Best tomato plant varieties for patio pots

Big harvests from small spaces all summer long

Published Jul 22, 2025 • Last updated 20 minutes ago • 2 minute read

Container-grown tomatoes stay healthy and productive most easily through summer when they are grown in a robust, moisture-retaining soil mix in large pots, says Helen Chesnut. Photo by Getty Images

Q. The reading I’ve been doing about pruning tomato plants makes me wonder whether I should have begun pruning my small-growing tomatoes in pots on the patio. Is it too late to prune them? If you grow patio tomatoes, do you prefer any particular varieties? I’d appreciate tips on growing healthy, productive plants through the summer.

Advertisement 2

Article content

A. I’ve never pruned my potted patio tomatoes. I do prune side shoots that appear on the open garden’s staked plants, which are best kept to one main stem. This does not apply to the small growing patio kinds. It’s fine to leave them to grow as bushes.

Article content

Recommended Videos

Article content

My currently preferred patio varieties are compact Roma (paste) tomatoes. A longtime favourite is Little Napoli. Seed sources change from year to year. My seeds are from William Dam. Another excellent variety is Inca Jewels, from Renee’s Garden. Inca Jewels grows a little larger, with slightly bigger tomatoes and a longer season of production.

Both varieties are larger than the many smaller-growing patio tomatoes I’ve planted over the years, but I have chosen to keep planting Little Napoli because the fruits are delicious, and the plants are easy-growing and very productive. In optimum conditions, one plant can yield enough tomatoes to make a nice batch of sauce.

Advertisement 3

Article content

Little Napoli grows to around 45 cm high. I grow the plants in pots around 30 cm wide and deep, set in pot trays kept filled with water during hot weather. The plants can be left to sprawl, or kept upright in wire tomato cages.

Container-grown tomatoes stay healthy and productive most easily through summer when they are grown in a robust, moisture-retaining soil mix in large pots. For “staying power” in the plants, as fruits begin forming in July I top up the soil mix in the pots with either fish compost or some other nourishing compost or planting mix. To eliminate the need to fertilize in summer, at planting time I incorporate a natural-source, slow-release fertilizer into the planting mix.