I’m lucky enough to have pretty decent yard space (at least for living smack dab in the middle of the city), but I could have easily grown all five of these plants at the same time on the small attached balcony in the apartment I used to live in, and the dwarf tomato plants could even be grown on a windowsill!
The fact that they all stay small enough to be kept in light enough containers that they can easily be moved (or even brought inside to avoid severe weather) is just the cherry on top.
The main takeaway here is that any space is big enough to do at least SOME gardening in, even edible gardening, and these dwarf plants that all produce edible fruit are a great starting place.
Grow From Seed: Dwarf Tomato Plants
Start with only a few dollars!
I just rehydrated some coco coir seed starting discs and put a seed in each disc, then transplanted each seedling once it had grown a few leaves.
No fruit yet but they’re coming along great!
Don’t be intimidated if you’re not used to growing from seed, it’s never as hard as you think.
Dwarf Melanie’s Ballet
Coming from the Dwarf Tomato Project under the Open Source Seed Initiative, this is more of a “paste”-type tomato, and it’s supposed to get up to two feet tall.
Buy Dwarf Melanie’s Ballet dwarf tomato seeds at Victory Seeds
Orange Hat
This dwarf tomato is supposed to top out at about 9 inches, making it small enough even for dorm rooms and other conditions that are typically rough for gardening.
Buy Orange Hat dwarf tomato seeds at Victory Seeds
Yellow Canary
This dwarf tomato is supposed to top out just under a foot tall.
Buy Yellow Canary dwarf tomato seeds at Victory Seeds
Buy At Plant Nurseries: Dwarf Fruit Trees
Each of these cost more than a few bucks but are under $100, but you skip ahead in the growth process and get a mature tree in exchange.
Fignomenal Dwarf Fig Tree
When I went to pick up my Fignomenal dwarf fig at my local plant nursery, the guy bringing it to our car seemed excited just to have had it come through the nursery.
Topping at out 28 inches, or just over two feet, tall, it’s not hard to see why this one has been getting a lot of buzz.
My tree is already growing some fruits that are quite exciting to track day after day.
Buy Fignomenal dwarf fig tree at Monrovia
Pick it up at your local garden center (here in OKC, I chose TLC Garden Center)
(Improved) Meyer Lemon Tree/Bush
I wanted the Improved Meyer Lemon, which has better disease resistance, but my local garden center seemed to only have the regular old Meyer Lemon when I was picking up the Fignomenal, so this is what I went with; no fruit yet but it’s looking great.
Pick it up at your local garden center (again, here in OKC, I chose TLC Garden Center)
Have fun and good luck!