Funny you should post this. I have a Sweet 100 in a 3 inch pot, stashed in a corner of patio, totally neglected. Was keeping it as a backup in case I lost something in the ground. The one in the tiny pot is loaded with tomatoes. The ones in the ground have a few flowers but no fruits yet. Wish I knew the answer to this.

Drainage might be a factor.

My mom would say that the plant in the tiny pot knows its conditions are bad and it has no future, so it's desperate to produce seeds so its genes can survive.

I've found that potted plants outperform in-ground plants for a couple of reasons. The growing medium in a pot can get warmer much quicker and maintain that higher temperature. The plants seem to respond to that temperature difference by accelerating growth. Another reason is that the garden soil, while cooler, is more compact that the container mix, thus allowing frustrating root growth. Raised beds are usually mostly non-soil mediums like the various composts - manure or mushroom.

This year, as I always do, I purchased a few mature hybrid plants. This is my way to get earlier tomatoes The six plants were all from the same grower and were all about 16 inches tall. I put three into 18 gallon containers with potting mix (no "soil"). The others went into the main garden. The plants in the garden are now about 3 feet tall and are showing some fruit set. The plants in the containers are now almost 5 feet tall and have some fruit that are nearly 3 inches in diameter. The variety is Big Boy.

My conclusions over several years of getting the same results, as stated above, remain unchanged. It has to be the consistency and the temperature of the growing medium. Plants in pots are "pampered", while plants in the ground have other problems to solve.

Ted

Many variables could be affecting both - some negative, some positive. So it is impossible to know if it is just fertilizer that is needed without much more info.

Varieties names
age of plants
Size of containers
Mix in the containers
nutrient source in the containers
nutrient sources in the ground
how and how often you water (over-watering is a common problem)
etc.

That said, if you haven't fed the ones in the ground anything at all then yes it is very likely that they could use some food.

Dave

The one in the tiny pot is loaded with tomatoes. The ones in the ground have a few flowers but no fruits yet. Wish I knew the answer to this.

That's because the one in the tiny pot is heavily stressed. Stressed plants are triggered into early production to survive. But it won't be able to survive and will usually abort the fruits or they will have BER or never ripen.

Yes, in my personal experience and from reading what others post on the subject, containerized tomatoes do grow faster. I forgot why, but they just do. That was one of the first things I noticed when I started growing tomatoes in containers after growing them in the ground for many years.

Interestingly, I was out in the garden this evening and I noticed that the 'Sweet 100' in the garden has tomatoes! Just two or three but I came back and checked the container plants and nada.

I have noticed the same thing. Since tomatoes need warm soil I assumed the warmer soil in the pots and the looser growing medium were the reason. However, mine on the my driveway, and I did find last year, that the garden plants catch up and outperform the potted ones later in the season, which I believe is because the pots on the driveway actually get too hot for the roots. I have placed 2" thick boards under them so they are not in direct contact with the asphalt this year and we will see if it helps. I have a small lot and I just don't want to kill my grass by having many heavy pots on it all summer, so on the driveway they go. Maybe when it gets too hot I will see if there is room for them dispersed
among my flower gardens. :)