7 Best Micro Tomato Varieties for Windowsills

Ready to pick tomatoes from your kitchen windowsill? These are some of the best micro tomato varieties you can find in nurseries and online. Often barely over a foot tall, these mini toms are the perfect size for windowsills, window boxes, balconies, and mini pots.

You may not be making jars of passata sauce for your neighbors, but you’ll definitely have a lovely supply of cherry tomatoes to munch on. Perfect for salads, lunch boxes, or snacks.

An Ode to mini vegetables

I love that vegetable breeding and pollination crossing has allowed us to create these amazing mini-vegetable varieties. For us small garden growers, it’s so wonderful to be able to add dwarf vegetable or fruit plants to our gardens (and windowsills!) that decades ago would have been too big.

Tiny balconies, urban gardens, and windowsills can now be covered with an array of vegetables — like dwarf peas or micro tomatoes!

What’s the difference between dwarf and micro tomatoes?

Micro tomatoes are usually less than a foot tall, making them ideal for windowsills. In comparison, dwarf tomatoes plants will usually be around 3-4 tall and will need a bigger container. Dwarf tomatoes will work well in small outdoor spaces.

If you have a bit more outdoor space that you can dedicate to tomatoes, then dwarf tomatoes might be a better option. They’re a foot or two taller than these micro tomatoes, but they still stay at a compact and manageable size.

If you’re wondering what other dwarf fruit and veg varieties you can grow you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see that there are TONNES. From small bush bean plants to dwarfing fruit trees! It’s honestly fantastic.

But, back to our ultimate list of micro tomatoes…

Micro tomatoes for windowsills and small spaces

These windowsill tomatoes are all determinate bush varieties. This means they’ll usually max out at a certain size no matter what sized container they’re grown in.

Compared to taller bush or cordon tomato varieties, these micro tomatoes usually have very textured, deep green leaves and a low, thick central stem.

For each micro tomato I’ve listed their maximum height and spread, so you can see whether they’re the right size for your windowsill.

1. Sweet N Neat 

My absolute favorite, hence its position at the top of the list! It could just be the name, but I’m always so pleased with the harvest I get from this tomato variety.

It produces sweet, round cherry tomatoes that grow from compact, bushy growth. Often called a ‘table top’ tomato because of its tiny size!

Suitable for: Windowsills, hanging pots, outside growing in small spaces.

Maximum Height: 12 inches (30cm)

Maximum Spread: 10 inches (25cm)

2. Red Robin

Another mini tom with a cute name, the Red Robin tomato grows to a very similar size to Sweet N Neat. Plus, it will also produce very sweet rounded cherry tomatoes.

It’s such a treat being able to pick cherry tomatoes off windowsills indoors. Red Robin is ideal for apartments without balconies, and also, apparently, space shuttles!

Suitable for: Windowsills, hanging pots, outside growing in small spaces.

Maximum Height: 12 inches (30cm)

Maximum Spread: 12 inches (30cm)

3. Yellow Canary

This micro tomato produces beautiful, sunshine-yellow cherry tomatoes throughout the summer.

It’s less common than other micro tomatoes on this list. However, you should be able to find seeds online!

Suitable for: Windowsills, hanging pots, outside growing in small spaces.

Maximum Height: 8-12 inches (20-30cm)

Maximum Spread: 8-12 inches (20-30cm)

4. Balconi Red

A lovely dwarf tomato variety with deep green foliage and sweet cherry tomatoes. As the name suggests, Balconi Red is perfect for balconies and other small garden spaces. It produces a good yield of bright red, round tomatoes that you can pick every few days for fresh salads, etc.

Suitable for: Windowsills, hanging pots, outside growing in small spaces.

Maximum Height: 12 inches (30cm)

Maximum Spread: 12 inches (30cm)

5. Veranda Red 

A micro tomato with compact, dark green foliage and tasty cherry tomatoes! Veranda Red tomatoes are a very popular choice for small pots on patios, balconies, and decks. They’re also tiny enough for windowsills too.

They have a great cropping season, usually starting early and finishing late. You can also grow them under LED grow lights too, so there’s the potential for tomatoes year-round!

Suitable for: Windowsills, hanging pots, outside growing in small spaces.

Maximum Height: 20 inches (51cm)

Maximum Spread: 15 inches (38cm)

6. Micro Tom 

An amazingly tiny, determinate bush tomato, but don’t be fooled by its tiny size! Micro Tom tomato plants produce amazing yields of mini cherry tomatoes for such a tiny plant. They’re the perfect size for snacking on or adding to wraps and salads.

Micro Tom tomato plants are perfect for growing on windowsills in small pots. They also work well outdoors too, whether you grow them in a greenhouse or out on a porch or patio.

Micro Tom also has a very similar tomato friend known as Micro Tina!

Suitable for: Windowsills, hanging pots, outside growing in small spaces.

Maximum Height: 6-10 inches (15-25cm)

Maximum Spread: 6-10 inches (15-25cm)

7. Tiny Tim

Like Micro Tom, the Tiny Tim tomato produces a great yield of mini tomatoes. Make sure to pick them regularly, as some stems may need support when laden with ripe tomatoes! Perfect for windowsills or outside pots on a balcony or porch.

Suitable for: Windowsills, hanging pots, outside growing in small spaces.

Maximum Height: 12-16 inches (30-40cm)

Maximum Spread: 10 inches (25cm)

Top tips for growing micro tomatoes

These mini tomatoes are very easy to grow, but to help you boost their yield, I’ve collected some tips I’ve found helpful below.

• The leaves can occasionally cover micro tomatoes, so trimming the leaves at the ends of the stem can help them ripen (and help you find them!).
• Picking ripe tomatoes before watering the pot can usually improve their sweetness. But make sure not to let the compost dry out!
• All tomato plants need plenty of sunlight as they grow and as tomatoes are ripening. They need at least 6+ hours of sun each day, so position them on a south-facing window if possible.

What’s the pot or container size for micro tomatoes?

Because of their mini size, micro tomatoes won’t need the larger 5+ gallon pots suited to dwarf tomatoes. The tiniest varieties (Micro Tom) will be happy in 2-liter pots (0.5 gallons), whereas varieties like Red Robin or Tiny Tim will benefit from a 4-8 liter container (1-2 gallons).

They’ll still grow in smaller containers, but the amount of tomatoes they produce will be greatly impacted.

If you’ve got some outdoor space for a hanging basket (and LOVE tomatoes), you might be interested in growing trailing tomato varieties too. You’ll have waterfalls of tomatoes cascading over the edges of your planter, perfect for picking — especially if you keep it near a door.

What else can you grow on a windowsill?

Growing vegetables on your windowsills is a great way to extend your growing space. Here are some other posts you may be interested in!

• 11 Vegetables You Can Grow Indoors on a Windowsill
• 9 Indoor Herbs to Grow on a Windowsill This Winter
• 5 Reasons To Grow Your Herbs Indoors!