Bottoms-up tomato gardening lucrative, but productive?

It sounds a bit like a pet rock for gardeners, but consumers seem to love the upside-down Topsy Turvy tomato planter, which has been sprouting all over the marketplace.

Bill Felknor, a folksy inventor from Knoxville, Tenn., has sold millions of his curious creations since they first appeared on QVC in 2003 – more than seven million last year alone, making it one of the most popular gardening products ever introduced.

It’s a natural – times three, according to Scott Testa, a business professor at Cabrini College in Radnor, who grows tomatoes the old-fashioned way.

Like any consumer group, he said, a certain percentage of gardeners are on the hunt for the hot new thing. With the increased interest in home vegetable gardens, even folks with little or no green space want to get growing. And the idea of being able to do this without getting dirty or having to weed . . .

“That’s kind of the holy grail for gardeners, isn’t it?” asked Testa, who has done consulting for firms that make novelty items, produce infomercials, and sell on QVC.

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