Hanging Tomato Bags - Like Topsy-Turvy

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Got the bright idea to manufacture my own hanging Tomato Bag. Took one re-usable cloth bag that costs 50 cents at Wally World. They are made of the fabric like the landscaping fabric that breathes and passes water through it. It is rectangular so I cut a 1 1/2 inch X in each end about 3 inches in on each end and planted a pepper plant in each X.

Tricks:

Lay the bag on its side. Fill the bag halfway up with potting mix. Take the plant and put it inside the bag and wrap your fingers around the plant and with your fingers guide the leaves through the X. Finish filling the bag with potting mix. Water well and hang up.

Each part of the X is 1 1/2 inches or 3/4" for each leg of the X.

Be Careful the bag is HEAVY.

[JJ Grandits]

Check out those ads for the upsidedown tomato bags. It's a load of carp. The tomatoes shown were grown rightside up. If they were grown upside down phototropism along with geotropism would have the plant still pointing up towards the sky. Im not saying it won't grow tomatoes, just can't figure out why anyone would want to. Either way the ad is all hype.

[Drew Cutter]

what your doing is linking Topsy turvy to hydroponic gardens. Hydroponic garden is a legit means of growing plants. The topsy turvy product is cheap copy of something that works (small scale). What the ad doesn't tell you is how often you got to water and what size tomato will work. What its gear toward is the move to growing your own vegetable without the work. A person growing anything much larger than a cherry tomato might be in for rude awakening.

[blufford]

Originally Posted by YuccaFlatsRanch

Got the bright idea to manufacture my own hanging Tomato Bag. Took one re-usable cloth bag that costs 50 cents at Wally World. They are made of the fabric like the landscaping fabric that breathes and passes water through it. It is rectangular so I cut a 1 1/2 inch X in each end about 3 inches in on each end and planted a pepper plant in each X.

Tricks:

Lay the bag on its side. Fill the bag halfway up with potting mix. Take the plant and put it inside the bag and wrap your fingers around the plant and with your fingers guide the leaves through the X. Finish filling the bag with potting mix. Water well and hang up.

Each part of the X is 1 1/2 inches or 3/4" for each leg of the X.

Be Careful the bag is HEAVY.

Good show! It might make it easier to shade them or even move them if it gets too hot. Are you going to do tomatoes also?

[NorthCountryWd]

I grew tomatoes upside down in 5 gal buckets for years when short on space. If you can keep them watered, it works great.

[Curtis B]

Why couldn't this have posted a week ago when my DW talked me into letting her buy one?

[Lilandra]

Originally Posted by NorthCountryWd

I grew tomatoes upside down in 5 gal buckets for years when short on space. If you can keep them watered, it works great.

we've tried the bucket deal with tomatoes and it was a complete disaster
the plant tried to grow up and not down like they show on tv
the water leaked out the bottom as fast as we could pour it
and to add insult to injury - the top dirt in the bucket was a hidding place for insects

we still use the buckets - just right side up and have great luck with all kinds of tomatoes - we drive a stake thru the bucket to keep it from tipping and then use a cage and the tomatoes are fully supported and are weed free low maintenance to boot

[Drew Cutter]

i bought mined for Gardeners in VT. Does have cage and water reservoir.

[jross]

We have one hanging from our deck and will let you know how it works. Every store around here is sold out so that says something about we are all idiots around here. At least we didn't buy an 'Amish" electric heater.

[SeedSister]

I live in an apartment complex and one of my senior citizen neighbors has two on her patio. I can already see the tomato plant growing down, around and reaching up to the sky like an ivy would. I pass it each day while exiting to complex to go to work...I pay close attention out of curiosity. Yesterday she had her DH out there spraying it down with what looked like bug spray.

So much for going organic......

I am building Earth Boxes for my tomato plants this weekend.

[Ozarkquilter46]

My cousin got those but handn't use then yet when she got the bill and sent them right back! She went down to wal mart and got there recycle bags with the handle real cheep the ones at the register. Anyway she put them half full of dirt and poped a hole in each side and stuck the top of the tomatoe out then finished filling it with dirt and hung them from the trees LOL. Looks kind of funny but its working really good. The plant are really starting to take off and she has a really bad back so the is wonderful for her

[ErinP]

Someone explain to me why we want them to grow out the bottom rather than from the top...

[Texasgirl]

We had the original Topsy Turvy last year and after just one season it rotted out.
It did produce a bunch of tomatoes.

No bugs got on that plant like they did the container ones.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

At the moment I just have pepper plants in the bags. Got 2 more bags today and will get some tomatoes tomorrow for them. I normally garden in raised beds (lasagne beds) and have another 18 tomatoes in them. I just wanted to find a cheap alternative to the Topsy-Turvy. Yes the plant will attempt to turn itself upright, but gravity will also continue to pull it down. Time will tell if it works and you have to admit I don't have a lot invested.

I am wondering how cucumbers might work growing in them too - we will see as I probably will plant some in one too.

[city2country]

Originally Posted by ErinP

Someone explain to me why we want them to grow out the bottom rather than from the top...

Basically, it's a space saver for people without a lot of ground/floor space. I've seen many of these in the city on balconies and such. They work really well. If you're got the space of course planting them makes more sense. But some people just don't have the space.

[Hooligan]

Originally Posted by Drew Cutter

i bought mined for Gardeners in VT. Does have cage and water reservoir.

I know that this product has been a huge success for Gardener's Supply Company.

Both in quantity sold and in customer feedback. I think they may have made some small design changes based on customer feedback.

They really do work and work well.

[Jim-mi]

In my neck of the woods it takes a long while for the soil to warm up to what the tomatos want . . .so hanging it will let the sun do its thing.
I've got some feed sacks that might work.

I am so ready for a mater

[Aintlifegrand]

I have two on my front porch..even though I have 42 tomatoes planted in my garden..I planted beef steak and bigger boy..they have been in since late March and are doing wonderful.. they do tend to try to grow up but when watered they come back down... I also think the weight of the tomatos will keep them growing down after they make. I just wanted to try them for fun...they are much bigger and thicker plants than mine in the garden and are loaded with blooms which is a month earlier than those in my garden normally bloom... I will take pics and post here as they continue to grow and when/and if they get loaded with tom. as I was promised by my feed store buddies...i was also thinking how great they would be for eggplant becasue of the heated bag and how eggplants love really warm soil.. I might try that next.

[nancy237]

I am trying to do a few of these this year to compare with some I have in the ground.

Does anyone have pictures????

Do I hang the bag by the handles and plant the tomato in the side???

[kyJeeper]

Originally Posted by NorthCountryWd

I grew tomatoes upside down in 5 gal buckets for years when short on space. If you can keep them watered, it works great.

I also done it 12-13 years ago. It was just another thing to water. Tomatoes not as sweet as ones in full sun.