The best place to grow tomatoes will have full sun for six hours a day. Hotter southern locations might need a little afternoon shade to give the tomatoes a bit of relief so they can survive and thrive. A well-drained site with rich, loamy soil is ideal. If you don’t have a location with full sun for six hours a day, you might have to trim back some tree branches. If your soil isn’t ideal, start adding organic material like compost to it.
If you have a limited amount of space, or if you have terrible soil, then you can grow your tomatoes in a container. A number of determinate tomato varieties are specially bred for this purpose, bearing a nice bunch of tomatoes in a small pot.