# Upside down tomatoes



## Larryh86GT (Jun 22, 2010)

This is my first attempt at upside down growing. Excuse the decorative buckets but they were on hand when I got the idea to try this. One is a plum tomato and the other is a cherry tomato. The rest of my tomato plants are planted right side up in my garden.


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## djrockinsteve (Jun 22, 2010)

As long as you have holes for drainage it should work.

My problem is sometimes I plant my seeds upside down and nothing grows. Drats!


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## myakkagldwngr (Jun 22, 2010)

They have an add for upside down tomatoes on the tv quite a bit here locally.
It's just a plant that is in a bucket and hangs down..
Back in the old days, tomato farming was what I did for a living. 
The man I was employed by was listed as the fourth largest vegatable farmer in the Southeast for a year or so, then he started his down hill slide into bankruptcy.
Twice a year, on the farm I would worked on we would grow 1700 acres of tomatoes, not saying anything for corn, potatoes, cabbage, watermelons, cucumbers, pickles and bell pepper. All together it would total 3500 acres of produce.
And we did that twice a year.


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## St Allie (Jun 22, 2010)

you've got some lovely, showy, clematis in the background.

is it a big garden?


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## Larryh86GT (Jun 22, 2010)

St Allie you have a good eye. I have about 60 clematis vines on the fence around the backyard. (Maybe more, some sections have become very jungle like). And an assortment of wisteria, trumpet vine, and rose of sharon. Plus some other stuff stuck in. And those are hops vines climbing up the string.


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## Julie (Jun 22, 2010)

Larryh86GT said:


> St Allie you have a good eye. I have about 60 clematis vines on the fence around the backyard. (Maybe more, some sections have become very jungle like). And an assortment of wisteria, trumpet vine, and rose of sharon. Plus some other stuff stuck in. And those are hops vines climbing up the string.



Larry, how high up is that string for your hops?


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## Larryh86GT (Jun 22, 2010)

The strings are about 15 foot long. Right now a couple of the hops have gone beyond that 2 or 3 foot.


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## arcticsid (Jun 22, 2010)

I was tinkng about making some upside down wine, but I am wondering how it would be possible to read the hydrometer!!


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## Runningwolf (Jun 22, 2010)

Larry I use to do that with cucumbers and peppers also


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## Larryh86GT (Jun 22, 2010)

Did the cucumber vines hang down or did they climb up?


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## arcticsid (Jun 22, 2010)

My good buddy and neighbor is trying the upside down tomatoes and also upside down strawberries. Hopefully I will have some pictures in a few weeks to show you.


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## Runningwolf (Jun 22, 2010)

the cucumbers hung down.


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## arcticsid (Jun 22, 2010)

still seems to me that the weight of the fruit just wouldnt work.

I will believe just about anything. But Phil has his going and I wil just need to see this to believe it. His standing Toms are looking great(soory Tom), but the upside down ones are struggling.

I want to hear and see more about his upside own growing.

Gonna take me a lot to convince me on this.

Where is a botanist when we need them.

Standing strong with the cage around me.......


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## Wade E (Jun 22, 2010)

Those Topsy Turvy Tomato plants are very cool. My neigbor across the street tried them this year and they are doing very well. I will do it next year.


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## arcticsid (Jun 22, 2010)

send pictures


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## Wade E (Jun 22, 2010)

I dont have access to their backyard but did see them the other day when I was across the street at the other neighbors house.


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## arcticsid (Jun 22, 2010)

Try looking at them standing upright. LOL

I really have to see this to be a believer. I am the house plant king. I have gardening in my blood but am not one. Plants grow up.

This whole idea of upside down plants would sure mess up our buddy Jack for sure. He outta get the cow back right now before telemarketer calls him and tries to sell him one of these. LOL


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## bigabyte (Jun 22, 2010)

Too many people have done this, so i know my dad must have done SOMETHING wrong, but a a couple years back my dad tried this upside down tomato thing. He didn't get strong plants because they tried growing up around the bottom of the container towards the light, and as the fruit come out the weight would pull them back down. The fruit were very small, and he thought it was because the plant was struggling against itself.

Could have just been him though!


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## arcticsid (Jun 22, 2010)

Standing by you BIG, gonna have to show me on this, not taking anyones word on this without proof, preferably at least 80 proof!!!


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## xanxer82 (Jun 22, 2010)

Looking nice!. I have some of those Topsy Turvy plantes that the advertise on TV. Got them at Walmart fairly cheap and they seem to be working well. Just be sure to keep them watered.


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## St Allie (Jun 23, 2010)

I've got trellis along the sides of my decking.. might try doing upside down gherkins this spring/summer and let them grow along the trellis too.. will make them a lot easier to pick...

re.. the tomatoes getting too heavy for the plants?.. perhaps the sweet100 hybrid cherry tomato would be a better choice?.. the fruit is a lot smaller so less weight to drag the plants down? just a thought..

Allie


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## myakkagldwngr (Jun 23, 2010)

I would think that any tomato plant would work. They are quite a bit tougher vine than most think.
The main reason tomato growers here in Florida stake the tomatoes is to allow them to be sprayed easier and also harvested longer.
Ground tomatoes are grown for machine harvesting, being only picked once, where as staked tomatoes will be picked up to five times if the market is high.
This year was terrible and some of the tomatoes on the local farms were only picked once. Even only being picked once they produced 45 to 50 thousand pounds per acre.
The bin boxes they pick in hold 1000 pounds.
A strawberry grower here has developed a system using triangular shaped styrofoam containers that stack on a center pipe. You can put them about 6 high and each container holds about eight plants
The strawberrys hang down from where they are planted.
All of his are grown with a drip irrigation system. He's doing tomatoes, and cukes the same way.


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## arcticsid (Jun 23, 2010)

Soory, still have to convince me. Plants, by nature, are designed to grow upwards.

All you grape vine growers, are you going to grow them upside don?

Not saying I dont believe, but you have to SHOW me.

I'm still putting my money on the anti gravity, milk wine fueled time machine!!!!


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## Larryh86GT (Jun 23, 2010)

Here's a picture taken this morning of the first plum tomato forming.


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## myakkagldwngr (Jun 23, 2010)

Our old rule of thumb was when you find a big tomatoe the size of a dime, it will be six weeks till it's red.


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