Best Tomatoes For Containers: 10 Tastiest Varieties For Plentiful Produce In Compact Areas

There are numerous tomato varieties from which to choose. New offerings come almost every year through breeding programs, but which are the best tomatoes for containers? The answer lies in your preferences, your zone, growing space, and the purpose you desire for these juicy fruits. When it comes to growing tomatoes in containers, we have suggestions for the top 10 tomato varieties that will suit your needs for slicing, saucing, or snacking.

Growing tomatoes is a fun and productive venture for gardeners of all skill levels and great results can be had in gardens of all sizes. There is nothing better than a homegrown tomato in the peak of summer. You can find everything you need to get started in our Tomato Growing Essentials collection in the Gardening Know How Shop.

1. 'Dwarf Awesome' Tomato

This is a mini tomato plant that still produces full sized fruits. Perfect for the patio garden, the 'Dwarf Awesome' is a golden tomato. They are ready for harvest 80 days from planting. The bush produces large, round 8-16 ounce fruits. Because this is an indeterminate variety it will produce all season long. When you cut into this slicing tomato you will be amazed by the color. Bright yellow, pink, and orange with green seeds. Described as extremely sweet but with a bit of tang.

2. San Marzano

Considered by chefs (and I am one of them) to be the best saucing tomato variety. Another indeterminate selection, San Marzano tomatoes will produce until the first cold weather appears. The fruit is firm, low in acid and has thick skin. They are long, plum tomatoes with cherry red skin and flesh that don’t need peeling before turning them into sauce. The plant is an heirloom with some resistance against fusarium wilt and verticillium wilt.

3. 'Little Bing' Tomatoes

This is a fantastic variety of cherry tomato. Determinate tomato varieties like these are perfect for container gardening. The fruit is small, red, sweet, and just ready to pop in your mouth. The plants only get 24 inches ( 61 cm.) tall and don't need a cage or other support. 'Little Bing' will produce loads of candy-like fruit through the season.

4. 'Big Beef' Beefsteak Tomato

Chief among the beefsteak tomatoes, a slice of 'Big Beef' will fill that burger bun. This variety is an All America Selections Winner and develops vigorous vines and huge fruits. The plant also has superior disease resistance. The fruits are weighty, juicy, sweet with a nice balance of acidity, and almost perfectly round. The skin resists cracking and the flesh is tender and soft. This plant will require staking or a cage and a fairly large container like a whiskey barrel.

5. Celebrity Tomato

This plant produces medium sized fruits with excellent flavor. It's a tomato variety that will not produce rampant vines and keeps a bushy, tidy habit. This is another slicing tomato with medium sized fruit that has a meaty texture. It is also excellent for stewing and sauces. The plant is considered semi-determinate and will need some type of support. You can make a tomato cage or stake the plants to hold the prolific crop of tomatoes. The plant is moderately sized at around 3 feet (.91 m.), making it ideal for a container specimen.

6. 'Plum Regal' Tomatoes

This variety is a paste tomato and produces a medium sized plant with stocky stems. It doesn’t need to be staked but when in heavy production it may be helpful. Meaty, dense flesh of reddish orange inside chunky fruits makes a great pizza sauce. Best of all, these plants are resistant to late blight, fusarium and verticillium wilts, and tomato spotted wilt virus.

7. 'Moby Grape' Tomatoes

An oblong fruit with thick skin but bursting with sweetness, 'Moby Grape' is a determinate tomato with 2 inch (5 cm.) oblong fruits. Harvest 70 days after planting from 3 feet (.91 m.) long vines.

8. 'Bush Early Girl'

This bush variety of a classic tomato is ideal for containers. As the name would indicate, this variety produces early, in as little as 54 days. The plant will get 36 inches (91 cm.) tall with a similar spread. 'Bush Early Girl' is also resistant to many common tomato diseases. The plant is a prolific producer with heavy, juicy tomatoes.

9. 'Jet Star' Tomato

'Jet Star' is a highly rated tomato that is perfect for a 12 inch (30.48 cm.) pot. The plant produces one of the lowest acid tomatoes available. Medium sized, meaty, and sweet, the fruits are born on compact indeterminate vines. 'Jet Star' is resistant to verticillium and fusarium wilts. Fruits will arrive 74 days after planting.

10. Window Box Roma

We absolutely must have a Roma tomato on the list. Few fruits beat Roma when it comes to sauce. This is a dwarf plant that produces fruits about 3.5 inches (8.89 cm.) long. Mature plants get around 3 feet (.28 m.) long with as many as 60 tomatoes per plant. A truly outstanding small space tomato.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Tomato Container Garden Inspiration

• Learn how to start your tomato seeds indoors to extend your growing season.
• Expert gardener and accomplished chef, Bonnie L. Grant, shares the secret to growing terrific tomatoes.
• Browse our Tomato Growing Essentials in the Gardening Know How Shop for everything you need to ensure a bountiful tomato harvest this summer.
• Still want to know more about growing your own tomatoes? Download our free eBook, How to Grow Delicious Tomatoes.
• Interested in having more container garden inspiration and expert tips sent directly to you? Sign up for our free Gardening Know How Newsletter.

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