Higher temperatures in your container potting mix than in your soil.

Same varieties? Same start date? I don't grow with both methods at the same time, so haven't experienced this.

Thanks prestons garden! That's cool, my other tomatoes won't be ripe for at least 30 days!

I agree that containers grow faster than in the ground, but I'm not sure that it's all due to higher temperatures. Maybe in the day, but at night the containers cool off much quicker (at least in the northern zones) than the ground. The ground stays warmer at night. Maybe someone else can shed additional light on this. I know that my container tomatoes are huge compared to my neighbors plants in the ground. But if I want to grow watermelons or sweet potatoes, they will grow faster in the ground which retains heat.

because everything is containerized.
consistant water
proper fertilization
warmer soil
critters
etc.
and i think people pay more attention to detail when its right in your face. like a trophy.

Yes, growing in containers does give you different results. Peppers for example, where I grow, I get much earlier and larger yields in containers then in the ground.

My experiments on tomatoes show a different story. Although my container tomatoes are fruiting sooner, the plants in the ground are getting much larger and many more flowers. Part of this I suspect is that the root system of tomatoes are much larger then peppers, and pot size seems to be the limiter in container toms.

Yuuup lathyrus odoratus, they're Jet Star & Celebrity,all forced by myself & planted at the same time.