• Small-fruited tomatoes are ideal for pots.tomato image by YN from Fotolia.com
  
  Small-fruited tomato varieties grow well in potted gardens, solving problems such as poor soil, garden pests, and short growing seasons. Grow one tomato plant per 5-gallon container. Any clean pot will do as long as it has several drainage holes. Depending on the variety, expect to harvest your first tomatoes 70 to 130 days after planting, on average, with some cultivars ripening significantly faster.
  
  

Patio

• Patio tomatoes are an F-1 hybrid variety, a designation given to first-generation hybrid plants. These tomato plants produce an abundant crop 70 days after planting. The tomatoes are 2 inches around and red. This is also a disease-resistant bushy variety that doesn't require staking.
  
  

Pixie

• Pixie tomatoes mature quickly; it's possible to harvest a crop within 50 days after planting the seeds. This plant grows 1 to 2 feet and produces white or yellow flowers that fade as small round, smooth-skinned red tomatoes appear. This variety requires full sun and a pH from acid to neutral. It also tolerates humidity.
  
  

Tiny Tim

• The University of Illinois Extension describes Tiny Tim as a "very dwarf" variety of tomatoes. It's ready for harvest only 45 days after planting, producing 1-inch-round red cherries. Tiny Tim is also light and grows with a bushy, rather than vining, habit, so it makes a great plant for hanging baskets.
  
  

Saladette

• "Saladette" means small salad and, in this case, refers to small tomatoes great for salad slices. The plant grows with a bushy habit, spreading 18 inches. Its height reaches just over 3 feet and the fruit matures in about 70 days. Saladette tomatoes weigh 3 ounces and are 3 inches tall and 2 ½ inches around. The fruit also develops into a plum shape similar to Roma tomatoes. Besides their slicing virtues, these meaty tomatoes make good sauces.
  
  

Tumbling Tom

• Tumbling Tom tomato probably gets its name from its weeping growth habit. This is a trailing variety great for hanging baskets, with branches that extend 2 feet down. Tumbling Tom has an 8-inch spread and it produces 1 to 2-inch cherry tomatoes after its white flowers fade. It's safe for the planter to go outside once night temperatures hold at a minimum of 55 degrees Faherenheit.