Topsy Turvy Planter
Topsy Turvy is completely assembled (No assembly required).
Click here to purchase the New & Improved Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter!
Hang your Topsy Turvy by mounting furnished screw-eye into solid wood. Pre-drill hole and thread screw-eye completely in until all threads are securely in the wood. Do not hang in sheet rock or vinyl siding overhangs.
Planting Instructions
For easier access while planting, temporarily lower TOPSY TURVY gro-bag to waist height using a rope or cord.
(1). If you have installed the lid remove it allowing easy access to inside of Topsy Turvy.
(2). Remove the split sponge from the locking collar located in the bottom of the Topsy Turvy. Leave it in bag.
(3). Remove your live plant seedling (not included) from its growing cup. Very carefully insert the root system of the tomato plant through the bottom planting hole from the outside. Holding the seedling plant carefully in place, clamp the tomato stem inside the split sponge and insert the sponge back into the locking collar (from the inside). Leave as much stem as possible inside the gro-bag (the stem inside the bag will develop new roots providing a bigger root system). Tip: for more crop, plant TWO seedlings at once. NOTE: It is very easy to bend or break tomato stems
(4). Using a small container, hand fill your Topsy Turvy with potting soil up to two inches from the top. Keep the upside-down root ball CENTERED in the bag as you fill. Never pour soil directly in from bag as you may damage the seedling.
(5). Replace lid and return Topsy Turvy to its permanent hanging position (before watering).
(6).VERY SLOWLY ADD AT LEAST ONE GALLON OF WATER to Topsy Turvy, allowing the potting soil plenty of time to absorb the water. Initially, set water hose to very slow drip. Place nozzle in lid watering hole allowing it to run for twenty minutes until all soil is completely saturated (watering too fast may cause soil and fertilizer to be washed out).
GARDEN TIPS
Add 1/2 cup of VEGETABLE time-release fertilizer equally throughout Topsy Tree as you add the potting soil to feed your plant for the first two weeks. We recommend water-soluble fertilizer with a formula specifically for tomatoes. Add 1/2 cup of properly diluted fertilizer every two weeks while the tomatoes are very young. Once plant gets large (cascading down two to three feet) you should fertilize every ten days. When the plants are MATURE (cascading down six feet with 15 or more tomatoes growing), you’ll need to fertilize every few days. If your plants look great, are deep green and have lots of blossoms, you’re doing great!
A variety of items can be grown in Topsy Turvy including tomatoes, fresh herbs, zukes, eggplant or a variety of peppers. Be sure to purchase healthy plants with a stem the diameter of a pencil, having four to six leaves and with NO blossoms. Avoid plants that are yellowing or are otherwise showing stress or disease.
Start your tomatoes as early in the spring as possible (after last frost)
Ask your local garden center exactly which water soluble fertilizer designed for use with vegetables is best. Warning: Do NOT use a fertilizer with a high nitrogen number will result in lots of leaves and few blossoms or tomatoes. (The nitrogen number is the first number on the fertilizer box).
Tomatoes are 85% water and require REGULAR WATERING. Topsy Turvy is a PLANTER. It does not have access to ground water so you MUST water your plants regularly. You cannot over water Topsy Turvy. Watch your plants! They will tell you if watering is overdue. If the leaves begin to curl and look wilted, YOU HAVE WAITED TOO LONG…AND NEED TO WATER SOON! Watering regularly is your most important task.
For lots of tomatoes, let your plants grow wild, never trimming. The tomatoes will be smaller but will be more plentiful. If you want larger tomatoes (in fewer numbers) keep your plants “suckered” (cutting off new shoots as they appear between main stem breaks).
Tomatoes love sun and require several hours of full sun every day but TOMATOES DO NOT DO WELL IN EXTENDED PERIODS OF HIGH TEMPERATURES. If your area has seven to ten days in a row of 85 degree F to 90+ degrees F and the nighttime temperatures are hot as well, your plants may not set blossoms. If this applies to you, be sure to locate your Topsy Turvy where it will get shade at least part of the day. Alternately, rig a shading system, using cheesecloth on simple wooden frames.
A common problem is BLOSSOM END ROT, a black, rotting circle at the base of a tomato. It is caused by a lack of calcium…which, in turn, is caused BY CYCLICAL WATERING (allowing your tomato plants to go WET, DRY, WET, DRY, etc.). Immediately pick and discard any tomatoes with blossom end rot. Keep plants well watered to avoid Blossom End Rot.
At the end of the season, cut the tomato stems off, dump the old soil and put Topsy Turvy in the dry (garage, etc.). Don’t let it sit out through the winter. You will extend the life of this great new gardening product this way.
