Topsy Tom Tomato

Why I chose it

Topsy Tom appealed to me because it does something rather different from most tomatoes. Instead of needing a great staking structure, it forms a compact, spreading plant with flexible trailing stems and lots of small red tomatoes. A brilliant option if your tomato-growing space is a pot, hanging basket or sunny patio rather than a large vegetable garden.

At a glance

Type: Cherry
Growth: Semi-determinate, trailing
Fruit: Small, round, red
Position: Full sun
Habit: Compact and spreading
Best for: Containers and hanging baskets

In the kitchen

Sweet little tomatoes made for eating straight from the plant, throwing into salads or adding to lunchboxes. They're also a useful size for cooking whole — try them roasted or quickly sautéed and tossed through pasta.

In the garden

This is where Topsy Tom earns its place. It stays relatively compact but sends out flexible, trailing stems carrying multiple trusses of fruit. That makes it particularly suited to containers and hanging baskets, where the stems can spill naturally over the sides rather than needing to be trained upwards. Ball Seed

Care

Grow in full sun in fertile, well-drained soil or a good-quality container mix. Keep watering consistent, particularly when growing in pots as they dry out more quickly than garden soil. Feed regularly once flowering and fruiting begins. There's no need to train it like a tall indeterminate tomato — let its naturally spreading habit do the work.