expert Katherine Rowe explores the merits of this top-performing, compact variety for nearly effortless enjoyment this summer.

With dwarf selections like ‘Patio Choice Yellow,’ there’s always room to tuck in more tomatoes. The productive fruiters on compact vines yield bright yellow rounds that are perfectly poppable right off the stem. Enjoy the sweet flavor of the sunny fruits fresh or in canning, roasting, and sauces. Sun-dry them for a tasty snack or topping.

‘Patio Choice Yellow’ lives up to its name as a fit for small spaces, easy to grow across garden scales. They suit containers in addition to raised beds and in-ground plantings. Arrange them with blooming annuals, perennials, and herbs for a potted display. Edible blooms like marigolds, calendula, and zinnia make a pretty complement. They even grow beautifully in hanging baskets; add growing space by going vertical, and keep them nearby for easy picking.

‘Patio Choice Yellow’ is an early producer, ideal for climates with short growing seasons and also for quicker tomato gratification, as other varieties continue to ripen on the vine. They’re high-yielding and disease-resistant, performing and producing even in heat and humidity.

What Are ‘Patio Choice’ Tomatoes?
‘Patio Choice Yellow’ is a top dwarf or “bush” variety, able to fill a pot or small space with loads of tasty, bright yellow globes. The ‘Patio’ series features hybrids bred to have compact branching and bountiful cherry tomato production on determinate vines.

‘Patio Choice Yellow’ is an All-America Selections award winner for its productive yields, compact habit, and easy care. A big contribution to its low-maintenance is strong disease resistance. The variety resists tobacco mosaic virus, Fusarium wilt, and Verticillium wilt, all common fungal problems of the genus.

The ‘Patio’ series is, by design, tailored to pots and containers. They open up food production in a variety of growing situations with ease, from balconies to sunny porches to tucking in beds and borders.

Characteristics
‘Patio Choice Yellow’ is a determinate variety that reaches just 18 inches tall and 20 inches wide. In prolific clusters, a single plant produces 100 or more of the bright gold cherries. The fruits have a mild flavor, sweet with slight acidity.

‘Patio Choice Yellow’ matures early and is ready to harvest around 45 days after transplanting (65 days from sowing). The “perfect” flowers are self-pollinating and don’t rely on insects or pollen from another plant to produce fruit. Each yellow globe is one to one and a half inches across and weighs half an ounce.

Cherry tomato clusters begin ripening at the stem and progress to the tips. The ripening phases stagger the harvest over a few days and create an attractive look to the plant with bunches of green, yellow, and rich gold tomatoes. They flower and ripen over about four to five weeks.

As a determinate selection and a particularly compact one, ‘Patio Choice Yellow’ doesn’t require staking or caging. The bush is self-supporting, though you can insert a small stake to keep clusters and stems upright.

Let the globes ripen on the vine or pick them a few days early to fully ripen indoors. Harvesting a little early keeps them from birds and prevents cracking from the sun or filling with excess water. Picking early, as they begin to show good color, won’t compromise flavor.

Native Area
‘Patio Choice Yellow’ is a hybrid from Seeds By Design, a California-based distributor of specialty selections. Its wild, tropical ancestors originate in South America, with a growing range from the coast to the Andes from Ecuador to Chile. The original cherry tomato, a wild, weedy plant with little fruits, dates to Ecuador some 80,000 years ago.

With cultivation, spreading, and trade, the range expanded to Central America and further into South America. Explorers from Spain brought domesticated tomatoes to Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries, but they were slow to catch on. Tomatoes are part of the nightshade family, Solanaceae, with peppers, eggplants, tobacco, and many herbaceous perennials, shrubs, and trees. Nightshades include highly toxic species, giving plant collectors pause in eating tomatoes.

Planting
The compact, determinate selection does best with an in-bed spacing of 12 to 15 inches apart. In containers, five gallons allows ample soil volume. Opt for five gallons or larger for mixed arrangements, like combining the dwarf tomatoes with companions.

The annuals (or tender perennials in zones 10-11) are frost-sensitive and require warm air and soil temperatures for best growth. They grow easily from seed, whether started indoors or direct sown. Start seeds indoors five to six weeks before the final frost date, and transplant seedlings one to two weeks after, as nighttime temperatures are above 55°F (13°C). Direct sow as soil temperatures rise above 60°F (16°C). For the heat-loving vegetables, soils between 70-90°F (21-32°C) are optimal for germination.

When feasible, nightshade members benefit from crop rotation yearly because of shared pests and diseases. For ‘Patio Choice Yellow’ in the ground, choose a spot where you haven’t grown other nightshades (eggplants, tomatillos, potatoes, peppers, and other tomatoes) in the past year for a clean plot.

At planting, go a little deep with stems. Each hair on the stem has the potential to set a root. More roots mean a vigorous system for strong, stable plants with increased nutrient and water absorption for best fruiting.
How to Grow
‘Patio Choice Yellow’ is easygoing as tomatoes go. The right site and cultural conditions bring the best vigor and fruiting. Plenty of sunlight, even moisture, and good air circulation are key to tomato plant health.
Maintenance
‘Patio Choice Yellow’ is dense and leafy. The self-supporting bush type doesn’t need pruning. If using a small stake to hold stems and clusters upright, tie off stems every several inches as they reach their maximum of 18 inches.

Mulching is a good practice to insulate roots, regulate soil temperatures, and retain moisture. Initially, hold off on mulch to let the sun warm the roots of tender seedlings. When stems inch toward their mature height, layer two to three inches of weed-free straw around the base.