As I've discussed here before, tomatoes do not like temperature below 50 degrees F. It's completely possible to grow tomatoes through the winter, especially if you live in the South. Either way, you'll probably need to bring your tomato plants in during cold snaps, but be sure to leave them outside on nice days so they get plenty of sunshine. Good luck!

I have a cherry tomato plant in the garden that is dropping a lot of its flowers and not producing as many tomatoes. After some reading, I see that this could be caused by too much nitrogen in the soil or too many flowers on the tomato plant. I'll need to test the soil to see if it's the nitrogen, but the plant is covered in flowers so I think it may be an abundance of flowers. The tomato plant has produced several nice tomatoes, but it's just difficult to see so many nice looking flowers fall off.

Are flowers dropping off your Topsy Turvy Tomato plants? Typically this is caused by weather conditions. Nighttime temperatures dropping below 50 F or daytime temperatures above 95 F can cause this condition. The solution is to bring your tomatoes indoors during these types of weather conditions.

There are primarily two different types of tomato plants: Determinate and Indeterminate. Determinate tomatoes grow to a certain height, typically no more than 4 feet, and tend to bush out. Indeterminate tomatoes grow more in a vining nature and can get as tall as 10 feet. Many people pinch off the suckers in order to train an indeterminate tomato, although this is not necessary. So next time you buy your tomato plants look to see if you're buying Determinate or Indeterminate plants.

Tomatoes need good soil drainage. Be especially careful if you're planting your tomatoes in pots. Make sure the pot has plenty of drain holes in the bottom and will not retain water for too long. If you water your tomato and come back in a couple of hours and still see water in the pot, you do not have good drainage. If you're planting your tomatoes in the ground, be sure to plant them in an area that does not remain wet long after a rain. But of course, if you have a Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter, you don't have to worry about the drainage. Get your Topsy Turvy here:

Don't have a lot of space to plant? That's probably the case if you're considering the topsy turvy tomato planter. The square foot gardening technique may be a great solution for you if you have limited space. I've had much success with my tomatoes in a 4x4 square foot garden block. The tomato plants seem to love Mel's soil mix. The funny thing about his soil mix is that it doesn't contain soil! I recommend buying his book and experimenting with his techniques:

I'm a little shocked and amazed at one of my cherry tomato plants. It has survived 2 freezes (one of which was around 26 F) and golf ball size hail. I obviously covered the little tomato plant on those cold nights, but it wasn't looking so good for a few days after. The hail stripped some of the branches off the poor guy, but he didn't get too many direct hits luckily. Earlier this week, I've noticed a lot of new growth and some flowers starting! I'm amazed!

What is the perfect time to pick a tomato? This depends on your likes. If you're going to fry some green tomatoes, then pick them while they're still green. If you'll be using the tomato in a few days, you can pick it while it's green or yellow and let it ripen in the house. Or you can pick it after it has ripened on the vine. Experiment and see what works out best for you. Just don't put your tomatoes in the refrigerator as they'll lose all their taste.

This obviously does not apply if you're using a Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter, but if you're using traditional garden or pot techniques, simply pinch off the lower branches and plant the tomato deep. Then, as the tomato grows, pinch off the little axils that grow between the branches. Each axil will grow into a new vine if allowed. If you have space constraints and need to grow your tomatoes vertically, it's important to let the main vine grow as tall as possible. Just keep the axils pinched out.

Here's a great book for tips on growing vertically due to space constraints:

Similar to many fruits and vegetables, tomatoes need just enough water to keep them from wilting, but not too much water. That's not a very good answer I know. It is a delicate balance watering tomatoes, but the key is to keep an eye on them. Just try not to let them wilt. If they're wilting, then obviously they need more water. The best way to water tomatoes is with a watering can left outside full of warm water. Cold water from the hose can sometimes shock tomato plants. So after you've watered your Topsy Turvey Tomato plants with the warm water from your watering can, just refill the can and leave it out until you water the next time.

Why not try your hand at starting some heirloom tomatoes from seed:

From my personal experience, it's best to plant tomatoes in your area after the night-time low temperatures no longer drop below 50 degrees F. This may be difficult in northern climates, but most tomatoes just don't handle temperature well below 50 degrees. If you plant outside too early, your tomatoes will be set back and will take much longer to get going. Good luck this season!

Heirloom tomatoes seem to be all the rage these days. It's very difficult to choose an heirloom tomato when there are so many on the market these days. There are some very unusual ones out there - and not all are that great from my experience. Here's a great book from Amazon that will help you choose:

Tomatoes are very easy to start indoors and many people consider tomatoes to be one of the easiest plants to start indoors. Be sure to keep them moist and in a bright spot. Tomatoes need lots of light and warm temperatures. Anything below about 50 F is too cold for tomatoes. You can start your tomato seeds in something similar to these seed starter sets from Amazon:

Covering tomatoes is a tricky subject for me. Everyone seems to have an "easy" solution for this, but I've run into problems on very cold nights. Most tomatoes aren't cold-hardy at all. Tomatoes can get set-back many weeks with temperatures even in the low to upper thirties. It's crucial to not plant tomatoes in the ground until the warm weather has arrived (for good). Do not cover tomatoes with plastic as they'll still freeze underneath and any moisture trapped underneath the plastic cover will freeze to the plant as well. Use old towels or blankets and wrap them around the tomatoes. Then throw a bigger blanket over the entire space. Good luck with this as you'll probably lose your tomatoes anyway. That's what makes the Topsy Turvy so great. Just bring the whole thing indoors on cold nights. Or you can experiment with hydroponic tomatoes:

To store tomatoes in the freezer, just wash, dry, then put whole tomatoes in freezer bags - then just put in the freezer.

Just about any tomato can be dried. Just make sure the tomato stays very dry and warm to prevent mold. One method it to turn your oven on the lowest heat setting (usually 150 F), put the tomatoes in, then turn the oven off and let them sit in there for the day. Then just pack them in good olive oil or put them in the refrigerator.

Tomatoes should not be in constantly wet soil. Tomatoes should also not be exposed to prolonged dry conditions allowing them to wilt. They grow best when planted in well drained soil with about 1.5 inches of rain per week. Remember, don't water the leaves and you'll avoid a fungal infection down the road.

"Love Apple" is a term used to describe tomatoes.

Read more about Love Apples:

So what is Lycopene? Lycopene is an antioxidant, naturally found in tomatoes, that neutralizes free radicals which can damage the body's cells. Did you know that people in the early 1800's used to think tomatoes were poisonous? Little did they know that tomatoes are in fact not poisonous, but great for our health!

Read more about Lycopene with this great book:

Most supermarket tomatoes have a certain blandness to them that you don't find with tomatoes from your garden or a farmer's market. This is typically because they have been refrigerated along the way. After picking the tomatoes from your Topsy Turvy tomato planter, be sure to not refrigerate them and they'll taste so much better.

Here's a cute story about a picky eater and tomatoes:

If you're not buying a Topsy Turvy Tomato planter and planting tomatoes in the ground, it's important to pinch off the lower leaves and plant it about 2/3 deep, leaving only the top of the tomato plant exposed. This will help the plant establish a better and deeper root system, giving you a more productive plant.

Check out this great book:

Check out this picture of a tomato tree I took at Epcot in Orlando, Florida.



Have you seen this Tomato tree before? This is Topsy Turvy x 1000

It's not a good idea to plant tomatoes outdoors before the last frost date in your area. Tomato plants are very sensitive to the cold temperatures and will be greatly set back if they encounter cold temperatures. The great thing about a topsy turvy tomato plant is that you can easily bring it indoors if there is a frost. Buy one today!

Check out these freeze maps courtesy of weather.com

Follow these instructions on how to make your very own upside down tomato planter:

Watch the Upside Down tomato planter instructions/how to:

Watch the Topsy Turvy Tomato Review here:

Topsy Turvy Upside Down Tomato Planter

Just plant it and hang it up on a patio, balcony, terrace, tree or anywhere else!
No digging!
No stakes or cages!
No need to tie up tomatoes or get down on your knees to pull weeds!



Get your Topsy Turvy Today!