Topsy Turvy is a vegetable planter specifically for upside down gardening. There are many benefits to growing your veges this way, although you don't need to get the Topsy Turvy just to do it. Here's a quick video to show you how to make your own Topsy Turvy planter. Plants grown this will always curl upward looking for the sun. Living in the city, I love the idea that you can grow more vegetables in a very small space. I'm getting spring fever already...just the thought of fresh flowers, tomatoes and zucchinis...yum! I think I'll even try herbs this year.
Things you can grow with Topsy Turvy
Topsy Turvy Dimensions:
Height: 18 inches
Diameter: 10 inches
Capacity: Around 6 gallons
Here we go with the painful infomercial claim...
"Planting a garden and trying to take care of it is backbreaking work and your tomatoes can still end up on the ground and get spoiled."
It claims to be the world's easiest way to grow tomatoes… but is it really?
http://honestinfomercialreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/video/topsy_turvy_planter/topsy_turvy_planter.flvBelow is another helpful, how-to video on making your own Topsy Turvy Planter. This planter may be more esthetically pleasing, but with its' small size you may need to water more often. I thought it might be good for some herbs or smaller plants.
I just put up another blog post on which tomatoes to choose, how to make a plastic bucket Topsy Turvy and how to prune your tomato plants. Have a look at that link! Thanks Yolanda for those three videos.
Topsy Turvy Video Results
Greenhouse manager Matt Hirsh tries out the Topsy Turvy. You simply pull the plant through the hole, and then fill the container with soil. A sponge keeps the soil from falling through the lid and the cap.
I agree with Matt.... He mentions that he prefers the lighter, less expensive and perhaps better looking fiber baskets that cost about $7 each. He mentions that the fiber pots as opposed to the plastic pots don’t get as hot or dry out as fast. You can also plant the top as well as the bottom of the pot. All he did was make the hole in the bottom of the fiber pot a bit larger to slide the plant through.
In the Topsy Turvy, he planted a six inch starter tomato plant as well as some herbs and zucchini in two other Topsy Turvy planters. He watered it every day and one month later the upside down tomato plant is looking good with a lot of growth. On the other hand, the parsley didn’t look so great. Matt thought it might be from having too much soil and water for a starter plant.
In total, 7 weeks after planting, the [tags]topsy turvy[/tags]tomato plant was huge and already had a baby tomato! The parsley and zucchini were coming along quite well.
Advantages
- No ugly plant sprawl.
- You won't have to dig holes, weed, stage, or cage your tomato plants.
- No stooping over to feed and water your plants.
- It's sturdy, simple to use and produces beautiful vegetables and flowers.
- Since the plants never touch the ground the creepy crawlers can't ruin your plants.
- The plastic chamber holds a lot of water and helps it from evaporating.
- The planter is designed to hold the plant and the soil perfectly in place so there are no spills.
- If you don't have a lot of yard space it's handy since your plants are off the ground.
- You can grow two tomato plants at once from a Topsy Turvy. This will produce a lot of tomatoes from a very small space.
Comment from H. Noble
"I purchased 3 of these for growing Tomato's, Green Peppers and Cucumbers and they all worked like a dream. Plants were healthy, full and produced a lot of edible vegetables."
Disadvantages
- Can weigh up to 50 lbs with the soil, water and full grown tomatoes so you may need to rig something very sturdy to hang it up.
- Quite expensive at $20 each plus $8 shipping. So if you want a few of these it will be costly.
Topsy Turvy is available at topsygardening.com and also on Ebay.
US $6.00
Helpful Hints
- The fiber baskets are lighter and less expensive at $7 each. You can also plant the top and bottom of the planter which you can't do with Topsy Turvy.
- It might be safe to cover up the water hole with smaller plants since they may get water logged with heavy down pours.
- You need to allow at least three to four feet of clearance under the planter.
David Kunkler had a great solution for the weight problem.
"I layered the planter with potting soil, styrofoam peanuts and spaghnum moss. Each layer was about 3 inches in depth. This took away the weight problem. I hung them from outside fence posts surrounded by sun. This took away the rot problem. It is a good product if you customize the procedure to fit the environment. "
Topsy Turvy is great but if you want to save your money go with the fiber baskets. The bottom line is that the Topsy Turvy really does work but you probably don't need it. One lady mentioned buying one at Meijers for $15. I'm not familiar with that store here in Canada. By the way, if you've ever seen that Seed in a Blanket infomercial you might be surprised at this video. The lady discovered it was "Weeds in a Blanket!" Anyone have experience with the Topsy Turvy planter? I'd love to hear your comments... Also if you are interested in five how-to videos on planting and gardening tomatoes, please visit that link.
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi… I’ve tried the topsy turvey and had horrible luck. My issue is the watering… always had trouble keeping the right moisture level. Too much and the tomato plant roots die. Too little, the same thing.
And on top of that… its VERY heavy. Had to hang it off my deck railing, which wasnt pretty.
I prefer a simple stake to grow tomatoes in the ground. This is the best product out there… http://www.thetomatostake.com
Easy, cheap, and very simple to use.
Nice, simple concept you have there. I like your growing tips and tricks for tomatoes. The thing I’m worried about with the Topsy Turvy is the weight of a big tomato plant hanging. I’m thinking the stem might break off…
You might also want to say, that while online they maybe expensive ($13+ on amazon.com $20+ elsewhere), that here in North Carolina, Bed Bath & Beyond, as well as local grocery stores, are selling them for $9.99 (and at BB&B, you can use the 20% off coupon [just a tip, those coupons NEVER expire, I just got done using some from '04-'06 and I used about 20 on one order], there might be some extra savings there as well). So before buying online, take a few minutes to check out a few local places first, you may get a much better deal on the Topsy Turvy if that is what you are wanting to use.
Thank you Kim…for all your VERY helpful advice.
My wife and I picked up a Topsy Turvy from the local Walgreen’s store for $9.99. So far, we’re on week3 and it doesn’t look as great as the one in the video, but there are little yellow flowers developing from our tomato plant (Early Girl tomatoes). I’m not sure the plant is getting enough sun, though. It is hanging in our backyard from the eave and only gets the sun from the morning to mid-day. After that, the sun is on the other side of the house (and that is when it’s the hottest part of the day) but I don’t want to hang the plant on this side as it would be outside facing the street.
This will be a good experiment. I was going to try and make my own T.T. out of 1 gallon water bottles, but for $9.99, that was an ok price, too, but next time, I’m going to try the fiber pot.
Oh great to hear from you! Yes I’m very curious how your tomato plants will do in the Topsy Turvy! Well in the video they actually have it growing in a greenhouse under ideal conditions..so that’s cheating a bit. Please keep in touch and let me know how it does…thank you!
It’s now 25 days after I made my first post and the little tomatoes are now making an appearance. Follow the link below to see pictures of our early girl tomatoes.
By the way, I only water the plant every other morning. I have an old 1 liter bottle that I fill up twice and pour it in. The planet seems to be doing well. We also use Miracle grow potting soil.
I picked up a TT today from Steins, for $9.95, along with soil, 2 tomato plants, and 2 green pepper plants. After seeing how it was built, I planted one of the tomato plants in the TT and hung it from a large shepherds hook. Then for comparison, I planted the second tomato plant in a large pot on my deck.
Last, I made 2 of my own versions of the TT out of a 2 liter pop bottle and a juice bottle. Those are for the two pepper plants. I hope they work! I’ll update in a couple months to let you know how it went.
Hey Bishop! Thanks so much for posting those pics. Looks like they are doing fantastic!! So they are around 1.5 months old now right? And good to hear that you got just the right amount of water too!
Thank you ECACE! Yess please update us…there’s many reading this post so I’m sure they would love to hear back…very helpful. Please share pics if you have any. I think I’ll make a special post for the pics.
You’re welcome. Today is exactly 8 weeks since we planted the tomatoes. It’s been really hot out here since I took the last pictures 9 days ago, so the plant is looking a bit wilted, however, at least the tomatoes are still growing.
Click my name to see the latest pics I took earlier today.
We have a few red tomatoes now.
Mmmmmm those look scrumptious! I can’t believe its July and you’ve already got tomatoes! Unheard of here in Calgary…
Iam sure it works since I did make my own out of 5 gal buckets last year. The only problem I had was the soil gets hard as a rock and when watering the water would run out the holes.
I THINK WITH THE TOPSY TURVY IT WOULD BE EASIER TO TRY AND SQUEEZE TOGETHER ONCE AND A WHILE TO LOOSEN THE DIRT.I DRILLED THREE HOLES AROUND THE 5 GAL BUCKET. AND ONE UNDERNEATH FOR DRAINAGE AND ONE ON TOP TO WATER. EASY TO WATER CUZ THE LIDS SAGE DOWN ALWAYS TO THE CENTER.
AND VERY STRONG TO HANG W/O WORRY’S
I FORGOT TO TELL YOU…..
TO DRILL MY HOLES IN THE 5 GAL BUCKET I USED A DRILL CUTTER USED FOR DOORS KNOB FOR HOLES…I THINK ABOUT 2.5 INCHES.
YOU CAN ALSO GET A HOLD OF SOME 2 GAL BUCKETS THAT ARE AS STURDY AS A 5 GAL…USUALY FREE.
1 GAL COFFEE CANS MAY WORK ALSO.
Hey Scott, Thanks so much for that helpful comment. You wouldn’t believe how many people are looking to make their own planters so your helping so many gardeners out here.
You were wondering how to put pictures up in the comment area. If you have some pictures that would be great! Just put the url link in the comment area to where ever the picture is online and I’ll put the html code to make them show up. Thanks so much!
Ours only cost $9.99 at Walgreens in Visalia, CA. We’ve yet to figure out out how to install it. The hints here have been very helpful. Thanks. You might not be able to email me; got some bouncing problems with that stupid Yahooie, again.
Hi All!
I recently (April 3rd) planted a Bonnie Select determinate plant in the TopsyTurvy bag. I have never grown any vegetables before so I am learning as I go. I decided to blog it all in painful detail. I am located in Central Texas so I hope to have some tomatoes right around June 1st. Hopefully my blogging will be of help to others. If the tomatoes work out, I think I will branch out into peppers and strawberries. We’ll see.
.-= Andy´s last blog ..Is a Picture Worth A Thousand Tomotoes? =-.
Another Topsy Turvy success! Thanks for sharing Andy. The leaves haven’t even come out here in Calgary and you already have tomatoes. Not fair!!
thks….Ive had problems due to not having the right type of soil….I used reg poting soil…and it gave me no results. Can you give me the corect mix of soil again please.
If I put lid on tomato planter then how does sun reach it?
allo je suis en essais de 4 sacs pour tomates et ca marche je vais faire des photos pour mes amies merci envoy moi des bonnes recettes pour engrais
Hi
I saw your site and was best.
how can I buy many of your produces?
thanks a lot
Kazem Tan
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