As a tomato lover, I eagerly await summer when I can pick sun-ripened red and yellow tomatoes straight from the vine. The taste of a homegrown tomato warmed by the sun is unbeatable! But not everyone has space for sprawling 6-foot-tall indeterminate tomato plants. If your yard is small, you can still grow tomatoes by choosing determinate varieties.
Determinate or “bush” tomatoes are compact plants that grow to a predetermined height and width. They stop growing once flowers form on terminal buds, signaling the plant to concentrate on ripening existing fruit rather than more growth. This makes determinate tomatoes perfect for patios, balconies, and raised beds.
Rather than overtaking your yard, they tidy grow 3-4 feet tall. While cascading tiny tomatoes are charming, determinate varieties can produce full-sized fruits on short frames. You can enjoy the same juicy, meaty sliced tomatoes and saucy roams without towering vines. For tomato success in small spaces, choose compact determinate varieties. So, if you’re looking for tomato growing success in a small space, check out these 15 popular determinate tomato varieties.
1. Celebrity – A Reliable All-Rounder
The celebrity tomato has certainly lived up to its name and won fame among home gardeners and commercial growers alike. This vigorous determinate hybrid consistently pumps out smooth round red tomatoes around 4 to 6 ounces in size with a wonderfully sweet flavor.
What makes Celebrity really shine is its incredible disease resistance package – it tolerates verticillium, fusarium, nematodes, tobacco mosaic virus, and alternata. Now that’s an A-list celebrity! With great resistance and stress tolerance, Celebrity thrives where other varieties fail.
The plants grow around 3 to 4 feet tall and spread 3 feet wide. Celebrity really pumps out the fruit so be ready for a bountiful harvest!
2. Roma – The Perfect Sauce Tomato
Ah, the classic Roma. My favorite for making rich, full-bodied tomato sauce. These oblong paste tomatoes have such an incredible depth of flavor that makes them ideal for cooking, canning, salsas, and pastes.
While most determinate tomatoes are very compact, Roma is one of the larger varieties reaching almost 5 feet tall when mature. But the plants still maintain that nice bushy determinate habit of concentrated fruit production.
Be sure to slice Romas lengthwise to really take advantage of their fantastic elongated shape. The meaty interiors have few seeds, especially compared to squat round tomatoes. Romas are also highly disease-resistant.
For the best marinara sauce ever, you can’t beat homegrown Romas! The flavor is in a different league than the bland grocery store cans.
3. Red Cloud – Sweet Cocktail Treats
Imagine plucking a snack straight from the garden – that’s the joy of growing Red Cloud! This dwarf-determinate variety produces masses of 1-inch round ripe red fruits with an incredibly sweet flavor.
The cute bite-sized tomatoes are protected under the foliage which helps keep them blemish-free. Red Cloud is extremely prolific over an extended harvest period, just be sure to keep up with picking once they start ripening.
At just 18 to 24 inches tall, Red Cloud is suited to small space gardens and containers. You can also grow several together in an ornamental edible landscape. Just beware – these candy-like tomatoes may not make it to the salad bowl before being gobbled up right off the bush!
4. Oregon Spring – Early Harvests Guaranteed
Gardeners in cooler northern climates with short growing seasons should try Oregon Spring. This determinate tomato variety matures a full two weeks earlier than other early-type tomatoes, setting fruit even in cooler 50°F temperatures.
Oregon Spring reliably produces good yields of 4 to 6-ounce round red tomatoes with full flavor that’s less acidic than other extra-early varieties. If you’ve struggled to harvest ripe tomatoes before fall in the past, Oregon Spring is the answer!
The stocky plants reach around 3 feet tall and spread 2 to 3 feet wide. Oregon Spring is also very disease-resistant. Expect fruit just 50 to 60 days from transplanting.
5. Early Girl – A Super Early Favorite
Early Girl is a longtime favorite tomato variety among home gardeners, and for good reason! This determinate tomato variety yields full-sized 4 to 6-ounce red fruits just 52 days after being set out as young plants.
I love Early Girl for being so super early but still producing beautiful glossy tomatoes with that wonderful old-fashioned sweet flavor. The compact plants reach around 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide, great for small gardens.
Early Girl is also very tolerant of cool summers and cooler nighttime temperatures, producing well even in mountain regions. The disease resistance is excellent too. For early ripe tomatoes almost anywhere, Early Girl delivers!
6. Mountain Merit – A Mighty Mini Tomato
Don’t be fooled by its petite size – Mountain Merit produces surprisingly big flavor and good yields of tomatoes on dwarf plants! This super compact determinate variety only grows 12 to 18 inches tall and wide but pumps out 1 to 2-inch round juicy red fruits with nice disease resistance.
Mountain Merit is literally smothered in tiny ripe tomatoes as summer progresses. The diminutive size makes it perfect for patio containers and hanging baskets where space is limited. You can also plant clusters for beautiful edible ornamentals.
While the individual fruits are small, Mountain Merit keeps producing prolifically on its dwarf frame to provide a hearty harvest through the season. This little tomato has merit beyond the mountains!
7. BushSteak – Big Beefy Slicers on a Bush
Picture this – all the meaty deliciousness of a big beefsteak tomato but on a compact bushy frame. That’s what you get with BushSteak! This determinate variety bears impressive 6 to 8-ounce deep red slicer tomatoes with fantastic flavor.
The large tomatoes are nearly seedless and have very juicy interiors. BushSteak produces these substantial fruits on stocky 2 to 3-foot plants – no huge sprawling vines needed. With disease resistance and crack resistance too, BushSteak is a real winner.
If you want those big old-fashioned sliced tomatoes for sandwiches and burgers but lack space for huge indeterminate varieties, BushSteak is the perfect plant for your small garden.
8. Sweet ‘n’ Neat – Cute As Can Be
Is there anything more adorable than tiny trusses of ripe red cherry tomatoes on compact dwarf stems? Sweet ‘n’ Neat certainly lives up to its charming name! This determinate variety reaches just 18 inches tall and can thrive anywhere from large containers to small garden plots.
The petite 1-inch cherry tomatoes burst with sugary sweetness in your mouth. To keep the fruit coming, pinch out any new shoots once Sweet ‘n’ Neat reaches about 6 inches tall to focus the plant’s energy on ripening.
With its tidily compact habit, Sweet ‘n’ Neat is ideal for urban gardeners. Whether grown in patio planters or window boxes, Sweet ‘n’ Neat will reward you with harvests of tomato candy.
9. Elfin – A Pint-Sized Powerhouse
Don’t underestimate the productivity potential of petite tomatoes! Elfin tomato plants stay true to their fairy-like name, topping out around 12 inches tall and wide. But the diminutive determinate plants are absolute dynamos when it comes to fruit production.
Elfin is smothered in 1-inch round juicy red tomatoes over an extended harvest period. The tiny tomatoes offer a deceivingly big burst of rich sweet flavor. Their compact size makes Elfin fun for kids to harvest.
With a nice tidy spreading habit, Elfin is a great option for container gardening. You can also plant clusters for an ornamental edible landscape. Elfin may be tiny but it’s mighty!
10. Tumbler – Cascades of Flavor
Add gorgeous flowing color and fresh tomatoes to your patio this summer with Tumbler! This unique determinate variety was specifically bred for hanging baskets and containers with its cascading habit.
Tumbler vines spread out up to 3 feet long but stay just 1 foot tall, absolutely smothered in bright red cherry tomatoes. Let the vines spill over your containers and baskets for beautiful summer appeal. Just be sure to keep pinching off new shoots to keep Tumbler tidy.
The bite-sized tomatoes offer incredibly rich sweetness despite their small size. Sitting on the patio plucking Tumbler tomatoes for a snack is one of life’s simple pleasures!
11. Baggett’s Prize – Stunning Pink Slicers
Sink your teeth into a thick juicy pink tomato slice – the flavor is sublime! Baggett’s Prize wins the top prize for its big beautiful beefsteak-style tomatoes weighing over 1 pound.
The smooth round fruits have lovely pink skin and deep red interiors with very few seeds for lots of meaty goodness. Baggett’s Prize gives that fantastic heirloom tomato flavor but with the convenience of disease resistance from this modern hybrid.
And slicing open these blush-pink beauties is a real treat for the eyes! The gorgeous color contrast looks so appetizing on a platter. Don’t be surprised if these tomatoes disappear quickly at backyard barbeques.
12. Pink Girl – Pretty in Pink
For pink tomato lovers, Pink Girl is a real treat. This determinate hybrid has a similar compact bushy habit to the ever-popular Early Girl tomato but with light pink fruit instead of red.
Pink Girl ripens about 2 weeks later than Early Girl but keeps producing prolifically all season long. The smooth round 5-ounce tomatoes have very few seeds and an extremely sweet fruity flavor.
Whether fresh in summer salads or canned pink tomato sauce in winter, Pink Girl offers gorgeous color and taste. The decorative quality makes these pink tomatoes fun to gift too. Pretty and pink – perfect!
13. Fourth of July – Patriotic Tomatoes
What better way to celebrate Independence Day than harvesting your own ripe red tomatoes? Fourth of July is one of the earliest determinate varieties, ripening 4-ounce bright red fruits just 49 days from transplanting.
The compact bushy plants start setting fruit when most other tomatoes are just beginning to grow. Fourth of July tomatoes have a wonderful old-fashioned flavor that bursts with sweetness in your mouth.
For northern gardeners with short growing seasons, the Fourth of July allows you to enjoy ripe tomatoes without waiting until fall. You can eat fresh tomatoes even before the fireworks start!
14. Mountain Fresh Plus – Full-Sized Slicers on a Dwarf
Mountain Fresh Plus offers gardeners the best of both worlds – all the meaty flavor of big beefsteak tomatoes but on compact determinate plants. This dwarf tomato variety reaches just 24 inches tall yet reliably produces 8 to 10-ounce red slicer tomatoes.
The tomatoes have a very nice balanced flavor that isn’t overly sweet or too acidic. Their juicy interiors stay firm with few seeds. Even on a small determinate plant, Mountain Fresh Plus yields big results!
With disease resistance and crack resistance, Mountain Fresh Plus is practically guaranteed to produce a bountiful harvest of full-sized tomatoes in your small space garden.
15. Baxter’s Early Bush – Fast Flavor on a Compact Frame
Baxter’s Early Bush is perfect if you want ripe tomatoes as early as possible from a compact plant. This ultra-early determinate starts setting fruit just 45 days after transplanting – one of the fastest-maturing dwarf tomatoes you can grow.
The bushy plants reach 24 to 30 inches tall and pump out good yields of 2 to 4-ounce red tomatoes with a deliciously sweet flavor. You’ll be enjoying vine-ripened tomatoes earlier than your neighbors!
For containers and raised beds, Baxter’s Early Bush is a great choice to maximize your small space. Determinate tomatoes allow urban gardeners and anyone with limited room to still grow tomatoes and get a harvest before summer ends.
Wrapping up
Don’t let small garden plots or balconies stop you from enjoying homegrown tomatoes! Determinate or “bush” tomato varieties offer full flavor in a compact size perfect for containers and raised beds.
With this list of the 15 most popular determinate tomatoes, you’re sure to find your perfect compact plant. Just be ready to enjoy bushels of sweet juicy garden tomatoes, even in the smallest backyard.
