Topsy Turvey

ashort 3/22/2011, 11:00 pm

Anyone use these things? We just planted a tomato plant in one and a bunch of strawberries in the other. I used MM in the bags. Hope it works out!

BackyardBirdGardner 3/22/2011, 11:02 pm

I never put MM in the bag, but I had a time finding a place strong enough to hold it and sunny enough to grow it. I put a pole in the ground and the pole kept falling over in heavy rains. I tried a couple times and once the straps finally broke, I said the heck with it. Dud imo.

boffer 3/22/2011, 11:07 pm

I've tried tomatoes, peppers, and cukes, two different summers. I didn't have much luck. I found it hard to keep the MM saturated properly. I think the idea is a great space saver, and I think the plants can deal with it. I just haven't mastered it.

I was trying to see how much I could grow in 4 sf. Pretty silly effort when I live on 5 acres! In the box are 12 onions and 20 pea plants. Hanging are 2 toms, 1 pepper, and 1 cuke.

Topsy Turvey 100_1012

sceleste54 3/22/2011, 11:13 pm

My local grocery had these on clearance for $2.50 each so I was forced to buy several.. Wink

I haven't figured out how I'm going to hang them yet or what I'll try to plant in them but I'm going to give it a try.. Laughing

quiltbea 3/22/2011, 11:35 pm

I tried a tomato plant in a Topsy Turvy in 2005. I didn't like it.
The tomato tried to grow upright so spent most of its energy twisting upwards and very little on tomatoes. I think I got 2 or 3 small ones that year.
Topsy Turvey Tomato10

middlemamma 3/23/2011, 2:00 am

I didn't have any luck with mine either. Sad

Something just tells me the ground is the ground and plants grow UP for a reason. LOL.

Boffer you are hysterical...I want to know how THAT experiment works out FOR SURE! Smile

acara 3/23/2011, 7:24 am

Topsy Turvey = Epic Fail

Wifey got a pair as Christmas gifts 2-yrs-ago, so I couldnt throw them away & had to use.

What a tangled mess

Miss M 3/23/2011, 11:24 am

My mom got one last year and planted a tomato in it. We got a number of tomatoes off of it, but we had trouble with splitting at the stem. It also ended up with a spider infestation that I had to battle. But that probably had nothing to do with the Topsy Turvy thing. We're going to try it again this year, with a different kind of tomato.

CindiLou 3/23/2011, 11:56 am

I used a 5-gal bucket last year for one. I planted thyme and marigolds in the top. I get quite a few tomatoes (I planted Cherry tomatoes in it). I hung it from the northwest corner of my deck. I thought last year it was getting to much sun. I am going to keep trying it though. I didn't have MM in it last year but this year it will. This year it is being hung were it will get the late afternoon shade. Maybe the north east corner of my shed. Humm have to look in my yard some more for shade areas (with a hanging spot lol).

Blackrose 3/23/2011, 12:11 pm

I tried the Topsy Turvy's last year for tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and strawberries. It did just ok for the peppers and strawberries. Not terribly impressed. I liked it for the cucumbers, but I had it hanging beside a fence and trained the vines onto the fence. Not so happy with the tomato plant. The vine split as it was starting to twist up and I only got 4 or 5 very small tomatoes from it. I did use MM in all of them.

I may use them again for cucumbers, but will not use them again for peppers, strawberries and tomatoes.

yosoypanadero 3/23/2011, 3:00 pm

Aside from the fact that these things will deteriorate over a year or two in the weather, I had a ton of success growing the thin eggplant varieties in these things. So if you have them laying around still, I would just do eggplants because they grew like mad for me.....gl

elliephant 3/23/2011, 3:37 pm

yosoypanadero wrote:Aside from the fact that these things will deteriorate over a year or two in the weather, I had a ton of success growing the thin eggplant varieties in these things. So if you have them laying around still, I would just do eggplants because they grew like mad for me.....gl

Hmmm...maybe I will pick one up when garden stuff goes 90% off at CVS this year. Last year I didn't because I had heard such horrible reviews.

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