Russian tomato variety Chocolate: reviews on yield, description and characteristics of tomatoes

Tomato Chocolate is a universal hybrid variety. It has a more pronounced flavor compared to regular red tomatoes. The dark red-brown color is given by the substance anthocyanin, which also gives tomatoes antibacterial properties. This is not a chemical, but a natural component: anthocyanin is found in both beets and blueberries. Therefore, Chocolate tomatoes boost immunity and have a beneficial effect on the heart. In the end, they are just very tasty and sweet. A worthy result of domestic selection.

Description of tomato Chocolate

Semi-determinant, non-standard variety, mid-early - 16 weeks pass from sowing to the first tomato harvest.

This tomato grows up to 1.5 m in height and is independently completed with a flower brush. The root system is powerful and branches horizontally. The stem is strong, thick with dark green leaves, and needs staking as it grows.

Chocolate tomatoes usually form 2-3 stems; the variety is characterized by intermediate inflorescences. The first inflorescence is formed after the 8th leaf; the stalk has an articulation. You can harvest up to 5 tomatoes from one bunch of this variety.

Description of fruits

Tomatoes are red-brown, spherical, slightly flattened and large - they grow weighing from 200 to 350 g in suitable conditions (warm, fairly humid). Dark-colored tomatoes are characterized by a high sugar content and a good balance of acid and sweetness. Inside, the pulp is sweet, aromatic, red in color with 4 chambers and average dry matter content. The walls of the tomato and the chamber are also brown, but with a greenish tint (green is characteristic of the Chocolate variety and does not indicate unripeness).

Important! Shelf life is maximum 20 days. Chocolate tomatoes do not ripen; they must be picked when they are ripe, not green. Transportability is good.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Chocolate tomato is grown to produce sweet fruits with a dessert taste, mainly for fresh consumption.

Dark-colored tomatoes contain higher levels of antioxidants

pros

• large beautiful fruits;
• productive;
• long fruiting;
• suitable for growing in open and protected ground;
• strong bush;
• disease resistance;
• can be reproduced with your own seeds.

Minuses

• a tall bush must be shaped and tied up;
• tomatoes are not suitable for transportation and storage, during which they quickly wrinkle and leak;
• vegetables are poorly suitable for harvesting;
• the quality of the fruit depends on weather conditions;
• When buying seeds, mis-grading often occurs and the plants differ in characteristics from those stated on the package.

Characteristics of tomato

In the description of the Chocolate tomato, it is worth mentioning that this is a fairly young variety. It was bred by Russian breeders in the 21st century. However, the first dark varieties (which is why they are called Chocolate for their brown-red color) appeared back in the 50s of the 20th century. Then the goal was to develop delicious sweet tomatoes that are pleasant to eat – both in their pure form and in hot salads. The variety is included in the State Register.

Productivity and fruiting

Chocolate tomatoes grow in any climate zone: in central Russia it is advisable to grow them in a greenhouse, and in the south - in open ground. For the season from 1st quarter. meter you can collect 10-15 kg of tomatoes, from 1 bush - 2-3 kg.

This is a mid-early variety that bears fruit for a long time - from June until the first autumn frosts. If we take into account that this variety does not ripen and is harvested only in small batches, then there will be fresh tomatoes in the house all summer and early autumn. The first harvest is harvested 110-115 days after sowing the seeds. If you sow in February, then there will be tomatoes already at the beginning of June.

Warning! The yield of the Chocolate variety is affected by air temperature: if the tomatoes suffer frosts or the summer is cold, then the yield will be smaller. The bushes themselves slow down their growth due to the cold.

Area of ​​application of fruits

Chocolate tomatoes make excellent salads, juices and sauces. Suitable for canning, making jam and fresh food (for sandwiches, for example). Tomatoes of this variety are not intended for long-term storage, so if for sale, then only in small batches.

How to make juice from Chocolate Tomatoes:

Resistance to diseases and pests

The Chocolate variety has good immunity: it almost never suffers from crown and root rot. But it is not the most resistant to other fungal diseases - in densely planted conditions, a tomato can get late blight.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

According to reviews, the Chocolate tomato variety has the following advantages:

• unpretentious variety;
• medium height - easy to care for;
• not afraid of infections, almost never suffers from root and crown rot;
• tasty and beautiful-looking fruits.

Flaws:

• short shelf life: tomatoes last about 2 weeks;
• impossibility of ripening - must be collected ripe.

Positive features of the variety

Taking into account such arguments as reviews, photos, and the productivity of the Chocolate tomato, let's determine the positive features of the variety:

• The tomato variety is excellent at resisting many diseases. The Chocolate tomato is noted to be highly resistant to various types of rot. Even a rainy summer is unable to harm the plant. However, preventive measures cannot be neglected. Strong thickening of tomato bushes in hot weather and high humidity can provoke the appearance of late blight.
• A high tomato yield often forces vegetable growers to overstep their ambitions regarding the color of the fruit. When other varieties have not produced well, the Chocolate tomato will always come to the rescue of the housewife.
• The fruits are characterized by their running size. The tomatoes are small and rather large, but just right for the jar. The brushes are easy to pick from the bush, which speeds up the harvest.
• Despite its brown color, the Chocolate tomato is very tasty. The fruit does not look so elegant in a jar or salad, but those who try it will remain partial to this vegetable.
• A big plus of this variety is its ease of care. The Chocolate Tomato is unpretentious. Even a novice vegetable grower can get a good tomato harvest. The variety is especially suitable for summer residents who do not have the opportunity to travel out of town every day to water the garden.
• The shape gives the fruit a marketable appearance. Tomatoes can be grown not only for your own needs, but also for sale.

You can read as many reviews as you like about the Chocolate tomato variety, but there are practically no negative statements. The only downside is the color of the fruit, although many vegetable growers change their minds about brown tomatoes over time.

Growing rules

The Chocolate tomato is quite easy to grow even in a summer cottage. It will not cause daily hassle, just follow a few rules:

1. Garter.
2. Circumcision of stepchildren (leave 2-3 branches).
3. Water as it dries (once a week is enough).
4. Treatment with fungicides against fungus (before flowering).

Read more about cultivation below.

Planting seedlings

The Chocolate variety is sown 2 months before planting in a greenhouse or open ground - that is, around the end of February or early March. Landing occurs as follows:

1. The seeds of this tomato variety do not need to be hardened or soaked, as they are initially disinfected.
2. You can buy the soil or prepare it yourself by mixing peat, turf and humus in a ratio of 1:1:1, adding ash, phosphorus and potassium fertilizer at the rate of 1 tbsp. spoon each onto a bucket of soil.
3. The mixture is disinfected by pouring it with a solution of potassium permanganate or calcining it in the oven at a temperature of 200°C.
4. Tomatoes should be sown at a distance of 2-3 cm in large containers up to 10 cm deep with drainage holes at the bottom.
5. The seeds are laid out and sprinkled with soil on top, covered with film and put in a warm place for a week. When they sprout, the film is removed and the boxes are transferred to a bright window.

Advice! You can cover the container with transparent film for 2 weeks, opening it slightly from time to time. This will form a greenhouse inside - so the tomato sprouts will sprout faster and get stronger.

Chocolate tomato seedlings should be in the following conditions:

• air temperature – from 18 to 25°C;
• constant moisture – prevent drying out by spraying the sprouts;
• once every 2 weeks – fertilizing with fertilizers;
• drafts and watering with cold water are unacceptable;
• if mold suddenly appears, you need to carefully remove it, and treat the soil and tomatoes with an antifungal compound;
• fertilizing once every 10 days with nitrogenous fertilizers.

After the appearance of the 2nd leaf, the tomatoes are planted: first, the soil in the container is properly spilled, and then the seedlings are carefully planted together with a lump of earth in separate cups with a volume of up to 200 ml.

Warning! When diving, you cannot bend the main roots of the seedlings - this is why you need to dig them out with a clod of earth, carefully.

6 weeks after sowing, the pickled tomatoes will have grown and you can begin to harden them. To do this, on warm days, seedlings are taken outside to a place sheltered from the wind, in the sun. First for 1 hour, day after day, increasing this time to 12 hours. It is better to bring it home at night - there is a risk of frost.

Tomato transplant

Transplanting tomatoes into open ground is done at the age of 60 days, approximately 2 weeks after the first flower clusters are set. Usually this moment occurs in the second half of May. But you need to take into account frosts - in regions with a harsh climate, it is better to transplant later, in June, when the danger of sub-zero temperatures has passed.

The Chocolate tomato variety is transplanted into light neutral soil with a pH of approximately 6-7. Humus content – ​​from 2%. When planting in a greenhouse, it is important to ensure air flow (open windows). Soil preparation includes 3 procedures:

• loosening to a depth of a shovel;
• warming up to 15°C - for this you need to cover the area with black film for a couple of days;
• fertilization with manure or humus at the rate of 3 kg per 1 sq. meter.

You need to plant Chocolate variety tomatoes infrequently - 3 bushes per 1 square meter. meter according to the scheme 70*50 cm. They cannot grow thickly.

Subsequent care for tomatoes

What is included in caring for the Chocolate variety tomato:

1. Garter - pegs are driven in at a distance of 10 cm from the bush.
2. Removal of excess ovaries and stepsons. If the bush becomes too dense and shady, the risk of infection will increase, the tomatoes will not get enough sun, and the fruits are highly likely to rot. For a Chocolate tomato, 2-3 branches are enough.
3. Regular watering in the morning or evening, when the sun is gone. Better than drip. If this is not possible, then water at the root. Do not spray from above!
4. Feeding with fertilizer containing potassium and phosphorus, starting from the 10th day from the moment of planting and then once every 2 weeks. While the seedlings are very young, additional magnesium is needed; during flowering, boron is needed.
5. Drainage and aeration – it is advisable to loosen the soil around the bush.

Warning! Tomato planting is carried out in dry weather, during the day, so that the wounds can heal without provoking the development of diseases.

Caring for the Chocolate tomato variety

Tomato Chocolate: photo of variety

A very important advantage is that Chocolate variety tomatoes do not require your constant presence at the dacha. Because they are very easy to care for. With the exception of vacations, most summer residents have the opportunity to care for their garden only on weekends. So this is very important.

Most gardeners are inclined to believe that the only drawback is the unusual color of the fruit. Otherwise they are very good. But if you look at the situation from a different angle, the unusual color can become another advantage of this variety.

Care and pest control

Growing tomatoes means caring for them carefully. If you do not give them proper attention, you will see a noticeable decline in yield, bush diseases and deterioration in taste. Every gardener wants to grow the most delicious tomatoes. But to do this you need to know the requirements for caring for them.

1. Tomato variety Nikola needs high-quality, abundant watering. This cannot be done with cold water directly from reservoirs. It's better to have barrels for this.
2. The soil must be loosened periodically to ensure better supply of nutrients and water.
3. It is necessary to remove weeds, otherwise they will not allow the fruit to ripen.
4. You cannot plant tall shrubs nearby, as they will block the light.
5. If the plants are in a greenhouse, then it must be opened on hot days. The humidity level must be constantly monitored.
6. You also need to make sure that the soil is not too acidic.
7. Tomatoes need timely feeding several times during the growth period. Also, the soil should be mixed with sand and peat. Manure and chicken droppings are good for them.

Sometimes tomatoes are overcome by insect pests. These can be beetles, ticks, caterpillars, slugs, and mole crickets. They interfere with the normal development of vegetable crops. They eat leaves and damage fruits. Therefore, you need to get rid of them. To combat them, many professional products have been invented that can be bought in the store. Among the folk methods, summer residents usually use soap dissolved in water. This method creates an unfavorable environment for unwanted guests.

Collection and use of fruits

Striped Chocolate fruits ripen in mid-summer. Tomatoes can crack in hot weather, so they should be picked as soon as they are ripe.

From one bush you can collect 6-8 kg of fruit. All tomatoes of this variety are large, sometimes reaching 15 cm in diameter. The average weight of each fruit is 500-600 g. The weight of some specimens can reach 1 kg.

Tomatoes of the Striped Chocolate variety are mainly consumed fresh. They can be added to hot dishes or made into pureed preparations for the winter.

When to plant seedlings in a permanent place

When planting seedlings, you should follow some recommendations:

1. Planting tomatoes in open ground begins when the soil is well warmed up and its temperature is not lower than +15 °C at a depth of 40 cm. In colder soil, plant roots cannot absorb nutrients from the soil.
2. Planted in soil that is too cold, tomatoes become susceptible to various fungal diseases. The root system of such plants develops slowly; all excess nutrients pass from the root system to the above-ground green mass. That is, a tomato planted in cold soil will subsequently have a lush and beautiful bush, a weakly branched root system, and a rather weak yield.
3. According to popular wisdom, tomatoes can be planted in the ground when full-fledged, mature leaves appear on birch trees. At this time, the soil has already been sufficiently warmed by the spring sun, you can begin planting tomatoes. In the southern regions, gardeners focus on the singing of cicadas. When the evening is filled with the loud trills of cicadas, it’s time to plant tomato seedlings.
4. If a gardener plans to plant young tomatoes under a film (in a greenhouse or a film tunnel), then in the southern regions you can begin replanting work after April 15, and in colder regions - from the first of May.

In any case, when deciding to plant tomato seedlings in open ground, it is necessary to take into account the weather, since spring can be either early and warm or cold. In different climates, the conditions for growing tomatoes in open ground can vary significantly. Yamal tomatoes are a low-growing variety, so they are planted according to one of these schemes:

1. In two rows - with a distance between rows of 40 cm, and a distance between plants in a row of 25–30 cm. Every two rows, a path at least 60 cm wide is laid. The plants in the rows are arranged in relation to the tomatoes of the adjacent row in a checkerboard pattern.
2. In four lines - with the above distance between the lines and plants. With this planting scheme, a path for the gardener, at least 1 m wide, is laid every four rows. The tomatoes in the rows are arranged in a checkerboard pattern in relation to the tomatoes of the adjacent row.

Experienced plant growers recommend placing tomato rows from south to north; this arrangement contributes to good sunlight for the plants and earlier ripening of the fruit. Did you know? In cooking, tomatoes are used in various forms: fresh, stewed, fried, boiled, as an ingredient or base for first and second courses, sauces, as preserves or pickles, as well as in a dried and dried state. Some exotic lovers even make jam from green tomatoes.

Description of the variety "Yamal 200"

Bushes

Now let's get acquainted with the second very good tomato - "Yamal 200" and its characteristics and description of the variety. Bushes of determinate type with limited growth, very compact - up to 35 cm, spreading. They have few leaves, they are light green in color. The bushes do not require gartering, shaping, or removing stepsons. The variety adapts to bad weather conditions, can be grown in a greenhouse and outdoors, in seedlings and without seedlings.

Description of fruits

• This variety of tomatoes will be slightly larger - the first harvest is up to 200 grams, subsequent ones - up to 110-150 grams.
• The shape of the tomatoes is flat-round, the color of the skin is red, there is a glossy shine.
• The taste is pleasant, but there is sourness, unlike Yamal.
• Tomatoes store well and can be transported.
• Ripening time under good conditions is ultra-early - on the 80-85th day you can harvest the first harvest. In case of bad weather - medium early - 100-110 days before ripening.

Let's continue our acquaintance.

Purpose of the variety

Yamal 200 tomatoes are excellent for canning, although the first fruits may be too large for whole-fruit twists.

They are delicious in salads and suitable for making pasta and sauce. If you don’t like sourness, then choose the first variety.

Resistance to diseases and pests

“Yamal 200”, just like its vegetable counterpart, is not afraid of late blight, root and crown rot, which can be seen on the packaging in information from the manufacturers. But again, experienced summer residents recommend preventive measures - soaking the seeds and spraying the bushes on the site with a manganese solution. We have already noted above about insects and good agricultural technology; everything is relevant for this variety.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of the variety:

• Early fruiting.
• Resistance to diseases and pests.
• Possibility of growing without seedlings in warm climates.
• Universal table use.
• Good keeping quality.
• Pleasant taste and tomato aroma.
• Unpretentiousness in agricultural technology.
• The yield of the bush with good care is up to 4-5 kg.
• Save space and time.

Disadvantages of the variety:

• The variety is not intended for cultivation on an industrial scale, only for personal farming.
• Not everyone likes sourness.

So, you got acquainted with the Yamal and Yamal 200 tomato varieties, found out the reviews, looked at the photos, who planted them. Now, as we promised, we will tell you the method of growing in a common container. The first option excludes picking, but still many prefer to do everything like our grandmothers did.

Recommendations for cultivation

You should also dress the seeds and soak them in a stimulant.
Sowing dates are from the third ten days of March to April. Seedlings are planted when the seedlings are 45 days old and the soil has warmed to 15 degrees. In a common tray, cultivation involves picking in the phase of 3-4 true leaves. The seeds are also sown under the film, the soil is mixed either purchased and from the garden - 1/1, or humus, turf soil, sand - in equal quantities and another handful of ash is added. Sowing is carried out to a depth of 1 cm, at a distance of 3-5 cm from each other. The film is removed with the emergence of shoots and planted strictly in new, sterile soil. After two weeks, nitrogen fertilizer is applied. Further everything is as described earlier.

Main varieties of the variety

Tomato Chocolate miracle

This variety is also dark-colored and is classified as large-fruited . The fruits can weigh 400 grams and have a complex, ribbed shape. The variety ripens in approximately 112 days.

It is distinguished by its excellent almost dessert taste and sweet smell. Moreover, this sweetness can be observed even in unripe tomatoes. The pulp contains a few seeds.

The variety is classified as determinant, but due to its high altitude, vegetable growers classify it as semi-determinate. In a greenhouse they can grow up to 1.5 meters, in open soil it only grows 1 meter. Sowing and caring for it is carried out in the same way as for the variety already described.

Variety Chocolate Bunny

This variety is also quite loved by gardeners because of its unusual nature. It belongs to the so-called cocktails. Its plum cherry tomatoes are small, weighing approximately 80 grams and also dark in color.

Its best feature is good productivity. It begins to bear fruit from day 120 and continues until frost, usually forming three waves.

Tomatoes are strong with thick skin and are perfect for whole-fruit canning and drying.