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Tomato Dark chocolate is a medium-ripening black chokeberry. This variety was bred not so long ago, so it can still be perceived as a kind of exotic, however, caring for the variety does not differ much from other species of the mid-season group.
Tomato Dark chocolate was included in the State Register and adapted for cultivation in greenhouse conditions on the territory of all regions of Russia in 2007.
Description of tomato variety Dark chocolate
The Dark Chocolate variety is an indeterminate tomato type. This means that the plant is not limited in growth, although the average height of the bushes is 1.5-1.7 m. In appearance, they resemble vines entangling supports. Such sizes require the obligatory formation of tomatoes and a garter of shoots. As a support, trellises are best suited, to which the tomatoes are attached with twines.
The fruits of the variety are small. They form clusters of 8-12 fruits each. This growing density provides a high yield of tomatoes, despite the fact that they themselves are small in size.
Description and taste of fruits
Translated from English, cherry means "cherry", which is quite consistent with the appearance and size of the fruits of the Dark Chocolate variety. The weight of tomatoes rarely exceeds 30 g.
The shape of the fruit is round, without pronounced ribbing. Their color is almost uniform, except for a small greenish spot at the stalk. The color of the tomatoes is dark brown, with a barely noticeable purple tint.
The pulp of dark chocolate tomatoes is juicy and dense, the fruits are two-chambered. The peel of the fruit is firm, but tender enough, so the tomatoes should be transported carefully to avoid cracking the harvested crop.
Reviews often emphasize the pleasant taste of the fruit. Dark chocolate tomatoes are moderately sweet, not sugary, but with a slight sourness, which is in harmony with the sugariness of the pulp. The rich taste of the fruit is also noted, which contains fruity notes. This is due to the unusually high concentration of sugars and acids in tomato pulp.
For harvesting for the winter, this variety of tomatoes is of little use. The skin of the fruit cracks easily in preparation for preservation, as a result of which the pulp softens and the contents of the tomatoes come out. This is a cocktail variety. Most of the harvest is consumed fresh and when added to salads.
Characteristics of Tomato Black Chocolate
According to the information from the description of tomatoes, Dark chocolate is a mid-season variety, the sowing of which is recommended to start from March 15th. The deadline is March 20-22. Planting in a greenhouse is carried out on average 2 months after the appearance of the first shoots.
Tomatoes ripen in 110-120 days, if counted from the day the first shoots appear. The yield of one plant reaches 4-5 kg.
One of the key features of the variety is its excellent immunity to diseases typical of tomatoes. On the other hand, disease prevention is never superfluous.
Pros and cons of the variety
Dark chocolate tomatoes have many positive characteristics:
- exotic type of fruit;
- rich sweet taste and aroma;
- high yield rates - from 4-5 kg per plant and above with good care;
- the ability to ripen after harvest;
- unpretentious care;
- resistance to most diseases that are typical for tomatoes;
- good responsiveness to feeding.
The variety is not devoid of flaws. These include the following qualities of this variety:
- thermophilicity - tomatoes Dark chocolate is almost impossible to grow outside of greenhouse conditions;
- tomatoes are of little use for harvesting for the winter;
- transportation of fruits provides for accurate packaging of the crop in order to avoid cracking of the skin;
- the need to form bushes;
- obligatory garter.
Some of the disadvantages of the variety are rather dubious, since they involve basic procedures for caring for tomatoes, typical for many varieties.
Planting and care rules
Growing tomatoes Dark chocolate is not much different from caring for other hybrids and varieties of medium ripening times. The agrotechnology of planting and subsequent care for tomatoes provides for standard procedures:
- installation of supports;
- introduction of dressings;
- regular watering;
- pinching;
- preventive disinfection of soil for seedlings and plantings.
Growing seedlings
Before sowing seeds, it is recommended to check the planting material for germination. To do this, you need to dip the seeds in a glass or a plate of water for half an hour and observe how they behave. Floated seeds are not suitable for sowing. Those that have sunk to the bottom are dried, after which they are treated with substances to stimulate growth.
Growing seedlings of tomatoes Black Chocolate is produced according to the following scheme:
- Before planting seeds, the soil is disinfected in order to prevent it with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
- Then the soil must be fertilized with fine-grained river sand, humus and peat, taken in equal quantities.
- The planting material is placed in the ground at a distance of 2 cm from each other.
- After that, the seeds are lightly sprinkled and watered, but moderately so as not to wash off the planting material.
- The landing procedure is completed by placing a shelter - glass or plastic wrap.
- When the first shoots appear (after about 4 days), the shelter is removed. The container with seedlings must be rearranged on the windowsill.
- Throughout the growth of tomatoes, seedlings are regularly watered, focusing on the state of the soil surface. It shouldn't dry out. Do not use cold water for irrigation.
- When the tomatoes form 3 leaves, they are seated in separate containers. In this case, the roots of the seedlings should be carefully moved, they should not be damaged.
Transplanting seedlings
Tomatoes Dark chocolate are transplanted into the greenhouse starting from the second decade of May, when the soil warms up sufficiently. Recommended planting scheme: 3 bushes per 1 m2... Plants are placed at a distance of 45-50 cm from each other. It is not recommended to thicken the planting, since when the tomatoes are close, they quickly deplete the soil, which affects fruiting - the tomatoes begin to shrink and lose the sugar content of the pulp. In addition, during thickening, a deficiency of light may occur, which also inhibits the growth of tomatoes.
The procedure for planting seedlings looks like this:
- Dig shallow holes with a small garden shovel.
- Fertilizer is placed at the bottom of each pit. For these purposes, nitrophoska is suitable, no more than 1 tsp. in each hole. Fertilizer is mixed with soil and watered.
- A support about 1-1.5 m high is installed near one of the walls of the pit. If you drive it into the ground after planting, you can damage the root system of the tomatoes.
- Then the seedlings are removed from the containers, carefully holding the earthen ball so that it does not fall apart.
- The seedling is lowered into a hole and covered with earth.Additionally, you can dilute the soil with peat and humus with the addition of sand.
After planting tomatoes, it is recommended to leave them alone for 3-5 days. At this time, watering is not performed for better survival of tomatoes. The first feeding is carried out only 3 weeks after planting.
Tomato care
Growing tomatoes of the Black Chocolate variety should be based on the following recommendations:
- Tomatoes are necessarily tied to supports. The leaves and fruits of tomatoes should not lie on the ground, otherwise the process of decay will begin, which can lead to the death of the entire bush. Fruit branches without a garter can break under the weight of the tomatoes.
- The stepsons, except for the strongest, which is located after the first flower brush, cut off. Tomatoes of this variety are formed in 1-2 stems. The lower leaves are torn off as the tomatoes ripen. If this is not done, the plant will expend energy on the formation of foliage and the development of stepsons.
- Water the Dark Chocolate variety at intervals of 2-3 days. Planting should not be poured.
- It is advisable to mulch the soil under the bushes. Mulch inhibits the growth of weeds and promotes better moisture retention after watering.
- Tomatoes are fed once a week, not more often. For this, it is better to use organic fertilizers: bird droppings, crushed chalk, ash, superphosphate, nitroammophos. Small-fruited varieties react poorly to feeding with mullein. A mixture of ash (1 l) and superphosphate (2 tbsp) has proven itself well.
- Fruiting is positively affected by the introduction of a mixture of carbamide (1 tsp of carbamide is diluted in 10 liters of water) or iodine (10-12 drops of the substance are dissolved in 10 liters of water diluted with 1 liter of whey).
- It is not recommended to feed black-fruited varieties with mineral fertilizers.
- If the tomatoes have changed color to pinkish or light brown, then it is necessary to correct the acid-base balance of the soil. To do this, you can sow peas or mustard between the beds. In addition, the condition of the soil can be improved by introducing chalk and ash into the ground in a proportion of 1-2 tsp. for 1 bush of tomatoes.
- When the tomatoes bloom, it is advisable to gently shake the bushes from time to time. This is done so that the plant sets the maximum number of fruits.
- As a prophylaxis for fungal infections, planting is recommended to be treated once every 2 weeks with a yeast solution. For this, 10 tbsp. l. sugar and 1 bag of yeast are diluted in 10 liters of infused water. For 1 bush, no more than 1 liter of solution is consumed. It is brought under the root or sprayed with bushes.
You can learn more about the properties of black tomatoes, as well as about the features of their cultivation, from the video below:
Conclusion
Tomato Dark chocolate, despite the relative youth of the variety, has already won the recognition of summer residents due to its unpretentiousness and resistance to diseases typical of tomatoes. Particularly attracted by the exotic type of fruit and the unusual rich aroma due to the high concentration of sugars in the pulp. There are no pronounced shortcomings in the dark chocolate tomato, however, it is not suitable for planting in open ground, which some attribute to the disadvantages of the variety.
