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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Garden Tuesday -- A Topsy Turvy World

I'm linking up with Garden Tuesday at Sidewalk Shoes! 

My Topsy Turvy planter hangs along the back side (facing the backyard) of the garage, where it gets plenty of sunshine.  This is the first year I've used it, and I must say I like the results so far.  Watering is a little more work, but my son does that this year. :)


The tomatoes have progressed much since last week!  I now have several tomatoes on the grow, and am really looking forward to a great crop this year.  Already there are more fruits on this one than on all four of last year's combined. 

As I took this pic, I realized that I need to prune the plant.  So I did.  But I thought this was a prettier picture for you. 

The one problem I've had with the Topsy Turvy is that I anticipated lowering it to water, then raising it again to keep it away from the hopping rodents.  For that, I installed a rope pully system with a hook under the eave, and a hook on the trim 2-by at the bottom of the siding.  The lower hook wasn't strong, and the TT fell a few feet on more than one occasion.  Fortunately, I had extra large knots on the rope for just such an incident, and they worked.  I've since replaced the hook with a larger one with a washer bracket, and made a loop on the end of the rope, so it probaby won't slip again. 

But as it turns out, I haven't needed the rope/pully system to water, anyway.  So at the end of the season, I'll caulk the hook holes on the bottom and touch up the paint.  Next year I'll just hang the TT from the hook under the eave (also touched up to blend in), and all will be well.  This is what happens when you underestimate your son's growth spurts and create complicated "solutions."

Share your garden pics and enjoy the others at  Garden Tuesday.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for linking up! I've always wanted to try tomatoes this way.

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