Tomato Chocolate

Inquisitive gardeners always want to try something new, they like to look out for a novelty and surprise not only themselves and household members, but also neighbors. Tomato variety Chocolate is just for those: interesting, unusual, very tasty, and also fruitful. Despite its outlandish appearance, this is the result of the work of domestic breeders, it is well adapted to the harsh climatic conditions of our country.

The tomato variety Chocolate was bred in the Moscow region under the guidance of Doctor of Agricultural Sciences Lyubov Anatolyevna Myazina. In 2007, the variety was registered in the State Register and since then has been officially sold in all seed stores in Russia. The author of the variety communicates with gardeners through his website, answers questions that arise, and gives recommendations.

The variety is versatile, indeterminate. Suitable for planting both in a greenhouse and in open ground. The fruits are distinguished by their pronounced taste and unusual color. A brown tint is given to them by a high content of anthocyanin, this natural component is found in many plant products - from chokeberry to black rice and red onions. Leaves are dark green, normal size.

Ripe fruits grow up to 200 g, in some cases, with proper care and ideal conditions, there are 400 g. In shape, they are round, slightly flattened, soft and smooth to the touch. Unripe fruits are green, when ripe, they turn yellow, then turn red, and when ripe they turn brown. However, inside it is a red tomato familiar to everyone, it is of an unusual color only on the outside.

It is not recommended to overexpose the fruits on the bush, they tend to crack.

The name Chocolate justifies not only the color, but also the taste. Tomatoes are distinguished by a sweet exotic taste that will not leave anyone indifferent. As with many red tomatoes, they are high in sugar.

Chocolate tomatoes are early plants. Time to first ripe fruit is 95 days. An adult plant can grow up to 1.8 meters tall.

Under favorable conditions, from 4.2 to 6 kg can be removed from the bush. Chocolate is distinguished by long fruiting, however, it is demanding of the correct formation of the bush and is responsive to agricultural technology, soft soil, watering and fertilization. Cool and rainy weather can not only slow the growth and ripening of fruits, but also leave them less sweet.

The exact landing time must be calculated based on the climatic characteristics of a particular region. In practice, this is about 50-55 days from seed to seedlings ready for soil. For central Russia, this is the end of February and the beginning of March. By the time of planting in the ground, the plant, as a rule, already has 6 formed leaves, some may even have time to bloom.

Purchased seeds of this variety do not require special hardening and disinfection measures, as this has already been done by the manufacturer.

In general, the process of growing and transplanting seedlings does not differ from most tomatoes. However, in advance it is worth taking care of the preparation of the soil, which is recommended to disinfect and warm up and fertilize.

Chocolate Tomato bushes do not like close proximity. No more than 3 bushes can be placed on one square meter of land. Tomatoes can be placed in a permanent place according to the 70x50 or 80x40 scheme. The bush is usually formed into 2 stems, but Myazina strongly recommends doing this in 1 stem, in addition to eliminating all stepsons.

Plants of the variety do not require special growing and care conditions, however, as with other tomatoes, you should definitely not forget about the main points.

• Watering. For greenhouse plants, one watering per week is sufficient. Water, preferably with a small addition of wood ash, must be poured at the root. The best time for this is hours when there is no scorching sun. Watering plants in the open air 2 times a week is enough.

• Top dressing. It is enough to feed a chocolate variety of tomatoes 3 times over the summer. The main elements of top dressing are nitrogen and boron.

• Loosening. The absence of weeds and loose soil have a beneficial effect on the root system of plants.

• Garter. As noted earlier, mature plants can grow up to 1.8 meters in height. With such growth, reliable protection and support are essential.

• Steying. Removing stepchildren is an important element of tomato care. It is important to remember here that it is not worth removing all the stepchildren at once - this is a great stress for the plant, it can get sick or even die (this applies to all varieties).

The main characteristic feature of the Chocolate variety, in addition to the color of the fruit, is its high immunity.There is no information that the bushes of this variety are susceptible to the standard set of "tomato" diseases. However, there is a high resistance to the top rot of the fruit.

Despite this, proper soil preparation and weekly prevention of diseases in the form of adding ash or bone meal during watering can make plants almost 100% safe. In addition, it should be noted that, like all dark varieties of tomatoes, Chocolate does not like high humidity and requires the removal of the lower leaves, this will protect against fungal diseases.

Tomatoes that grow in the open air endure wet and cool weather, losing only a little in yield and sweetness of the fruit. However, it is worth taking care of protecting the landings from the wind. The height of the plants makes them vulnerable to winds of 10 meters per second and above.

The versatility of the Chocolate variety, among other things, is manifested in the breadth of the growing regions. Here, similar features for all tomatoes are found: in a cooler climate, fewer fruits are born on the bush, they are smaller in size and less sweet. The most favorable growing regions are traditionally southern, but the greenhouse and proper care will allow you to unleash its full potential.

The variety received many high ratings on the reviews site. Gardeners note the unpretentiousness, interesting appearance and pleasant taste of tomatoes. Many praise the large-fruited chocolate, for salad types of tomatoes this is an important factor. Among the disadvantages of the variety are the short storage time of ripe fruits and the inability to ripen the harvested unripe. In addition, under unfavorable weather conditions (cold and rainy summers), the fruits may not have time to ripen, be sour and small.