Hoax or Gimmick? ;)

[somewoman]

I would expect that they don't "grow down" - they just grow. Gravity will drag them to where it will, and they will just continue to grow. Much like an unsupported tomato will basically become a creeper - prostrate along the ground because it can't hold the weight. Plants generally grow towards the light, and the roots grow towards the water and nutrients. Seems to me that it is a perfectly viable concept to grow them upside down - you wouldn't need to stake them.

Not sure about gravity feeding more nutrients to the fruit, though... I imagine that the plant structure itself would be just as efficient in whichever direction it was growing!

Pretty cool concept, actually!! I probably wouldn't go out and buy a specially made product to do it though. You'd likely get the same results sticking your tomatoes into a hanging planter provided it was big enough to provide enough soil and nutrients to sustain a growing plant, and that the weight of the plant didn't damage the stems where they lean against the planter before dropping.