Depends on the variety you use and what their DTM is. In your zone you can only extend the season so much even with a hoop house. Plus since most determinates at still 4' tall it would have to be a high hoop house, not a low tunnel. Not only for head room but for insulating effect. This assuming you don't plan to heat it. Dave

There's a lot of good stuff in this thread. I'd like to point out that I did not like the MG Moisture Control the one year I used it for my tomatoes. Strange things happened, including BER. I'm using a mix of 2/3 old potting soil and 1/3 new this year, which is normal for me, and feeding them every two weeks. I'm only growing three in pots this season, two Sungolds and one Black Cherry each in a 10 gallon container. I also have four pepper plants in a 7 gallon container, and I'm trying to grow cucumbers in a pot. (Damn squash vine borer killed everything last year, so nothing squash like in the garden this year.) Between the 10 gallon size, close attention to watering needs, and frequent feeding, those three cherry tomato plants will easily grow to 8 feet tall and produce WAY more cherry tomatoes than I need. If you've never grown plants in pots, but think you might have a reason to do so, I highly recommend it. I grow cherries in pots, because I find it easier to stay on top of the harvesting when they are on the front porch. When they are in the garden, they always seem to get away from me. It also lets me start them a couple weeks ahead of the main garden without fear of a deadly late frost.

coeng, do you have any idea how many hours of direct sunlight the area will receive? I used to grow tomatoes just a foot from the east (brick) wall of a 2-story house. So those tomatoes had sun from the NE IL summer sunrise until noon. They did well, even though they received nowhere near the amount of direct sun tomatoes are supposed to require. There's also something called "bright shade." I have some experience with that (daylilies flowering where they shouldn't have), but I don't know how "bright shade" is defined. A few years back, there was a regular poster here whose Minnesota property was mostly dappled shade -- and with neighbors' trees he couldn't trim. He knew how much sunlight each square foot of that yard received, tucked his tomato plants into the sunniest spaces -- without regard for the landscaping -- and as I remember, had a fairly good harvest. === Tomatoes crack for different reasons. Some varieties (usually with thinner skin) are prone to certain patterns of cracking. So there are varieties you wouldn't want to buy. But if you dislike thick skin, your tomatoes will probably have more cracking. Are you starting from seed this year, or will you buy seedlings again? Which varieties did you grow last year, and which varieties are your options this year? When soil moisture is inconsistent, nearly all varieties are much more likely to crack. So to limit this type of cracking, keep soil moisture as consistent as possible. Mulching heavily helps (and also helps prevent disease-causing microorganisms from splashing onto the leaves). [You can use almost anything for mulch, including shredded office paper, newspapers, or straw.] When there is suddenly a great increase in soil moisture, fruit tend to "burst." So when there's a forecast of a good rain, pick all the fruit which have begun to show yellow (the "breakers" stage), and ripen them inside. This will not affect their taste. Oh -- and sun isn't necessary to ripen them indoors.

Roselee, I have had good luck with better boy for a full size tomato. For whatever reason Celebrity has not produced well for me, but I am in a more humid environment in SE Texas. If you buy seed I grew Baxter Cherry Tomato last year in a pot and it grew well with alot of tomatoes and didn't get gangly. Black cherry tomato is an heirloom variety that had very good taste and even produced well but it grew very tall and was spreading, even in a six foot cage. Just remember that in the Texas heat they will need to be watered daily even in a 15 gallon pot.