The Great Topsy-Turvy Mystery Revisited

Sure wish our rain was a little more spread out. 6" in 2 days two weeks ago, 3" in 2 days this past weekend.

That does make it nice but around here you take what you can get when you can get it. Always seems to be feast or famine.

We had another thunderstorm and downpour a bit ago. Creek is roaring.

Hey, great news. The TT-mater has popped a couple of blooms. Now we just need to wait and see if they set fruit in this warm weather.

It’s also growing very well. The top, er bottom, or maybe, heck. Some of the leaves have made it out from under the pot and are starting to go up the side of the bucket.
Photo to follow.

I went ahead and gave it a shot of 13-13-13 to help it along. I don’t think either of the blooms are going to set but we shall just have to wait and see.

I decided that a picture a week was too much so I will post one around the first of each month.

They must prune the plants in the TV commercials. Never see any branches growing upwards.

Yes and if you look closely you will see that the fruit isn’t bunched in sets but is hanging all over. Like ornaments on a Christmas tree. Go figure.

I don't think that mater on TV was grown upside down.

Or if it was the light source was under it not above.

You don’t think they would lie do you? Just saying.

"Truth in advertising" is an oxymoron.

Good one! That's one I have to remember. =0)

Stems grew both up and down, mostly down. None broke off from the weight of the several fruits. Needed water every day! After harvesting one 3" tomato, one morning came out to find the plant completely denuded of leaves and full of large greem tomato hornworms.(Cats of the hummingbird moth) Even the green fruits were half eaten. That's the last of my tomato farming for this year!

Thanks for the growth habits details, but OUCH on the hornworm attack!

Mine are big and green (the tomatoes) and just starting to shade to white before going red, so I'm keeping a nuke warm on the side lines just in case. Hate to use it but I will if forced. {=0P

Here is an up date on the TT Mater. As you can see it is still growing nicely under the bucket. The couple of blooms it had failed to set and fell off so I may have to nurse it through the summer and see if it will fruit this fall. Will post another picture next month or if anything important happens.

Looking good!

Doesn't look like the one on TV but it does look healthy.

Ok, here is the July image of the TT. It’s still blooming but not setting fruit because of the heat. Also the stem that was growing up the side of the bucket seems to be getting heavy and is starting to sag. This may be good if the plant survives the summer. This fall the branches may be hanging straight down and we won’t have to worry about the weight of the fruit breaking them.

Anyway this is where we stand at the moment. Next images in August unless something earth shattering happens.

Here is another view of the plant. From this angle you can see how the stem is sagging.

Healthy looking mater plant. Has it set any fruit at all or was it started too late?

This message was edited Jul 5, 2010 6:43 AM

Looking good!

Nope, it was started too late. If it will last till this fall it may do pretty good. Next time I think I will try a determinate type of vine in a hanging basket and see what happens.

Ok, it’s time for the monthly TT mater report. At the moment, the TT mater is the only one we have that is still green and alive. One benefit to having it in a bucket is that you can move it around to where it’s happiest. Right now it is out in one of the shade houses under 60% shade and doing fine. Even under shade it still has to be watered every other day or it just wilts big time in this heat. It is still blooming pretty regular but still hasn’t set any fruit because of the heat.

I’m thinking if it can survive Aug. & Sept. it might be our best fall producer since it will already be a nice size and should set fruit all over once the nighttime temps get down to 65 & 70 degrees. It will also depend on weather or not the limbs can support a heavy load of fruit without breaking.


This message was edited Aug 5, 2010 10:06 AM

One thing I’ve noticed is the trunk and base limbs are really thick and sturdy. This may be key as to weather it can support a heavy fruit load or not. I still think the limbs will break and kink when they start to get heavy.

One strange thing is it’s starting to grow roots on the trunk and some limbs where the water drains and runs down them. They first appeared around the first week of July and so far don’t seem to have gotten much larger. The plant is probably so confused about now its liable to do anything. Putting on a couple maters would be a good start. }=0P

Forgot to add that it has not been sprayed with anything and has no bug damage, no hornworms, and no stinkbugs at all. I think they can’t find it since it’s upside down and hanging in the air and not on the ground where it’s supposed to be. IMHO

This message was edited Aug 5, 2010 10:22 AM

It looks good!

I'm not surprised about the roots because people recommend burying your transplants deep because they will develop more roots along the stem. Your little experiment backs that up. Also, someone on here said that when she prunes, she sticks her suckers in the ground and they root. It worked for me, too! Now I have a short little tomato bush with lots of tomatoes coming on.

I never thought about planting the suckers but that is really a neat idea

Thanks for the update. Sure wish I had some place to hang plants. :(

August 24th... any updates? Is it still alive and blooming? Are you too busy eating BLTs?

I am trying something as an experiment. Earlier this month, I bought a couple bags of potting soil, planted two tomatoes in each and have blooms on both kinds ~ Wayaheads and July 4th. Will see how that goes.

I don't think TT is going to make it. This heat has it looking really bad right now even in the shade. Sounds like a good experiment. Hope it works out.

I think I'm going to try the viney types in buckets this fall and see what happens.

Upside down or right side up on your viney buckets?

One set of these is determinate and I hope to move them into the GH and keep them going. Also hope to try some radishes, lettuces in bags of potting soil in GH.

Chances are my spare time and ambitions will run out by then... lol

Thinking about the right side up buckets. Aside from the heat, Mr. TT grew quite well in the bucket. Right side up with it cascading over the sides I see advantages in being able to move it around and not having to stake or other wise mess with the vines. It might be a coincidence but it didn’t have a bug problem like everything else either.

If I grow them in the ground again I will have to do it under a short shade house. This sun and heat is getting worse. Those global warming freaks may know what they’re talking about.

The bags may work out pretty good. What are the advantages of doing it that way?

My ambitions run with the temperature. LOL I’m out at first light and back in by noon or so till around five.

This has been a really, unusually, abnormally, incredibly, hot, hot summer. More the humidity than the excessive heat although today is the first day in August that I think we didn't break 100°. OTOH, I saw 99.5° ~ like it is actually cooler? NOT!

Those are kind of my ideas too. But I think having to move and rearrange bags or pots would be a total pain. That’s why I was thinking of a short shade cover maybe angled against the afternoon sun. In spring and fall the 60% shade cloth would also afford a lot of protection against frost. If you prefer pots, 7 gal. nursery containers and the hardwood regrind we use to pot with are cheap and reusable to an extent. The biggest problem to over come that I see is direct sun and heat. If you could come up with a reliable way to throw shade on the plants from noon till dusk you should be okay. This year the peppers couldn’t even handle the sun except for three plants that caught some shade off a plum tree from noon on. They grew and prospered very well while those that were in the sun till around 5 pm burnt up. The amount of water applied to them didn’t matter. Just thinking out loud here but your input would be welcomed.

Sorry folks but the great TT mystery is over. The heat has terminated the matter. I won’t subject you to the grizzly images of a dead and tortured plant but take my word; it’s dead en stinken.

I will try this experiment again and get the matter started at the proper time and see what happen.

May it R.I.P. We were hoping to hear it R.I.T. ( rested in tummy ) instead.
Did you ever get to harvest a tomato from it?

I've seen folks in the southwest that will build "shade sails" to protect their gardens sites from the evening sun. Of course they can get quite artsy but stakes with shadecloth or sheets or.... placed at the proper angles should provide the protection from sun that you need. I'll see if I can find a link or two on them.

No, I started it way to late. It had a lot of blooms but they never set because of the heat. However I think the stupid thing may actually work.

Any suggestions on the shade engineering would help. There has got to be a way to do it easily and economically.


This message was edited Sep 4, 2010 3:29 PM

Just read this with much interest. I am sorry it didn't work out for you. I was much too lazy with the water and my attempt last year dried out horribly!

Tomatoes tend too take over our garden & choke everything else out. We are going to attempt growing them in home-made earthboxes this coming season. Shoulld provide a good steady supply of water too! (We also get lots of cracked tomatoes, again due to my lazy watering habits.)

I did pick up a few of the Topsy turvy stawberry planters this year when they marked them down to $2.50 each. I'd think it would do well for strawberries since they tend to grow that way anyway! I planted them with starters of both ever-bearing & junebearing varieties. So far they are doing well.

Regular hanging baskets work well for SB's also.

Yep Lizard's keep, but at $2.50 each they were a cheap & easy hanging strawberry pot :-) would have cost me more for a regular basket.