your just washing whatever nutrients are remaining out the soil. Its also surprising how hot the soil can get in a container or hanging planter. We have taken the temperature of the soil in our hanging baskets and found it to be as much as 25 degrees hotter than the air around them.

I'm going to try it for the following reasons.
1. I have an old close line pole that sits in the only place that gets any sun in my back yard.
2. I have dogs that will trample anything I try to plant in the ground.
3. We have an abundance of other critters in our neighborhood that like to snack on young plants.
4. I'm curious to see how it works out.

I usually hang some ferns in that spot that sort of get neglected, but yet still hung on until the first frost.

Anyone try using 'nutrigel'? or 'sorbostock'? to keep the water consistent. 1tbs holds about 20 ozs of water. They slowly release the water.

Anyone try using 'nutrigel'? or 'sorbostock'? to keep the water consistent. 1tbs holds about 20 ozs of water. They slowly release the water.

I was going to suggest to Dan to try one of those. The brand I am familiar with is called SoilMoist. They are small crystals you mix with potting soil prior to planting. I have seen it work great in certain applications.. The only down side is when you get an exceptionally wet season, you can end up with rot problems. I think in the case of a bucket bound tomato it might work out well.

I tried it with partially successful results (I got some tomatoes from it), but I did three things wrong that led to early plant death:

1) I should have placed the hanger closer to buildings. I had placed it out too far in the yard and it was a lot more susceptible to the very windy storms we had last summer.

2) On the very hot days, I should have changed from watering once a day to three times during the day.

3) The instructions say you can plant two in the planter and I did. Mistake. One plant would have thrived far more based on my observations.