If a gardener or gardener is a creative person, then he will not stop at growing standard types of various crops, but will always be in search of new varieties. For tomato lovers, in such a case, there is no more suitable variety than tomatoes with a dark color. Scientists-breeders have bred more than a dozen of these outlandish varieties. Representatives of chocolate-black tomatoes include the varieties "Chocolate Bunny", "Gypsy", "Black bunch f1", "Paul Robson", "Black Cherry", "Watermelon", "Indigo Rose", "Chocolate Miracle", "Brown Sugar "And, of course, the Chocolate tomato. In black tomatoes, the color is saturated, uniform, and among the "chocolate" ones you can find striped ones, having a darker color at the base. These are Black Crimean, Bison, Black Baron and others. With their bizarre shapes and colors, they never cease to amaze fans of this series of tomatoes.

Characteristics and description of the variety chocolate tomato

Variety of tomatoes Dark chocolate is very young, was bred by domestic scientists at the beginning of the twenty-first century and is presented by the agrofirm "Aelita". Tomatoes are suitable for planting both in a greenhouse and in open beds. And although the culture is well adapted to the climatic conditions of central Russia, the first days after planting seedlings in open ground should be covered with a film or other insulation that will protect against sudden frosts or temperature changes.

Tomato Chocolate is mid-season, the first fruits ripen at the sixteenth week. In the northern regions, it is recommended to grow tomato chocolate in closed greenhouses or greenhouses, which will allow you to get the full harvest.

Chocolate tomatoes grow 110-150 centimeters high. The plant is semi-determinate, non-standard, therefore, in the process of growth, it must be tied up, and the stepsons must be carefully removed so that the bush does not grow to the sides. The yield of tomatoes per season can reach from 10 to 15 kilograms per square meter. Tomato variety Chocolate is resistant to some diseases, it resists rot especially well, even on rainy days. But in the heat with high humidity in the greenhouse, it can become infected with late blight, but only with a very dense planting of bushes.

Tomato Chocolate

Bush

Tomatoes Shokoladnitsa is a medium-sized variety with a strong root branched to the sides and powerful stems. Usually a bush of 2-3 stems is formed, which must be tied up. Leaves are medium, bright green. The inflorescences are intermediate, growing to the sides. The first flower appears above the eighth leaf. Up to five fruits can grow on a hand.

Fruit

Ripe tomatoes are round, slightly flattened. Ripe individuals turn from green to red-brown, with a chocolate tint. Under the skin there is a red pulp, juicy, very pleasant to the taste, and the walls and chambers for seeds can combine light green and brown colors. Ripe berries gain weight from 200 to 400 grams. Due to their high gastronomic qualities, they are successfully used in the preparation of salads, sauces, tomato juice, even jam. Tomato variety Shokoladnitsa is suitable for pickling, pickling, freezing.

Growing features

Sowing dates

Tomato Sugar brown

Since the tomato hybrid Dark Chocolate can be planted in different regions of the country, vegetable growers need to correctly navigate the place and timing of sowing and planting tomatoes in the soil. They need to be sown two months before transplanting the seedlings into a greenhouse or open beds. If the seedlings are planned to be grown in a greenhouse, then sowing is carried out 10 days earlier.

It is important! If sowing is planned in a greenhouse, then you need to know the forecast about a possible cold snap or freezing. This can slow down the growth of tomatoes and affect the future harvest.

The soil

Earthen mixture is often bought in stores. It is completely ready for sowing, but you can cook it yourself. It is necessary to mix peat, humus, turf in equal amounts. Then add a tablespoon of wood ash to the bucket of the mixture, one teaspoon each of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. Ignite the prepared soil in the oven or microwave. To be sure that the soil is safe, disinfect with a manganese solution.

Transplanting

Interesting. If you moisten the soil prepared for sowing seeds and stand it in a warm place, this favors the appearance of microflora in it.

Sowing

The purchased seeds of the Chocolate hybrid have already been disinfected, hardened and soaked. Therefore, you can safely sow them. The seed containers should have a volume of 1 liter and a depth of 10 centimeters. Having filled them with soil, make grooves 4-5 centimeters apart from each other and evenly distribute the seeds in them after 2-3 centimeters. Then sprinkle the hollows with earth and spray with warm water.

Seedling care

The seedlings must be placed in a well-lit place, covered with foil or glass and kept, observing the temperature regime: the air must be at least +18 and not higher than +25 degrees. If necessary, the soil must be sprayed. The containers need to be ventilated from time to time, removing the cover for a few minutes.

Important! If mold appears on the soil, carefully remove the top layer and treat it with an antifungal agent.

When the first shoots appeared, these days you need to gradually accustom the seedlings to the sun's rays, taking them outside. The first time - 5 minutes, the second day - 10, increasing the time intervals gradually. Sunbathing should be alternated with quenching in the fresh air or with an open window. All varieties of Chocolate tomatoes require feeding once every two weeks. It will be enough to water them with a weak warm Humate solution.

Dive

The tenth day has come, the seedlings have the first two leaves. It's time to place them in separate pots, cups or special small containers, the volume of which should not exceed 200 milliliters. You need to move the seedlings carefully, digging a lump of earth together with the roots and lowering it into a glass. Slightly press the earth in the container, if it is not enough, add it.

Soil preparation

In order for young seedlings to be comfortable in a new place, it is necessary to create favorable conditions for them. The soil must be dug up to the depth of the shovel bayonet, organic fertilizers must be applied (liquid mullein or chicken droppings). For 1 square meter, 3 kilograms of feeding will be required. It is necessary to use a solution of bird droppings carefully - excess fertilizer can burn tender sprouts. The norm for such a solution will be 1 organic matchbox per bucket of water. Water the ground before planting for a day or two and cover the beds with black film to warm up to + 15-18 degrees.

Soil preparation

Tomato transplant Shokoladnitsa

When 7 leaves and 1 inflorescence appear on the seedlings, this will be a signal to plant them in open ground. Prepare the beds a couple of weeks before. The time of transfer should be chosen based on the weather: it should be warm, but cloudy and calm. This procedure is usually carried out in the second decade of May. No more than 3 bushes can be planted per square meter, planting depth is 3 centimeters.

Care and watering

No special techniques are required in the process of growing chocolate varieties, the measures are usual: timely watering, weeding and feeding.One condition that the variety requires is the formation of a bush. This means that it is necessary to tie up the stems and pinch on time, that is, remove excess ovaries so that they do not take nutrients from the growing fruits.

Important! Removal of stepchildren should be carried out in dry, calm weather. This will prevent the possibility of infection of seedlings with infections in the wound sites. They will dry out under the rays of the sun and close the entry point for harmful bacteria.

The development of the root system and the growth of the seedling depend on regular weeding and loosening of the soil. Fertilizers will easily get into light soil with irrigation water, and removed weeds will not deprive tomatoes of moisture and nutrition. Well-loosened soil will open up oxygen access to the roots. The first ripe fruits will appear at 16 weeks. It's time to harvest. It must be remembered that the Chocolate tomato is not stored for a long time, so it must be processed immediately.

Advantages and disadvantages of a hybrid

Tomato Marshmallow in chocolate

The positive properties of the variety include the following:

  • unpretentiousness in the growing process;
  • low bush height;
  • high resistance to infectious diseases;
  • an unconventional original color that attracts vegetable growers;
  • excellent gastronomic qualities;
  • good productivity;
  • optimal size for conservation.

The vegetable does not have any particular drawbacks, except that it is not stored for a long time and does not have the ability to ripen.

Due to its unpretentious care and wonderful taste, the Chocolate tomato variety finds more and more fans among lovers of this culture. Varieties of black and chocolate flowers are not only no worse than red and orange-yellow, in some parameters they can give odds to their relatives of a different color. After all, the dark color suggests that these tomatoes contain substances - anthocyanins, which give them such a color. Scientists who have studied these varieties claim that they have more antioxidants than red tomatoes. Try the tomato variety Chocolate cream - not chocolate. It is difficult to overestimate the benefits of these fruits for human health.