Upside Down Planters

[lazygardner]

Has anyone tried these before? I did a few things contrary to the instructions. Instructions say use a determinate variety and I used two indeterminate varieties: Brandywine and Sweet 100s. Also I used Miracle Grow Moisture Control potting soil and the instructions said to use a soilless mixture without any compost or organic material. As you can see I have mine hung up pretty high, so the plants can sprawl to their little green heart's content. I'm wondering if the decaying organic material in my potting soil is going to eat through the fabric bags that hold the soil. The planter on the left is the 'As Seen On TV' version and the other one is from a more expensive garden supply company.

(You can just barely see my 18 yr old kitty Zippy the Zulu Warrior in the window warming his bones in the sun.)

[JaneG]

I'm so glad you are doing this. DH keeps seeing these advertised and is fascinated by them. Me? . . . I'm a skeptic. You can be our official "Product Tester", post weekly updates so we can watch your success or failure!

[lazygardner]

I may not be perfect at posting weekly photos, but I will post when I can. Glad to be of service!
You might tell your husband that I am skeptical too. Plants have hormones that cause roots to grow towards the earth and different homones that make stems and leaves grow up towards the sun. I was able to edit the picture so you can see that Brandywine's stem is already trying to curve upward. (I have to decide if I should nip off the terminal bud to encourage more side growth or not.) In the second picture, Sweet Hundred's was planted just before the picture was taken and still has a straight stem. Now BOTH plants are trying to right themselves! I'll take better closeups for you in the next few days.

DSCN0008 brandywine 05 17 2009.jpg (53.28 KiB) Viewed 16040 times

DSCN0008 sweet hundreds 05 17 2009.jpg (46.12 KiB) Viewed 16041 times

[nanny_56]

What I have heard about them on other forums is that they are not that good. The plants tend to try twist grow up and the plastic does break down. There are some canvass versions that hold up better. I have also read the the saladette varieties do best. Sweet 100 maybe to vigorous for it!

Good Luck!

[newtohosta-no more]

I'm going to be watching this thread also. I've wondered if these are as wonderful as the commercials make them out to be. I like the concept, but I want to hear about real world results before giving it a try myself.

[lazygardner]

Here are the new pictures from 05/22/2008. You can see both plants are trying to right themselves. I had to uncurl Brandywine's terminal bud end from underneath the planter. I am still trying to decide if I should nip off the terminal bud so the plants will branch more. I keep meaning to re-read the instruction booklets to see if they have any instructions about this idea. Of course, I welcome any suggestions anyone else might want to offer.

[LucyGoose]

We have 2 of these going too......I put 2 plants ion one, and 6 in the other....I will get shots today to show you....they are different......I might have to cut/kill a couple in the one with 6 plants, but I woun't know till later.......never know..... ......

[lazygardner]

Are they all tomato plants LucyG?

[LucyGoose]

Yikes!! I forgot all about this.....Yes, they are all tomato plants.....6 in one kind of planter, and 2 in the other......If I remember, I will take pictures soon and show you all.....

[lazygardner]

It's been three weeks and here are the new pictures. Although Brandywine is growing well, the Sweet Hundreds isn't growing much at all. I think it isn't heating up as much as the other which is in a plasticized fabric and gets more sun. I'm going to try to switch their positions, as soon as I can get someone tall to help. Both plants have flowers now.

[lazygardner]

Well, both plants have grown, but there have been a couple of problems. The Sweet Hundreds got some stunted and contorted leaves and the overall growth seemed a bit stunted. I think maybe a breeze carried some roundup to the plant.

Now it is getting normal leaves but the plant overall seems to be getting very leggy.

The Brandywine has been getting yellowing leaves, although they do seem to be near the base of the plant, so maybe this is normal??? It also has been getting flowers, but many of the flowers have been falling off rather than forming fruit.

For comparison, here is a pic of a Purple Cherokee which I planted in the ground near the upside down planters. It is possible that the reason it looks so full is because it is actually about four plants in one spot. They had been left in the same pot until I got them when they couldn't be separated without serious damage.

DSCN0307 purple cherokee.jpg (111.75 KiB) Viewed 15831 times

[kHT]

lazygardner, we have noted that the closer some of the solanaceae varieties grow to each other the healthier they are.
But again it's not wise to grow some solanaceae species in close range due to the virus issues. Grouping all the tomatoes
in one area, Brugs in another, dats in their area and Iochroma in another can be tricky. Then there is the issues of what is close
by in your neighbors' yards. If one knows what to look for one could grow them closer but again one needs to be so sure of what is happening.

Your appear to be so happy in the ground and I'm sorry but it's a crime to hang a tomatoe.

[lazygardner]

Felony or misdemeanor ????? Who will pay my bail??
What can I say? I am learning and thought experimentation might be a good thing.
I do have to say that there is no problem with weeds in the upside down planters, and I'm not seeing any insect damage.
Did you see all the grass growing around the maters in the ground? I am hoping to do some weeding this weekend... Maybe even this morning. (I only get one weekend off every three weeks. Can't weed on my two day weds/thurs off in the middle because I have to sleep during the day.)
(Dare I ask: is it really any more of a torture than say... bonsai?)

[kHT]

lazygardner, I take my growing solanaceae species very seriously here due to knowing what will pop up if not grown correctly.
I also understand how some folks push new ways of growing for the $$$ of it and in the long run it really is just hype.

Can I suggest a winter cover for your garden of heavy black plastic? We do this and have few and fewer weeds to contend with
during the growing season.

[newtohosta-no more]

I just find it so interesting to see those hanging plants growing upwards like that! In all of the tv ads they show the entire plant hanging down.
I'm going to keep watching this thread so I can see what kind of production you end up with.

[Epona]

Lol that was my first thought! I thought that the plants would want to grow upward not downward like the commercials. It looks neat that it's actually growing though. I'll be watching this thread as well.

[party_music50]

So what ever happened with the plants in the upside-down planters?