Consumer

Topsy Turvy - Does It Really Do That?

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― 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.

But the Topsy Turvy grows tomatoes upside down.

It claims to be the world's easiest way to grow tomatoes… but does it really do that?

We went to Chapon's Greenhouse in Baldwin to find out.

Greenhouse manager Matt Hirsh agreed to plant and care for our upside down tomatoes.

You simply pull the plant through the hole, then fill the container with soil.

A sponge keeps the soil from falling through the lid and the cap.

One drawback is that the water makes Topsy Turvy very heavy.

"This will probably weigh a good 40 or 50 pounds when it's filled with water," said Hirsh. "And even more once it starts bearing fruit. So, you do want to make sure that it's secure."

Hirsh prefers the lighter, less expensive and perhaps better looking fiber baskets that cost about $7 each.

He's been selling them for upside down planting for years.

"The fiber pots don't get as hot or dry out as fast," said Hirsh.

And you can plant the top as well as the bottom of the pot.

Hirsch found a secure home for our Topsy Turvy upside down tomato planter and plants some herbs and zucchini as well.

One month later, our upside down tomato plant is looking good.

"They've got a lot of growth," said Hirsch. "We just started with a little six inch starter plant. We've just watered it once a day."

However, our upside down parsley "doesn't" look so good.

"I think it may have stayed too wet," said Hirsch. "(It has) too much soil volume for a starter plant."

But it's still early, so we waited.

After another three weeks, our tomato plant was huge.

It was already blooming and there was baby tomato.

Our parsley had also perked up and our zucchini was growing too.

But the bottom line is that the Topsy Turvy works, but you probably don't need it.

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