Any success with the "topsy" method of tomato growing?

[MilesColtrane]

I just got two of those upside-down tomato pot thingies and I'm going to give it a try.

My last attempt at growing was in standard, large pots several years ago. The experiment ended in FAIL with blossom end rot and the local mockingbirds feasting on the few puny fruits of my endeavor.

Any good, general advice as far as what varieties to plant, fertilizer, watering, and keeping varmints off of them?

[Kolesar]

1. A "vining" variety would make sense as opposed to a "determinate" bush variety

Tomato plants for commercial production have strong stalks that grow a limited height and produce one crop. Avoid those.

This is a good question for NJCher

[MilesColtrane]

6. Sound advice.

Thank you

[beac]

2. Take a look at Lyric's "milk bath" thread below for good advice on

using non-fat milk to promote health and production. (It's not the most-viewed thread in the forum for nothing! ;) )

As for pests, I had good luck w/garlic spray. You can make your own (lots of recipes on the 'net) or mix it up from the concentrate I used called Garlic Barrier. Also repels mosquitos, as a bonus. :)

[MilesColtrane]

5. I'll check it out.

I appreciate your help.

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. It's mostly a marketing scheme....good tomato growth needs more soil,

and the fragility of the stalks means issues for all but cherry or smaller tomatoes.

we tried it last year with Sungold (a superb hybrid cherry tomato) - got a scant production of fruit - flavors affected by the lack of soil...also, tomatoes need LOTS of water when pot grown (esp in a small pot).

So I think it is about setting expectations - they work to a degree, but will need very regular watering and feeding so that the insufficient amount of soil will do what it can - and limit to one small fruited indeterminate variety.

I've seen them shown at garden centers for bell peppers, which is silly - pepper branches are so fragile that as soon as the fruits start to enlarge, they would break off the branch of the plant - and the thought of putting several plants in one container is doubly silly.

For tomatoes and peppers to yield well, 5 gallon sized pots are a minimum (except small fruited hot peppers - they will size themselves and do OK with whatever pot size they get).

Success with tomatoes really hinges on variety, how you grow them, and the conditions that season....it should be easy, but the weather extremes, critters, and spread of so many diseases make successful tomato growing nearly as challenging as grappling with roses!

We had 200 plants last year - mostly heirlooms - and the extreme heat and disease led to total failure with 140 of the plants - in my 30 years, I've never had such an awful season!

[MilesColtrane]

4. Thanks for the insight.

[shanti]

7. no, and i've tried it twice

:( guess it's back to tomato cages.

[Grey]

8. I prefer homemade earthboxes.

Google has the whole PDF on how they are done.

[arikara]

9. Nearly every gardener I know tried them last year

nobody had any luck. They were nothing like the adverts. But to be fair, the season itself was pretty grim hardly anyone got decent tomatoes even in the garden. That said, I doubt i'll bother with them again. The only topsy thing that worked ok for us was the flower one.

[Botany]

10. I am an honest to God person w/ a degree in botany ...

.... and I have worked in hort. for years this is a big ass scam ..... end of story.

the most successful and productive way I have found is to use a 10 to 15 gallon container
dug about 3/4s of the way into the ground w/ a good mix in the pot ...... works like a champ!