Growing tomatoes in pots and containers is a rewarding experience that is easily accomplished without concern for garden size, style, or soil quality. Containers make growing tomatoes accessible for small-space areas like patios, balconies, and courtyards, and growing conditions are easy to manage. There is no need for large vegetable garden beds (or even in addition to your in-ground plants!); tomatoes in containers make excellent specimens with prolific fruiting, fresh for the picking.
Options for growing tomatoes in pots abound, and with the appropriate selection, your containers will overflow in no time. Whether your preference is a juicy slicing tomato, a robust roma, an heirloom favorite, or sweet cherries by the cluster, a suitable container tomato type is available.
‘Supremo Roma’
Supremo Bush Roma Tomato Seeds
‘Glacier’
Glacier Bush Tomato Seeds
‘Chocolate Cherry’
Chocolate Cherry Pole Cherry Tomato Seeds
Determinate vs. Indeterminate
The indeterminate tomatoes need larger containers due to continuous growth and fruiting.
Knowing whether you’re growing determinate or indeterminate selections is helpful as you begin growing tomatoes in pots. Determinate tomatoes grow well in containers, with a set growth rate and fruit production in a single flush during the season.
Indeterminate tomatoes continue to grow and produce all season long, with varied harvests. They also grow well in containers, as long as the container is large enough and the soil volume is adequate. Since vines grow tall, they’ll also benefit from staking, caging, or trellising.
Choosing the Right Container
Tomatoes need well-drained containers and high-quality potting mix.
Selecting the right container size is key to growing potted tomatoes successfully. Smaller tomato selections like patio and bush varieties grow in smaller pots, generally five to ten gallons in volume, depending on the mature plant size. Determinate tomatoes benefit from a pot diameter of 18 inches, while indeterminate types that grow larger need at least 24 inches across. A 20-gallon container suits large, indeterminate growers. Fabric grow bags are another easy and portable option.
All containers need good drainage. Fill pots with a high-quality potting mix tailored to vegetables for the best aeration, moisture retention, and drainage capabilities. Place tomato containers in a sunny garden location (at least 6 hours of sunlight) for best growth and fruiting. Provide even moisture throughout the growing season.
Now, let’s dive into the tomatoes!
‘Tumbling Tom Yellow’
This compact variety grows only six to eight inches wide.
‘Tumbling Tom Yellow’ spills over hanging baskets, window boxes, and containers with trailing stems bearing bright golden globes of petite tomatoes. The plant’s unique stems “weep” up to two feet over planters with loads of one- to two-inch fruits.
The ‘Tumbling Tom’ series also features a cherry-red fruiting variety. Since the plants trail, they don’t need support or staking.
‘Tumbling Tom’ is a compact tomato that grows only six to eight inches wide. It’s ideal for containers and small-space gardens like porches, patios, and balconies.
‘Sweet Million’
The ‘Sweet Million’ produces fruit all season and requires staking in containers.
‘Sweet Million’ hybrid cherry tomato is a vining, indeterminate variety that produces masses of small half to one-and-a-half-inch tomatoes. Clustered fruits hang from tall stems on this classic garden favorite.
‘Sweet Million’ tomatoes are tender and have a sugary flavor, perfect for popping right from the garden. The small tomatoes are delicious fresh, pickled, or preserved.
‘Sweet Million’ resists tomato diseases like leaf spot, fusarium wilt, and tobacco mosaic virus. Because it’s an indeterminate tomato, the plant produces fruits all season long. They’ll need support or staking in containers.
‘Glacier’
Plant this after the final frost date for best results.
‘Glacier’ sets two-inch flavorful fruits extra early in the season and keeps producing all season long. This Swedish variety tolerates cool spring temperatures and fruits before other selections. ‘Glacier’ is among the most tasty early varieties for its sweet flavor.
‘Glacier’ tomatoes are semi-indeterminate with long, two to three-foot stems that benefit from support but require little other maintenance. Plants produce high yields of goldy red fruits with an initial crop and successional fruiting until late in the season.
While ‘Glacier’ should be sown after the final frost date as temperatures warm, the cold-tolerant plants may withstand a light frost. About eight weeks after sowing, they’ll set fruits quickly for tomatoes.
‘Patio Choice Yellow’
This award-winning determinate tomato variety boasts compact growth.
This hybrid’s name says it all when it comes to tomato selections for pots and containers. The ‘Patio’ series features compact plants with bountiful cherry fruits. ‘Choice Yellow’ bears masses of bright yellow globes at one and a half inches wide.
‘Patio Choice Yellow’ is an All-America Selections award winner for its compact habit, production, and garden performance. It is heat and humidity-tolerant and resistant to common tomato diseases like tobacco mosaic virus and wilt.
‘Patio Choice Yellow’ is a determinate variety that produces 100 little tomatoes simultaneously. Enjoy them fresh and for canning and sauces.
‘Supremo Roma’
These tomatoes are ideal for container gardening in diverse summer climates.
‘Supremo’ is a bush hybrid tomato with extra-large romas, over three inches long and two inches wide. These paste tomatoes are early producers of fruits to enjoy fresh (perfect for that early Caprese salad) and for sauces and canning. Thick walls make for a long-lasting shelf life.
‘Suprmo’ is a determinate plant and a reliable producer of uniform fruits. Plants have high disease resistance and heat tolerance, setting fruit well in hot temperatures.
With a spread of 18 inches, these productive plants are ideal for growing in containers across various summer climates. Staggering planting times of more than one plant yield multiple roma tomato harvests.
‘Better Bush’
The tomatoes from the ‘Better Bush’ variety possess resistance to diseases.
‘Better Bush’ improved hybrid tomato harkens to the classic slicing tomatoes we know and love in shorter, sturdier plants with robust fruiting. ‘Better Bush’ is an indeterminate vining variety, with plants reaching only four feet tall with shorter nodes for dense yields. Their bushy habit makes them an excellent choice for a container-grown slicer.
The tomatoes from ‘Better Bush’ are round and richly red. The juicy, medium-sized fruits reach four inches across and weigh five to six ounces.
The plants are disease-resistant, and the heavy foliage protects the fruits from sunburn. Stems are strong and upright but benefit from staking or caging for added support.
‘Tiny Tim’
A compact 1945 heirloom variety called ‘Tiny Tim’ doesn’t require staking.
‘Tiny Tim’ truly is tiny, both in form and fruit size, though it produces mightily. It’s hard not to find these petite tomato plants cute, especially since they reach only 10 to 12 inches tall in pots and containers. Small cherry tomatoes are half-inch round red globes.
‘Tiny Tim’ spreads about 14 inches in containers on determinate plants without staking or caging. This 1945 heirloom is from New Hampshire’s Agricultural Experiment Station.
The ultra-compact habit of ‘Tiny Tim’ is suited for singular or adding to mixed plantings in large containers. ‘Tiny Tim’ is an early producer, maturing about a week or two earlier than most tomato varieties.
‘Chocolate Cherry’
Indeterminate ‘Chocolate Cherry’ is best grown in spacious areas with sturdy support.
This tomato is a great choice for its unique coloration and bite-size appeal. The sweetly flavored, one-inch round cherry tomatoes ripen to purplish-red and cluster prolifically on tall vines.
‘Chocolate Cherry’ is indeterminate, with long stems up to six feet or taller and three feet wide, making it less compact than some of our other potted favorites. However, it is worth growing if you have the space and a sturdy cage for the container.
The fruits resist cracking and appear in groups of six to eight throughout the season. They are just as tasty when picked a few days early and allowed to ripen indoors. Thin-skinned and juicy, ‘Chocolate Cherry’ tomatoes are among the most flavorful of the cherry types.
‘Red Pride’
These are suitable for diverse climates and container gardening.
‘Red Pride’ hybrid bush tomato is a vigorous slicing tomato option for growing in containers. Compact plants reach up to 36 inches tall and 18 inches wide, producing 10-ounce vibrant red fruits.
‘Red Pride’ is a reliable producer and garden performer with excellent disease resistance to wilts, stem canker, and leaf spot. It’s a determinate grower, with strong plants yielding tomatoes late in the season (70 days after sowing). These slightly later and larger fruits complement earlier summer harvests of romas and ongoing cherries.
‘Red Pride’ grows in a variety of summer climates, from Canada and New England to Texas. These three-inch tomatoes on bushy forms make growing slicing tomatoes in pots accessible.
‘Sun Gold’
Allow fruits to ripen indoors for optimal flavor and protection.
‘Sun Gold’ may get a bit tall and rangy in containers, but the bounty of golden orb tomatoes is worth the space allotted. These beloved tomatoes are a gardener favorite for their bountiful fruits, cheery color, and deliciously sweet flavor that convey a taste of summer.
To prevent cracking when ripe, pick fruits a few days early and let them ripen fully indoors. Early picking won’t compromise flavor but protects the thin-walled fruits from the sun and from birds who find them tasty as well.
‘Sun Gold’ tomato plants resist fusarium wilt and tobacco mosaic virus. Their firm texture, high yield, and sugary flavor make the globes perfect for snacking and sharing.
‘Purple Zebra’
The ‘Purple Zebra’ tomato offers mild sweetness and complex flavor.
‘Purple Zebra’ is an award-winning tomato variety with purple-red fruits with green striping. This 2022 All-America Selections award recipient bears three- to four-ounce round fruits with deep reddish mahogany interiors that are clear and unmuddied (a muddied appearance sometimes occurs in other dark-colored varieties).
‘Purple Zebra’ tomatoes have a mildly sweet and deliciously complex flavor. Fruits have lower acidity and a moderately firm texture.
In addition to its striking tomatoes, ‘Purple Zebra’ boasts exceptional disease resistance and garden performance but with better flavor and thinner skin than other highly disease-resistant selections. Indeterminate vines reach up to six feet long and require staking and caging.
‘Cherry Falls’
This easy-care variety is known for its flavorful, tangy-sweet fruit.
‘Cherry Falls’ cascades over hanging baskets, planter boxes, and pots with clusters of bright red cherry tomatoes on 18 inch vines with short stems. The abundant half to one-and-a-half-inch globes appear early in the season.
‘Cherry Falls’ is a compact but vigorous grower and producer. Its size makes it ideal for growing in containers and small spaces where stems drape without staking or additional support.
Plants are heat-tolerant and easy care. These petite tomatoes have a zesty, tangy flavor that leans sweet.
‘Fantastico’
The ‘Fantastico’ is ideal for container gardening with early maturity.
‘Fantastico’ is another All-America Selections award winner for its prolific one-ounce grape tomatoes from vigorous, determinate, bushy plants. Perfect for container culture, ‘Fantastico’ reaches 12 to 14 inches tall in pots and up to two feet tall in the ground.
‘Fantastico’ produces high yields of sweetly flavored tomatoes in long clusters. Each plant produces twelve pounds of tomatoes in the growing season. The small fruits resist cracking, and plants are blight-resistant.
‘Fantastico’ packs a punch for container-grown tomato selections in abundant fruiting and disease-resistance. Tomatoes mature early in the season. While determinate and small, ‘Fantasitco’ grows best with caged support.
Final Thoughts:
Growing tomatoes in containers is a fun and productive gardening endeavor with easily accessible, tasty, and nutritious rewards. With the appropriate tomato variety and growing conditions, container-grown plants yield exceptional fruits.
Place containers in at least six hours of sunlight with a high-quality potting mix, consistent moisture, and good drainage. Growing tomatoes in pots is easy, but the most challenging part is winnowing down the vast selection! Enjoy your potted tomato harvest as the warm season unfolds.
