By Vanessa Richins

David in Kansas:

“How do you keep a tomato plant from growing up in an upside down tomato?”

Another reader asks:

“I am trying out the upside down tomato planters for the first time. Both of my plants (Mountain Pride) are yellowing and curling upwards towards the root. Any advice?”

Hi. This is likely due to a phenomenon called tropism. A tropism is a factor in plants where they move or grow in response to the environment around them. Phototropism occurs when plants move towards a light source.

When tomato plants are first planted upside down, the planter is often in the way of the direct sunlight. The plant will start growing upwards to reach towards the light, so it can still photosynthesize.

There’s also another tropism in effect: gravitropism. Plants respond to gravity in that the roots grow downwards (toward gravity) and stems grow upwards (away from gravity). They may hang down more as the tomatoes form on the plants. Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

One of the hot trends these days seems to be planting your tomatoes upside-down.

Tomatoes planted this way have been said to grow better, produce more, and have less pest and disease problems.

You can either create your own planters with buckets, or use one of the many products being produced by companies that have jumped on the bandwagon.

One such product is the Topsy-Turvy Deluxe Tomato Planter with Stand, offered by QVC on TV, their website, and in their stores. It consisted of a 30 pound capacity bag held on a 6 foot adjustable pole with stand, and was imported from, China.

On June 4th, 2008,, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a notice that Read the rest of this entry »