DIY Topsy Turvy Tomato

Good morning,
I have seven potential hanging spots in my screen garden, and have been thinking of making my own 'topsy turvy' planters for tomatoes. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what materials i could use? Does anyone have any experience with this growing method?
I want to make my own, at 20.00 bucks a pop, times 7, that's 140.00 that could be well spent in other gardening arenas. I've been thinking about the old burlap flour sacks they used to use, but i can't find an outlet for them, nor am I sure they would work. I sure could use some new thoughts, fellow gardeners.

 

Somewhere in this forum there was someone who made them from 5 gallon pails.
I'll have a look and see if I can find that post...

 

My neighbor down the road used 5 gal. pails with some success. He also used a double thickness of construction garbage bags, but they started to shred by the end of the season (his wife was not happy with having all that dirt and bits of tomato on the patio!).
I've read that cherry and grape tomatoes do best in the topsy-turvys, rather than the larger tomatoes. Let us know how your experiment turns out!

 

http://www.cheapvegetablegardener.com/2010/05/2-liter-bottle-upside-down-tomato-planter.html

This looks kind of cool.

 

Toni, and everyone whose helped me:
Thank you so much for all of the various solutions I have available. Going to have to start reading some of the 'stew's archives.' TY for the links Toni, and info on the where to find the burlap bags.

 

I tried the actual topsys this past spring/summer. Spent a small fortune on about 8 (amonth later they were on sale for half the price I got them at) Ill never do that again. Theres nothing more that ticks me off than having to admit my husband was rite, and come fall when all i had to show for it was ripping bags and a handfull of tomatoes and 1 cucumber, i had to admit it. My advice, stick with the thicker 5 gallon buckts, 2 liters and milk jugs wont last.. at least not out here. But then again theres chemicals in the plastics sooo... lol Definatly post your outcomes! I heard that deli's toss their buckets out n are always willing to hand them off. Home depot and lows carry both 3 and 5 gallon buckets in their paint aisles, Goood Luck!

 

TY Rockable, that is some great hindsight.
I was just in Lowes last night and saw some sets for 4o.oo, double what was advertised on TV. They have a 'new' setup too, it was 50.00. I'll never pay 50.00 for one, I'd be ordering a fancy and rare brugmansia instead!
You know, that's another great idea, using Burger king or McDonald's discarded pickle buckets (The 5 gallon ones)
Only thing is, i've read up on what the root balls need, and it's only 3 gallons i think. I'll look up when sunrises, and make sure i'm right. (I get up early and type in near darkness, lol )
Thanks again, you've got me thinking...

 

I have not tried them yet but have family that did and they got fair results. Smaller fruit and a lot of broken limbs were the norm but they did produce.

Make sure to sue a really good potting medium so they have all their nutrients and can make a solid root hold. If the soil is too loose they can and will pull themselves out if they produce a lot of fruit. A neightbor down the road lost 30#'s of toms this year from it.

A dark colored buckets will also make a difference in my experience. More heat for the roots and won't suffer as much from cooler nights.

Another option might be to use corregated irrigation pipe but I haven't figured out a way to plug the bottom yet. It owuld really open up a lof of places to put plants out the sides and allow for maximum airflow to the roots with a few drilled holes in the right places.

 

Thank you for all that information! That's a lot of tomatoes to lose. I wonder why fruit smaller? And I was going to go with grape tomatoes to start with.
Perhaps that will make a difference.
You know the remark about pulling themselves loose if too heavy...I've been thinking that too, and wonder if using a coir liner (I can make myself, so no expense) would give them the fiber to hold onto, a kind of barrier.
Anyway, thank you again, it's good to think of all of these things before hand.

 

I think it may have been more a lack of space to develop a big enough root ball but I don't know for sure. I doubt you will have an issue with a 5 gallon bucket. Might even be bale to grow 3-5 plants in holes in the sides with cherries but I haven't seen that yet

 

I think you can buy the topsy turvy planters that are designed for this type of gardening from amazon for less than 10 dollars that way it would only cost you have of your initial budget. and you would have a great planter. and would save time engineering your own

 

Thanks herbmate, but I'm tending towards what 'rockable' and 'fish 4 all' said a few posts up. Their growing experience with them wasn't so good. I think I'm going to use the black plastic pots as they suggested, and maybe go with coco lined hangers that have some type of barrier placed over top. I think they are most likely correct in that the commercial variety are going to rot and fall apart before I can get the plants to fruition. Thank you for the heads up on amazon though.
My normally grown grape tomatoes are just now beginning to ripen, and I think I'm going to start out some seed to the ones I'm going to hang today

 

I found a really interesting way of planting vertically........

http://www.instructables.com/id/VERTICA ... in-a-smal/

 

That is interesting, and I think it would work with herbs and plants like spinach that stay small and bunched. Thank you for the heads up on that Delly. Until I get an extension built onto the screenhouse, I need all the space I can get