Hattie’s Tomatoes
Tomatoes come in all different sizes, shapes and colors, from the tiny wild currant tomato to large red beefsteaks you may have sliced on bread and slathered with mayo when you were a kid.
We are often asked which tomatoes are suitable for growing in containers. Please read below for a good summary.
Heirloom Tomatoes
The seeds are what make an heirloom tomato an heirloom tomato. They are passed down from season to season, taken by the farmers from the tomato plants that produced the best fruit.
Brandywine
A favorite of many gardeners. The Brandywine is perhaps most commonly named as the best tasting tomato variety. It has the perfect balance of sugar and acidity, with that superb old-fashioned tomato taste. A great potato-leafed variety from 1885! Rich, loud and distinctively spicy indeterminate. Large fruits, often over 1 lb. with deep-pink skin and red flesh. Medium tall potato leaf plant. 78 days to maturity.
Cherokee Purple
Now, they say it is hard to grow heirlooms and it is… But Cherokee Purple is a success story for many. And purple it is NOT, but rather a dusky rose color with that rich, complex sweet flavor you find in only your sophisticated heirlooms! Fruit averages about 3/4 lb. Although an indeterminate, it has relatively short vines and is more manageable. You can even grow this one in a container. Maturity from transplant: 77 days.
Czech’s Bush Tomato
Heavy yields of round 4-6 ounce red fruits with good flavor early in the season. Great for container growing. This is one stocky little plant. The foliage is referred to as rugose. Sometimes classified as a “dwarf,” you can grow this plant in the ground, but it is excellent for container growing. It produces so much fruit you may need a small stake for support. (Determinate). Maturity from transplant: 75 days
Pineapple Bicolor
Indeterminate bi-color red and yellow fruit, often over a pound. The gorgeous, delectable Pineapple heirloom tomato, with its sunset of yellow and red flesh is one of our absolute favorites to grow and eat. Beautiful marbled interior and complex, fruity flavor with smooth texture. Complex fruity flavor. Looks beautiful when sliced!
Valencia
Indeterminate heirloom from Maine. Sunny orange fruits average 8-10 ounces and are round and smooth. Meaty, with excellent flavor and texture and few seeds. Wonderful sandwich-sized tomato, especially for those who prefer an orange tomato. Some say it is called “Valencia” because it looks like a Valencia orange, while others suspect it came from Valencia, Spain. The tomato has an excellent and complex tomato taste, with a great balance of acid and sweet. It is meaty and rich with very few seeds. It has been described as bursting with flavor, rich and buttery as well as pineapple-like, sweet and refreshing.
Hybrid Tomatoes
These are the result of intentionally cross-pollinating two different varieties of tomato. This means the “child” plant will have characteristics of both of the “parent” plants. Hybrid tomatoes can be very hardy, disease resistant, and produce fruit that is consistent in size and shape.
Big Beef Tomato
Old-time tomato flavor and large beefsteak size of 10 to 12 ounces in a hybrid. An All American Selection winner, Big beef is resistant to many of the disease problems that discourage tomato growers. Vigorous plants continue to produce fruit throughout the growing season. Big Beef is early and will set fruit reliably even in cool, wet weather. Although a hybrid, it is indeterminate and will need some space. Maturity from transplant: 70 days
Celebrity Tomato
Celebrity is an All American Selection winner and has grown very well for me in this region. This plant produces 7-8 ounce globe-shaped firm red fruits with very good flavor. A great, all-round, dependable choice for your “basic” tomato needs — sandwiches, slicing, snacks, etc. Great for container growing. This one is known as a “vigorous” determinate. Maturity from transplant: 72 days
Golden Gypsy Dwarf
Golden Gypsy Dwarf is a tomato from the Dwarf Tomato Project. It produces heavy yields of golden yellow medium to large fruit of 8 to 18 ounces. Intense, sprightly delicious flavor. This is among the best tasting of the dwarfs. This compact bushy plant is very heat tolerant. This variety was originally named ‘Dwarf Golden Gypsy’ and was renamed to ‘Dwarf Golden Tipsy’ in 2022. It originated with a cross made between ‘Golden Dwarf Champion’ and ‘Elbe’ made by Patrina Nuske Small in 2006 and named “Tipsy.”
Juliet Roma Grape Tomato
Juliet bears delicious, wonderfully sweet little plum-shaped fruits of 1 to 2 ounces. Something of a cross between a roma and a grape tomato, Juliet is also an All American Selection, is a good stewing tomato, excellent salad tomato, and makes a tangy sauce with a diverse complex richness and full sweet tomato flavor. Soft and juicy, yet holds well on the vines a long time. Will produce tons of fruit throughout the summer and is both heat tolerant and disease resistant–tolerant to late blight and resistant to early blight. (Indeterminate). Maturity from transplant: 60 days.
New Girl Tomato
Like Early Girl, New Girl produces medium sized 4 to 6 ounce fruits nice and early in the season. But New Girl is better tasting and more disease resistant than Early Girl, with excellent flavor. Perfect size for those who hate cutting into a large tomato knowing they won’t be able to eat the whole thing. (Indeterminate). Maturity from transplant: 62 days.
Sweet Scarlet Dwarf Tomato
Sweet Scarlet is one of the Dwarf Tomato Project varieties which has been praised by the community for producing high yields of richly flavored tomatoes. Not only that, but Sweet Scarlet produces full-sized, medium-to-large red tomatoes on a dwarf bush. The tomato produces high yields of excellent flavored medium to large red fruit of 6-12 ounces that ripen scarlet-red with intense, delicious, perfectly balanced, flavors. Also chosen for being among the best tasting. This plant is heat tolerant.
Cherry Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes are a small variety of tomato that is named for its shape which resembles a cherry and are generally much sweeter than large tomatoes. Plus, they’re fun to grow.
Black Cherry Tomato
I love this tomato. Two-bite cherries with the dusky color and complex flavor typical of the best black tomatoes—juicy and delicious. Somewhat late for a cherry tomato, fruit ripens slowly and individually until frost, but worth the wait, and in our region, certainly not a long wait. Produces tons of sophisticated tasting large cherry tomatoes. The flavor is on a par with a full-sized “black” heirloom such as Black Krim or Cherokee Purple. (Heirloom) Maturity from transplant: 75 days
Honey Bunch Grape
The Honeybunch gets its name due to the incredible, luscious over-the-top, honey-like sweetness that could be habit-forming. For maximum enjoyment, wait until it ripens fully to a bright red in your garden. That’s easy because they are very crack-resistant and seem to hold field quality forever. Large clusters of these tomatoes will keep you happy all season long. This tomato is great for salads, sauces, salsas or snacks! (Hybrid, Indeterminate) Maturity from transplant: 62 days.
Jasper Cherry Tomato
Small one-bite 7-8 gram fruits are sweet and delicious. We sell little half-pints of these at market and they are extremely popular with our customers and a real favorite of children. This is a hybrid indeterminate plant that will take all the room you can give it. Extremely disease resistant, for several years now it has been the longest lived and longest producing tomato plant in the garden, and it also starts producing very early! This was an All American Selection in 2013.
Sun Gold Cherry Tomato
A perfect combination of deep sweetness with a hint of acid tartness. Small fruits, borne in prolific clusters, ripen very early to a rich apricot color and keep producing till frost. Prone to split so pick early when rains are forecast, but this also means you won’t find this one in the supermarket. Nice disease resistant early plants keep kicking out SunGolds for a long long season. (Hybrid, Indeterminate) Maturity from transplant: 57 days.
Supersweet 100 Cherry Tomato
Classic sweet, red cherry tomato. One inch round sweet fruits are wonderfully productive and disease resistant plants for our humid climate. Reliable cherry tomato with prolific yields of great tasting, 15-20 gm. fruits produced in large clusters. (Hybrid, Indeterminate). Maturity from transplant: 60 days.
Tiny Tim Dwarf Tomato
Tiny Tim is a versatile dwarf cherry tomato that can typically be grown to be anywhere from 12 to 18 inches tall and can be grown in pots as small as five or six inches wide. However, you can also grow them in the ground and have as many plants as you want in a single area. The Tiny Tim’s versatility and hardiness make it a favorite all around the world. Juicy plump cherry tomatoes have a nice flavor balance between sweetness and tartness
Tommy Toe Cherry Tomato
This heirloom from the Ozark Mountains is excellent in salads or for juices. Its 1″ fruits are a larger smooth cherry, mild, glossy red and ranging from round to oval in shape. Good disease resistance in an heirloom. Famous for its flavor. (Heirloom, Indeterminate).
Yellow Pear Tomato
Popular, sweet, tasty and crack-resistant little pear-shaped goodies. Great salad tomato and just a bit less acidic than a red tomato. Yellow pear really cranks out the tomatoes. (Heirloom, Indeterminate). Maturity from transplant: 72 days.
Paste Tomatoes
This tomato is a natural for sauces, roasting, drying and a host of other yummy uses. Typically meatier and less juicy than other types, making them the best tomatoes for canning, sauces, and salsa.
Amish Paste
Wisconsin heirloom from Amish farmers in the 1870s. Strong producer of oxheart fruits up to 8 oz. Thick bright-red flesh. Great flavor for cooking, canning or fresh eating. Larger than typical paste tomatoes. Give this plant room and plenty of fertility and you will be rewarded with huge production of tomatoes. (Heirloom, Indeterminate). Maturity from transplant: 85 days.
San Marzano Paste
San Marzano is considered one of the best paste tomatoes of all time, with old-world look and taste. Classic Italian favorite with high yields; excellent richly flavored tomato for preserving. Prized for its firm pulp, low seed count and easily-removed skin. Thick, dry, low acid flesh contains few seeds. Very productive 6 ft. tall plants have good disease resistance. 80 days. (Indeterminate).
Tomatoes Suitable for Container Growing
We are often asked which tomatoes we sell are suitable for growing in containers. We are excited to introduce three new dwarf varieties for container gardening this year. In addition to our tried and true dwarf Czech’s Bush with its abundant medium-sized red tomatoes, we have one cherry tomato dwarf tomato plants and two dwarf tomato plants with medium to large regular tomatoes.
Czech’s Bush Tomato
Heavy yields of round 4-6 ounce red fruits with good flavor early in the season. Great for container growing. This is one stocky little plant. The foliage is referred to as rugose. Sometimes classified as a “dwarf,” you can grow this plant in the ground, but it is excellent for container growing. It produces so much fruit you may need a small stake for support. (Determinate). Maturity from transplant: 75 days
Golden Gypsy Dwarf
Golden Gypsy Dwarf is a tomato from the Dwarf Tomato Project. It produces heavy yields of golden yellow medium to large fruit of 8 to 18 ounces. Intense, sprightly delicious flavor. This is among the best tasting of the dwarfs. This compact bushy plant is very heat tolerant. This variety was originally named ‘Dwarf Golden Gypsy’ and was renamed to ‘Dwarf Golden Tipsy’ in 2022. It originated with a cross made between ‘Golden Dwarf Champion’ and ‘Elbe’ made by Patrina Nuske Small in 2006 and named “Tipsy.”
Sweet Scarlet Dwarf Tomato
Sweet Scarlet is one of the Dwarf Tomato Project varieties which has been praised by the community for producing high yields of richly flavored tomatoes. Not only that, but Sweet Scarlet produces full-sized, medium-to-large red tomatoes on a dwarf bush. The tomato produces high yields of excellent flavored medium to large red fruit of 6-12 ounces that ripen scarlet-red with intense, delicious, perfectly balanced, flavors. Also chosen for being among the best tasting. This plant is heat tolerant.
Tiny Tim Dwarf Tomato
Tiny Tim is a versatile dwarf cherry tomato that can typically be grown to be anywhere from 12 to 18 inches tall and can be grown in pots as small as five or six inches wide. However, you can also grow them in the ground and have as many plants as you want in a single area. The Tiny Tim’s versatility and hardiness make it a favorite all around the world. Juicy plump cherry tomatoes have a nice flavor balance between sweetness and tartness
In addition to these dwarf varieties, you may have good luck with the following tomato plants in a good-sized container
Celebrity Tomato
Celebrity is an All American Selection winner and has grown very well for me in this region. This plant produces 7-8 ounce globe-shaped firm red fruits with very good flavor. A great, all-round, dependable choice for your “basic” tomato needs — sandwiches, slicing, snacks, etc. Great for container growing. This one is known as a “vigorous” determinate. Maturity from transplant: 72 days
Cherokee Purple
Now, they say it is hard to grow heirlooms and it is… But Cherokee Purple is a success story for many. And purple it is NOT, but rather a dusky rose color with that rich, complex sweet flavor you find in only your sophisticated heirlooms! Fruit averages about 3/4 lb. Although an indeterminate, it has relatively short vines and is more manageable. You can even grow this one in a container. Maturity from transplant: 77 days.