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Samples of Previous Press Releases
Turning the Tomato-Growing World Upside-Down
Word Count: 982

(ARA) - Tomatoes are by far the most grown fruit (yes, “fruit,” not “vegetable”) in home gardens around the world. Nutritionists and health professionals tout the anti-oxidant health benefits of the fruit. Clearly, Americans love tomatoes. Yet most gardeners aren’t very enthusiastic about the amount of work involved in successfully growing tomatoes.

It isn’t enough to just plant, fertilize and water tomatoes. You must also sucker them, fight off a multitude of garden pests and animals (who love tomatoes as much as we do), support them with stakes and cages, tie them, and then continually retie the plants as they grow. Weeding also is a constant battle. Is it any wonder so many gardeners have thrown in the towel on their battle to produce beautiful and bountiful tomato plants?

Well, if you’re a gardener who’s developed a love-hate relationship with your tomato plants, things could be looking up for you. Literally. By planting your tomatoes upside down and hanging them (from a deck or patio overhang, clothes line, tree, etc.), you can eliminate nearly all the work and risk involved in growing them the traditional way.

“Americans are rediscovering gardening,” says Bill Felknor, inventor of the Topsy Turvy Upside Down Tomato Planter. “People love to grow tomatoes, but what can you do if you don’t have the space or time for a full-size garden, or your subdivision prohibits gardens?” Felknor, an avid gardener and passionate tomato advocate, invested three years developing a planter that would address and solve all those issues.

The planter is garnering a lot of high-profile attention. “Time” magazine just named the Topsy Turvy “One of the Most Amazing Inventions of 2005,” and “Reader’s Digest” included it in the magazine’s “Best of America” feature. Home and Garden Television also showcased the Topsy Turvy on the cable channel’s “I Want That!” program, which highlights innovative products for the home and garden.

Here’s how the Topsy Turvy addresses the most common issues of tomato growing:

Room to Grow

For years, people who have no place for a garden – apartment dwellers, senior citizens in residential centers, homeowners with small lots or subdivision restrictions – have tried growing tomatoes in pots. Put them on your deck or patio, and they will either not have enough room to grow, or if they do grow well, they’ll over-run your living space.

Hanging the tomato on a deck or patio gives the tomato extra room to grow and keeps it out of your way at the same time. “The tomato actually thrives growing upside-down,” Felknor points out. “One hundred percent of water and nutrients are absorbed, with no lost runoff. The roots directly receive the water and nutrients. And because the Topsy Turvy is in the air, the tomato enjoys full sun access and warming.”

Thwarting Pests

By taking the tomatoes airborne, you remove them from proximity with all ground-dwelling pests. Common tomato foes like cutworms, ground insects and fungus can’t reach the plants or fruit. Hang them high enough and they’ll also be safe from most animals as well. The Topsy Turvy also eliminates the need to weed since each plant is contained in its own, weed-free environment. The gardener can also sucker, water and fertilize while standing up.

What’s at Stake

Since most varieties of tomato grown in American gardens are of the “indeterminate” type – meaning they will continue to grow as long as the season and space allow – they generally have to be tied to stakes to support the weight of the plant and fruit. As the plant grows, the gardener must continually adjust the ties, and sometimes the stakes, to allow for the growth.

Hanging the tomato upside-down eliminates the need for stakes and ties. It also promotes greater stem strength in the plant. The same suckering you would do on an in-ground plant has even greater benefits for your hanging tomato.

Water, Water Everywhere

Adequate watering is probably the single greatest obstacle to growing beautiful tomatoes, Felknor says. Over water a potted tomato and you’ll end up with root rot and a dead plant. Water too little – either a potted plant or one in the ground – and your plant will die in the summer sun.

“One of the reasons that it’s so hard to adequately water a tomato in the ground is that 85 percent of the water you put on it will never make it to the plant’s roots,” Felknor says. Evaporation, weeds and run off all steal water away from the plant.

The patented Topsy Turvy uses simple absorbent containment to help control the flow of water to the roots. This means when your plant is still small, you will probably need to water it just once a week. Advance to twice a week as the plant grows to medium size, and once it reaches “giant” size, you may have to water every day.

Easy Payoff

More than one lovely ripe tomato has gone rotten waiting for someone to pick it off the vine. Bending over, moving around leaves and vines to find a ripe tomato can be a challenge. The Topsy Turvy allows you to pick the fruits of your labor while standing up.

You should start your Topsy Turvy tomato plant at the same time you would put one in the ground, after all risk of frost is gone. However, because of the planter’s many advantages, and better exposure to sun, water and nutrients, you can expect to harvest your crop as much as two weeks earlier than in traditional gardens.

“This is a planter, not a growing machine,” Felknor cautions. “You still have to water and fertilize your tomato plant properly. But by giving you a way to grow your tomato plant upside down, we’ve made all these critical chores so much easier and the payoff sooner.”

To learn how to grow beautiful tomatoes with less work, visit www.topsyturvys.com, or call ( 865-671-6035.

Courtesy of ARA Content

 

Bringing Simple Gardening Back To A Modern World
Word Count: 764
 

(ARA) – The realities of modern life are fast pushing gardening out of reach of many Americans - from apartment dwellers and senior citizens experiencing reduced mobility, to folks who simply don’t have the time or space to devote to a full-size garden. Ironically, even as our ability to garden shrinks, news of gardening’s health and spiritual benefits continues to grow.

“There’s no denying that gardening is good for you on so many levels,” says Bill Felknor, inventor of the Topsy Turvy Upside Down Tomato Planter (recently named “America’s Best Garden Product” by Reader’s Digest). Felknor’s invention revolutionized tomato growing in modern America by eliminating much of the work and space requirements of traditional tomato growing.

Now, Felknor has done it again, this time creating the Tomato Tree, a vertical metal planting stand that allows gardeners to grow a veritable tree of vegetables and herbs in a space no larger in diameter than a common patio floor planter. Primarily designed to grow a 6-foot high “tree of tomatoes,” the Tomato Tree can be used for a host of different plants. “Tomatoes, peppers, squash, herbs – virtually anything you could plant in the ground can be grown in a Tomato Tree,” Felknor says.

The Tomato Tree draws on the vertical Gro-bag technology first employed in the Topsy Turvy. The Tomato Tree features an oversized Gro-bag with three side-planting ports, mounted on a central metal stand and supported by three wrought-iron-style legs. Easy to assemble in under 15 minutes, once filled with common potting soil and plants, the Tomato Tree provides a sturdy, stable growing environment. The plants grow out of three different sides of the bag, and the built-in stand eliminates the need to find a high hanging point or use any hanging mechanisms.

Felknor hopes the Tomato Tree will help nourish the vertical gardening revolution under way in America. For years, many would-be gardeners – apartment dwellers, senior citizens in residential centers or living with mobility challenges, homeowners with small lots or subdivision restrictions – have tried growing their own produce in pots. The success rate has been spotty at best. “Plants can be very difficult to grow in pots,” Felknor notes. “It is much easier to grow vertically up in the air, where you can water and feed and tend much more easily.”

Planting your vegetables or herbs in a Tomato Tree provides the plants the room they need to grow well without sacrificing any valuable deck, patio or yard space. Further, plants thrive in the Tomato Tree’s growing environment because the elevation eliminates ground-based pests, fungus and bacteria.

The contained Gro-bag helps the plants retain the water and nutrients you put on them. In traditional gardens, up to 85 percent of the water and fertilizer you give a plant never makes it to the roots, Felknor notes. With Tomato Tree, 100 percent of these critical elements are directed straight to the roots. When growing a tomato or vegetable in a pot, you have to take care not to over water the plant and cause root rot. The Tomato Tree’s unique drainage system makes it impossible to over water.

The Tomato Tree also eliminates the need to weed since the plants are contained in a closed environment. Watering, fertilizing and harvesting can all be done standing up, eliminating uncomfortable bending, kneeling or crouching. Plants that might need to be tied and staked for support in a traditional garden need no such special care in a Tomato Tree.

“While this is an advanced design planter, it remains just a planter,” Felknor says. “You will still have to water, fertilize and tend your plants properly. If you will, the results will amaze you. By growing your plants up in the air, you’ll find they produce more and yield much faster than those on the ground.

“In fact,” continues Felknor, “a vertical Gro-bag will completely fill up with roots, creating a much better system for delivery of water and nutrients. Further, your plants will be able to receive excellent and constant exposure to the sun.” Felknor says tomatoes grown this way will mature and ripen up to a week or more earlier.

“When the season is over, the Tomato Tree is very easy to care for and clean. Just cut the plant stems, dispose of the used soil, wash your Tomato Tree and store it inside somewhere. By doing this, you’ll extend the life of your Tomato Tree and ensure additional seasons of great gardening,” Felknor says.

To learn how to grow beautiful tomatoes, vegetables and herbs with less work, visit www.topsyturvys.com, or call (865) 671-6035.

Courtesy of ARA Content

 
Editor’s Note: The Tomato Tree and Topsy Turvy Upside Down Tomato Planter are registered trademarks of Felknor Ventures.