Are my tomatoes positioned wrong?

[MrsMDSmith]

I have purchased 3 topsy turveys. I have tomatos growing out the bottom and peppers growing out the top. They are hung from the over hang of the house. When I look out the back door, it looks like they would bet better sun if not hung from the house. Tell me everything I am doing wrong! Should I be growing my Thyme, Basil and Oregano in the top of these things instead of plants?

 

[Empera]

I just purchased a Topsy Turvy a few days as well. I'm excited.

I read somewhere that planting something that gives off a lot of nitrogen is excellent for the tomato plant and will do better than without. The only thing I would be worrying about is if the pepper plant got too large and was taking away from the tomato plant instead of supplementing it.

Maybe a smaller plant would do better? Someone suggested planting just one bean and letting the vines trickle down the sides on the plant. It would be very nice to lay eyes on.

I haven't planted anything other than the tomato in mine, so I'll be watching this topic for more ideas.

 

[desertgirl]

I was wondering this ,too. Our topsy turvey has two yellow pear tomato plants in it, and they are growing towards the sun. I turn it around, and the plant continues to turn towards the sun...wierd.

I like the idea of a bean plant. Like what kind of bean???

 

[vfem]

I would grow Basil in the pots of them. Basil adds flavor to the tomatoes you are growing!

Here's some info on what tomatoes like, and what they don't!

"TOMATOES: Tomato allies are many: asparagus, basil, bean, carrots, celery, chive, cucumber, garlic, head lettuce, marigold, mint, nasturtium, onion, parsley, pepper, marigold, pot marigold and sow thistle. One drawback with tomatoes and carrots: tomato plants can stunt the growth of your carrots but the carrots will still be of good flavor. Basil repels flies and mosquitoes, improves growth and flavor. Bee balm, chives and mint improve health and flavor. Borage deters tomato worm, improves growth and flavor. Dill, until mature, improves growth and health, mature dill retards tomato growth. Enemies: corn and tomato are attacked by the same worm. Kohlrabi stunts tomato growth. Keep potatoes and tomatoes apart as they both can get early and late blight contaminating each other. Keep cabbage and cauliflower away from them. Don't plant them under walnut trees as they will get walnut wilt: a disease of tomatoes growing underneath walnut trees."

Here's where I got that:

http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html

 

[Empera]

But I think the cascading bean vines would be absolutely beautiful. I think any bean could do the trick. I'm thinking of just putting a bush bean in there and having it kind of fluff out.


Basil would be a good one to do because of the natural flavor. & The website you posted was great!

It says about beans: All bean enrich the soil with nitrogen fixed form the air. In general they are good company for carrots, celery, chards, corn, eggplant, peas, potatoes, brassicas, beets, radish, strawberry and cucumbers. Beans are great for heavy nitrogen users like corn and grain plants because beans fix nitrogen from the air into the soil so the nitrogen used up by the corn and grains are replaced at the end of the season when the bean plants die back. French Haricot beans, sweet corn and melons are a good combo. Summer savory deters bean beetles and improves growth and flavor. Keep beans away from the alliums.

There are a lot of people who think the Topsy Turvy is a waste of money but being completely new to gardening in the first place, maybe this might be a great one for the newbie planter like me. Some say it doesn't yield as many as normal caged or staked tomatoes do, or that it needs constant watering.

If it ends up bringing me some good tasty tomatoes, I have nothing negative to say.

 

[lesa]

Be careful, if they are too close to the house (or anything else) when the wind blows your plant will break off and be ruined. I found this out the hard way, last summer! They need to be hanging in an open area, where they will not bang into anything. Enjoy!