Garden Container Review: Upside Down Tomato Planters and Earthbox

While it's exciting that container gardening has taken off and that retailers are taking notice of this interest in container gardening, it's important to note that not all containers do what they claim to do. Two of particular interest as of late are the Topsy Turvy Upside Down Tomato Planter and the EarthBox. Neither of these products is new to the market yet interest is continuing to rise. Are these products worth it? Do they do what they say they will?

The Topsy Turvy and other upside down tomato planters make the following claims: grows delicious & juicy tomatoes all season long, perfect for patio or deck, good for small spaces, no weeding, eliminates caging or staking, no soil-born disease, no blemishes from fruit touching the ground and you can harvest without bending down.

While I've not personally had one of these planters, we have had one at the greenhouse for the last two years. The greenhouse. With near ideal conditions in regard to sun, water and fertilizer. The yield? None. No tomatoes. So much for that all season long claim. And it's probably a good thing, too. Because that claim that there was no bending to harvest? Totally false. This tomato plant was actually lower than than plants in traditional containers growing up to meet us!

I personally think hanging it from a deck or patio is less than ideal for sun exposure. It has to be hung from something right? Like an overhang? Which will actually shade the plant to some extent which is also shaded by the planter itself. The sun is up there yet the plant is down here. Jorge Garcia (Hurley from Lost fame--love Hurley, although that's totally irrelevant here) wrote about his experiences with the Topsy Turvy on his blog. The tomatoes, as would be expected, grew to the light. This completely negates the whole concept of upside down. Why plant them upside down when the plants try to grow right side up? It seems rather mean, not to mention ridiculous! Meanwhile, his tomatoes in regular old pots did outstanding.

On another blog post at Garden Desk, the author bought one of these planters and contemplated its use. The comments to this post were enlightening. Most people who tried them did not get any fruit. Many had plants that fried. Many had plants that grew to the light. Several had more disease than traditional planting. Several who had success, modified the planter in some way which to me, defeats the whole purpose. And most importantly, watering was a nightmare, even with a reservoir.

Much of this is consistent with what we found at the greenhouse. The planter dries out quickly, the plant grows up anyway and the yield is nonexistent. I have to admit that when I first saw these I thought they could be a good idea. Now, I don't know why. Why do the roots to the sky make sense? They are open to sunlight and wind thus drying out faster. Strike one. When watering the plants the water drains to the leaves causing more disease. Tomatoes don't like wet foliage. Strike two. No tomatoes! Strike three and we're outta here!

Save your money. Simply planting a tomato plant in a larger container will be much more cost effective and you will have tomatoes all season long.

I do own an EarthBox. It's a fairly good product although I don't know that it's worth the money. For all it's claims, the same thing could be achieved for much less money. I believe when I purchased my EarthBox several years ago it retailed for $79. I see on Amazon it now sells for $50 so that's a plus. And it comes with wheels now! Nice!

Basically the EarthBox is a self-watering container garden. The kit comes with all the pieces parts to the box, fertilizer and a fitted plastic cover. Staking systems are available to purchase extra. The EarthBox claims double the yields of traditional gardens with less water. Okay, sounds good. And it is good. Yet, any container can be made into a self watering container. Plastic mulch can be cut to fit and secured in a container with garden staples. Time-release fertilizer can be purchased anywhere garden supplies are sold.

Upon perusing the EarthBox site, the main thing seems to be keeping the reservoir full at all times. Well, duh. So basically, water your plants on a regular basis. There is no gauge, window or indicator to alert a gardener to when the reservoir is low so you have to check it daily anyway. I don't see where this is really an upside since with traditional pots I can tell by looking at the soil that plants need water. This is a no-no with the EarthBox. Keep the reservoir full!

In reality, what EarthBox is selling is convenience. Nothing more. Does it work? Sure. Is is worth it? That will be a personal decision by each individual gardener. For some, the convenience of a kit will be worth the expense. For others, they will achieve the same thing with their existing containers, a rigged self-watering system, some fertilizer, plastic mulch and garden staples.

For me, I will continue to use my EarthBox. I have long given up it's prepackaged planting kits and simply planted it using potting soil and time release fertilizer. It works just fine. Will I buy another one? Nope. Don't think it's worth the money. What I will do is rig up several existing containers to be self-watering using some version of this method. And if I don't get around to that (often my garden plans exceed my time and energy limits), I'll continue to plant veggies in regular containers. No matter what, I'll have plenty of fresh vegetables!