Tomato 'Tumbling Tom' – Trailing Cherry Tomato (1L, Set of 3 or 6)

Tomato 'Tumbling Tom' is a trailing cherry tomato bred for hanging baskets, window boxes and the edge of a big pot.

It is a tumbling bush type rather than a cordon, and that distinction matters more than anything else on this page: it needs no cane, no tying in and no pinching out of side shoots. You plant it, feed it and pick it. The stems cascade over the rim of a basket and carry heavy trusses of small sweet fruit, red or yellow depending on the variety supplied.

Grow it in full sun. Start it under glass or on a warm windowsill and move it outside only once all risk of frost has passed, because tomatoes are killed outright by frost and set back badly by cold nights. Water evenly rather than in bursts, since erratic watering is what causes split fruit and blossom end rot, and feed with a high-potash tomato feed once the first truss sets. Plants arrive as established 1 litre plants grown in peat-free compost in Yorkshire. Tomato foliage is in the same family as potato and is a known risk to pets, so keep animals away from the plants.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Tomato
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: Trailing. The source gives no measurements for this variety
• Growth Habit: Tumbling bush type, trailing. Needs no support and no side-shooting
• Perfect For: Hanging baskets, window boxes, patio containers, balconies
• Foliage: Mid-green, cut, strongly scented
• Flowering Time: Summer, small yellow flowers before the fruit sets
• Planting Position: Full sun. Grows well in patio containers and baskets
• Soil Type: Fertile, moisture-retentive compost
• Hardiness: Not hardy. Killed by the first frost, so it is a summer only crop and goes out only once frost has passed
• Maintenance: Water evenly, feed with high potash once the first truss sets. No staking or side-shooting needed on a tumbling type
• Seasonal Interest: Summer
• Type: Tender annual vegetable, grow your own