Growing Gardener's Delight Cherry Tomatoes in Containers

In May, I received three 'Gardener's Delight' cherry tomato plants my father had grown from seed. Past frost risk, I potted them into large containers outdoors, moving them to the polytunnel during July's terrible weather. By mid-August, I was harvesting sweet, flavorful fruit. Here's the full process with photos.

Variety Profile

• Position: Full sun
• Soil: Rich, fertile
• Suitable for: Patio, kitchen garden, greenhouse, polytunnel
• Hardiness: Half-hardy
• Flowering: June–September
• Sowing: February–April
• Harvest: July–October
• Height: 200 cm (79 in)
• Spread: 50 cm (20 in)

'Gardener's Delight' is a cordon (indeterminate) variety—grown as a single main stem with side shoots removed. Reliable, productive, and excellent flavor.

Potting into Final Containers

Early June: potted into 12×12 inch containers (slightly smaller than often recommended, but productive). Added 5-foot bamboo canes for support and drilled plastic pipes for root-zone aeration and deep watering. Mulch topped the compost to retain moisture.

Five weeks later, plants had ~5 trusses each and vigorous growth.

Pinching Out Side Shoots

Essential for All Cordon/Indeterminate Varieties

Understanding Tomato Trusses

A truss is the stem bearing yellow flower buds that become fruit. Some growers allow only 5 trusses before pinching out the growing tip to focus energy on ripening existing fruit. More trusses risk many green tomatoes at season's end.

Flower to Fruit Development

Flower buds forming—don't remove these unless pinching the top truss after 5+ have set.

Yellow flowers opening. Look carefully underneath: tiny green swellings at the flower base are immature tomatoes.

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Fruit Growth Stages

Petals drop, revealing green fruit. Sepals (green leaf-like structures) push up as fruit swells.

Shriveled brown remnants are just old petals—they fall naturally.

Sepals turn upward, fruit shifts from dark to light green, then ripens to red (yellow, black, and striped varieties also exist).

Using a Polytunnel to Ripen Fruit

July's cold, wet weather prevented ripening outdoors. I moved plants into the polytunnel, maintaining 20–25°C (ideal ripening range). August warmth allowed return outdoors. They occupy significant space but extend the season effectively.

My Rating: Gardener's Delight

Easy in Containers, Heavy Yields, Great Flavor — 4.5/5

Harvest Time

First red tomatoes picked August 14—late due to cool summer. Sweet, full-flavored, eaten straight from the vine. Most ripened before cold returned; otherwise, green tomato recipes would have been needed!

Image Credits: Introductory image by author Marie Williams Johnstone. Other images (unless watermarked) are Amazon product photos.