Hi Nicole:

I grew grape tomatoes in a pot 2 years ago and it was great. I would probably stick with determinite types so they don't overwhelm the pot. The tomato forum here has always been very helpful as well.

Jen

Nicole,
Much depends upon the size of your pots. As Jen said, the small guys, such as grape or cherry tomatoes, are better kept in check by limiting their root systems to 5-gallon pots. Put them in 10-gallon pots and some will still try to take over the world!

There are also small varieties which produce a somewhat normal size fruit. Most are determinates. That is, they set one big crop of fruit and then ripen all of them over a period of 2 or 3 weeks.

If you have to buy plants, not many places have small varieties that work well in pots. The usual exception is Patio Hybrid. That one can go into 3-gallon pots. Other than that, it doesn't have much more going for it as I've found it to be a rather plain-tasting tomato.

If you will be starting your own plants for normal-sized plants, look for determinates or early varieties. For example, do a search for Legend (red) or Taxi (yellow). Those will give you decent crops in 5-gallon or larger containers.

Martin

In 2004 I grew Brandywine in a wooden box that was about 2'X 2'X 2'. I had to cage it, but I got plenty o'maters. I also grew Tumbler(cherry tom) in a hanging 10" pot. I even overwintered it in an east facing window and planted it in a raised bed the following spring. Also I had two Roma VF in a 1'X 3'X 6"(deep) ammo box attached to a small trellace. The box had handles on it, so when hard frost threatened(Washburn Co), I dragged the whole kit and kaboodle into the enclosed porch and had ripe toms until the porch finally got down to freezing. I was suprised they did so well in such a shallow box. Years ago I grew Patio Pick(I think that was the name)in a tire. It got pretty large and top heavy and I had to stake it. I think my first ever tomato was Early Girl grown in a 5 gallon bucket. I usually amend garden soil or potting soil with steer manure and add granular tomato food at planting, and give occasional drinks of Miracle Gro. This is what I've done in the past, anyway, and I'm open to constructive criticism from the more experienced folks in this forum. Looking back, it seems I've more often than not grown my tomatoes in containers, and they've done better than the ones I've planted in the ground, which usually have had problems with diseases.
Not exactly advice, but I hope you can glean something from my (limited) experience.

Thank you for the advise.