Tomato Striped Chocolate

Tomato Striped Chocolate is a novelty of 2019, presented in the category of amateur varieties. Has a salad purpose, suitable for growing in private households. The culture is also known as Chocolate Stripes.

The variety produces tall shrubs up to 200 cm long with powerful main shoots and medium-sized green leaves. The inflorescences are simple, widely spaced on the stems, the first is laid high, above the 9th leaf. The stem is thick, strong, the plant looks strong even at the seedling stage. The root system is branched, which must be taken into account when planting.

Tomato Unripe striped chocolate has a green skin color, ripe fruits are brown, covered with longitudinal strokes of a marsh green color. The average weight of one tomato is 300 g, in a brush there are up to 5 of them. The shape of the fruit is strongly ribbed, flat-round. The pulp is also unusual, with a small number of seeds, fleshy and dense, due to its high sugar content, a little resembles watermelon in its structure.

The fruits are sweet, the pulp has a rich fruity aroma.

Tomato harvest Striped chocolate is harvested from July to September. The variety is medium early, the fruits ripen in 105-110 days.

From 1 sq. m is harvested up to 16.8 kg of tomatoes.

Sowing of striped chocolate tomatoes is carried out taking into account their growing season - from March 1 to March 15. The seedlings are transferred to the ground later, from mid-May to 5 June.

The density of plants in the greenhouse and in the open field should not exceed 4 units per 1 m2. The optimal distance is 60 × 50 cm.

The tomato produces tall bushes that need constant tying. Formation is recommended in 1-2 stems for maximum yield. The stepchildren break off during the entire growing season, but only in the greenhouse. The procedure is repeated every 2 weeks. In the open field, pinching can be avoided.

When sowing seeds, it is important to take care of the selection of a suitable nutrient medium for them. The best solution would be peat cassettes, in which a tall variety will receive a sufficient amount of substances necessary for growth and development. If planting is carried out in containers, they are pre-disinfected.It is possible to sow tomato directly into open ground. Striped chocolate is possible only in the south, at steady-state temperatures of more than 17-20 degrees.

The originator also recommends the additional practice of immersing the seed in the growth promoter. In the beds, the nutrient soil should be sufficiently loose. The optimal composition is a mixture of turf, sand and peat in equal proportions. If it is planned to transfer seedlings with flowering brushes to the beds, which are sufficiently strong and mature, it will be enough to dig up the soil with humus and ash. Young tomatoes are grown at temperatures up to +20 degrees.

Home-grown seedlings require acclimatization. They are prepared in advance for changing temperature conditions on the balcony, gradually increasing the time spent outdoors. During the first week after transplanting, it is worth preparing a shelter for tomatoes in the open field. Otherwise, during the acclimatization period, the bushes may die from hypothermia.

The watering schedule for this variety is very important. The culture does not tolerate waterlogging, but even with a lack of water, it is unlikely that it will be possible to wait for a rich harvest. It is optimal if the plants are planted from the very beginning in partial shade so that the ground does not become covered with a dry crust. Watering is organized with a frequency of 1 time per week; in the heat, one should focus on the condition of the soil and the general appearance of the tomatoes. Withered greens are a reason to change the moisture application schedule.

The choice of feeding also matters. Powerful shoots of this variety are perfectly formed without the addition of nitrogen. But at the stage of fruit ripening, you should not neglect feeding. You will need potassium-phosphorus solutions or granules. Additives in the form of wood ash, rotted and highly diluted manure will also be useful.

The variety is declared by the originator as resistant to the main tomato infections. But he is still affected by gray rot and late blight, does not tolerate cladosporiosis very well. In this case, you definitely should not neglect preventive measures, you can do with folk remedies - solutions of laundry soap, manganese, or take copper sulfate.

Insect spraying is also carried out 2-3 times per season, using chemical insecticides. In the open field, plants need frequent inspection, collecting Colorado potato beetle larvae when they are detected.

Striped chocolate is not afraid of night frosts, perfectly tolerates temperature extremes and difficult weather conditions. Sensitive to watering, in arid regions requires regular soil moisture.

The variety is focused on growing in Siberia and the Far East, in the Urals and in the Lower Volga region, zoned for the Moscow Region and the Central Black Earth Region, the north and the North-West regions. In the North Caucasus and in the Krasnodar Territory, it is planted in open ground. In other cases, greenhouse planting is recommended.

Striped chocolate has already passed real tests on the sites of amateur gardeners. Their opinion about this variety can be called positive. The reviews most often mention the unusual, very sweet taste of the fruits, their interesting variegated color, which looks favorably in salads. It is noted that during processing, the original properties of tomatoes are well manifested, ketchup and juice are saturated, and require less added sugar.

Interestingly, almost everyone points to lower growth rates of this indeterminate tomato - even in greenhouses, the bushes barely stretched out to 150-160 cm.

Summer residents did not reveal any particular drawbacks in this variety. The only thing that vegetable growers mention is the abundant education of stepchildren. Otherwise, the variety is praised for the friendliness of the emergence of seedlings and the full return of the harvest, for the transportability of fruits and excellent resistance to diseases. Both in greenhouses and outdoors, bushes show no signs of fungus or other infections during the season.

Summer residents advise not to neglect leaf dressing to increase yields, as well as plant tomatoes in the ground without shelter in order to get a brighter taste.