Customer Reviews

Felknor Ventures FV504C Topsy Turvy Upside-Down Hanging Tomato Planter

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I AM AMENDING MY REVIEW AND OFFERING A MEA CULPA TO ANYONE WHO HAS BOUGHT ONE OF THESE IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS. I DO STAND BY THE IDEA AND HAVE HAD GREAT SUCCESS FOR MANY SEASONS BUT APPARENTLY THE POPULARITY AND THE FLOODING OF THE MARKET WITH THESE HAS GIVEN THE MAKERS CAUSE TO DRASTICALLY REDUCE THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCT. I BOUGHT FOUR THIS SEASON AND HAVE HAD THE CABLES BREAK, EVEN AS I WAS PLANTING TWO OF THEM. ALSO, THE ACCESSORIES LIKE THE FOAM INSERTS THAT HOLD THE PLANT HAVE DECREASED FROM ONE INCH TO A MERE QUARTER OF AN INCH AND EVEN THAT IS SUCH INFERIOR QUALITY THAT THE PLANT BULGES OUT FROM THE NOW SHALLOWER CUP MEANT TO HOLD IT. THERE USED TO BE TWO FOAM DISCS THE WIDTH OF THE PLANTER TO BE PLACED AT INTERVALS IN THE SOIL TO SLOW DOWN EVAPORATION AND KEEP THE WATER FROM RUNNING RIGHT THROUGH - - - NOT ANYMORE.
IN ADDITION, THE LIDS ARE ILL FITTING, THE PLASTIC LINER IS MUCH LESS DURABLE AND ARE NOT ATTACHED WELL TO THE PLASTIC FRAME OR THE TOP WIRE RING. THE REASON THAT I AM NOT DELETING THE PREVIOUS REVIEW IS BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT JUST A "SOUR GRAPES" OPINION. THEY JUST AREN'T WORTH BUYING ANYMORE. ---- MAY 28, 2009

I thought that this would just be a fun conversation starter when people visited my garden - it is so much more! This product far exceeds the description in the ad.
The inverse orientation seems to encourage hearty plants - super strong stems requiring no staking - so many tomatoes that I'll be giving them away by the bushel - BEST of all the bugs don't seem to notice it is even there (and the rabbits can't reach it). After the severe rains this past Spring the whole rest of my garden is bogged down with mold, mildew and more insects than I have ever seen but the hanging tomato garden is thriving and pest free. The only access a crawly creature would have would be the wire that it hangs from (a much more clever design than the expensive 'Upside-down Tomato Garden' ($69.97) that is in actual contact with the ground and besides, that one has to be put together).
Make sure that your plant 'starts' are a good five or six inches tall before they go into the planter and be consistent with the water (about a gallon each day) tomatoes are heavy drinkers.
Have fun watching your whacky garden grow!

This item has far exceeded my expectations in terms of plant growth and vegetables produced on the plants. We have several different vegetables and herbs growing in the Topsy Turvey II planters - tomatoes, jalapeno and habanero peppers, zucchini, basil, dill. All have good plant structure with more production than my neighbors' traditional gardens without the constant battle with bugs, rabbits, deer, etc. Fruits and herbs are easy to pick and plants are easy to maintain. It is nice to have fresh items on the dinnertable every night.

There are a few points to consider to insure your success:

1) Topsy Turvey container is VERY heavy when filled with plant, dirt, water so it NEEDS to be hung from stud on porch or 4x4 stand, etc - make sure it is study enough to hold approximately 50 pounds and not topple in strong winds as the item works like a windsock when the winds blow.

2) any container grown plant needs more water than the same plant grown in the ground so be prepared to water tomatoes daily for best results.

3) other vegetables (all varieties of peppers, squash, beans, herbs, etc.) can also be grown in these items but again, additional watering is needed (watch plants closely to see when watering is necessary as plants other than tomatoes require less water than tomatoes.)

I have used the Topsy Turvy Tomatoe Planter for 3 seasons now, and will never, ever plant my tomatoes in the ground again. This product is sturdy, simple to use, and produces beautiful fruit. Because the plants grow toward the sun and never touch the ground, the slugs and other critters cannot ruin or run off with your produce. As I have already stated, I have used the same bags for 3 seasons now, and have not had any problems at all. I highly recommend this product.

Our tomato growing season in FL is almost over, and now is the time to rate this...

All in all, it performed pretty well, but some things you need to be aware of...

1) Make sure you hang it from something VERY sturdy. When filled with dirt and water, the thing must weigh 50 lbs! The first time I hung it the trellis I hung it from broke, any my poor little tomato plant got squished beyond recognition.

2) It can be difficult to hang because of the weight. I am a reasonably healthy, reasonably young 40 something male, and I struggled to get it hung because of that.

3) I can see the advantage of the $60 upside down planter because it is on a stand which makes it easier to reach and water. Personally, I would never pay that much and I am undecided if I would buy another one of these. It's a great conversation starter, but it's practicality is lacking.

Liked the planters but needed more height to plant the plants than expected. Had to build something to hold planters and had to put in watering system to keep watered daily. Also needed lots of liquid fertilizer (weekly). Did grow tomatoes well and without any rot or bugs. Matter of fact, it grew so many tomatoes I had enough to give some away. Hanging them as high as needed and watering were the only real problems.

Growing full size tomatoes from my topzy turvy is easier and outperforming the tomato plants that i planted in the ground next to it. I am planning on purchasing more of the product in the future

this product is good but i had to do some research and experiment to get it to work. i bought three one for tomatos one for cucumbers and one for hot peppers. topsy turvy reccomends potting soil don't do it if you want a light weight and better alternative use soilless soil it retains water better than the potting soil it's more expensive but worth it and can be found at most gardening centers and when you hang your plant it will be much lighter. with the potting soil it seemed to attract mosquitos when i switched to soilless soil the problem went away. the plant needs lots of water so like other reviewers i used a milk container which i refill twice a day now that its warming up. when its hot water water water!!! the plant uses more water when its hot than it does at night. if you get more than 6 hours of direct sunlight water the plant at least three times a day and after eight hours provide some shade for the plant which helps it retain more water by decreasing the amount of energy it uses. the plant uses water+sunlight to photosynthesize so keep it watered and you will get lots of healthy plants. if the plants do not get enough water it will slow growth to preserve water. to keep the soil from getting too hot i used mulch to keep the plants from overheating do it at night when its cooler so the soil can keep a lower temperature. when flowers start blooming cut them off energy is required to keep the flowers blooming removing them will give you more tomatos.

We purchased the Topsy Turvy in an effort to save space in our herb and vegetable garden since the tomato cages take up so much space. The soil 'bag' was very heavy, so we staked anchoring cords to hold up the double shepherd's hooks - no big deal. The instructions said that you could plant two tomato plants per bag, so we did. And we selected a medium variety of tomato so that it wouldn't get too heavy for the upside down set-up. But, after two months, with daily watering, the tomato plants have barely grown, and have only yielded 7 small tomatoes total - between the two plants! And, it looks like that will be all we'll get from both plants. We used great vegetable potting soil, so I don't think it's that. Rather, I suspect that the foam rubber 'ring' that holds the dirt in at the base is in effect cutting off the plant from growing and thriving. Next year, we're going back to the cages and setting up a separate garden for tomatoes and peppers. Hope this helps anyone else. I don't know how others get the good results, if they do.

According to the package, it is supposed to have two water diffusion disks inside. Mine did not, so my husband went back to the store to see if he could get them. None in those packages either... I called their customer service number 1-866-533-1123 and was told since I bought it at a store instead of online, to take it back to the store. That's no big deal, except there were NO disks in any of the packages there. (Did I mention my husband already went?! duh) She was quick to let me know that that was not their problem if it was missing pieces. I said I would return the garbage back to the store and the store could return it to them. All it is is a glorified tarp with a hole in the bottom. (Made in China...) Whatever happened to the days where the customer was right, and businesses actually wanted to make the customer happy? Luckily, now there is the internet, and it's easy to share crappy service with everybody so someone may be spared some frustration. If you buy one of these, I wish you luck and hope you don't need to call these hateful people. If you still feel the need to purchase this item, be sure to check the box before you leave the store.

My 10 year old daughter was influenced by the commercial and begged me to buy the Topsy Turvy. For the price, it wasn't too bad, but it is of very low quality construction. Also, watch out for sharp wire terminations.I poked myself several times while assembling. It's a novelty, like a toy or science experiment, but I don't think it worked any better than a traditional pot. Also, it's basically a single plant/season use.