Characteristics of the Striped Chocolate variety – description of tomatoes, reviews, photos

Description of the tomato variety Striped chocolate

In 2010, American breeders, including J. Seigel, crossed two species - Shimmeig Creg and pink beefsteak. The result was called “Striped Chocolate” due to the appearance of the fruit. The tomato has not yet been included in the State Register of Russia, but has already spread throughout the country.

Manufacturers give the following description of the Striped Chocolate tomato variety: a plant of an indeterminate type of development, grows up to 1.5 m in open ground and up to 2 m in greenhouse conditions. The Striped Chocolate variety has a thick, powerful main stem with moderate volume of foliage. The strong root system is branched and grows in a horizontal plane.

The leaf blade is medium in size and has clearly defined wrinkles. The color of the leaves is dark green, can fade under ultraviolet rays, the foliage does not have fluff. Inflorescences are formed above the 9th leaf, then every 3. They are of the usual type, each can set 5 - 6 large fruits. Grow tomatoes with 1 or 2 stems.

Description of the striped chocolate tomato: a mid-season variety, the fruits begin to ripen on the 100th – 110th day. The countdown begins from the moment the first shoots appear. The duration of fruiting is good - you can harvest until the last days of September; The fruits ripen together and abundantly. Most tomatoes are marketable in appearance and size.

Brief description of the variety

Chocolate striped tomatoes are indeterminate tall varieties, more than 1 m in height. The stem is powerful and strong, with medium pubescence. The root system is well developed and is located in the top layer of the soil.

Advice! The variety is intended for cultivation in warm regions. Planting it in a greenhouse in cold climates can negatively affect yields.

The leaf blades grow to medium sizes. Their surface may have wrinkled areas colored dark green. Flowers are collected in inflorescences, which are formed at the 8th internode level from the ground surface. Subsequent ones grow every 2 leaves. One inflorescence can develop 5-7 fruits. Harvesting occurs 100-110 days from the moment the seeds are planted.

Striped chocolate – original tomato on a branch

Distinctive features

The main distinguishing feature of the variety is the unusual appearance of the fruit. Tomatoes are shaped like steak, they are large and flattened. Their color is brown or pink with dark stripes. The stripes can be chocolate, brown, olive, dark green, yellow or orange.

Striped Chocolate fruits are fleshy but juicy. They have a small number of seeds and a pronounced sweet taste. The skin of these tomatoes is thin.

Interesting! The variety is immune to most tomato diseases. It is even resistant to late blight, which most often causes crop damage.

These tomatoes are used for fresh consumption. Due to their thin skin and large size, they are not used entirely for preservation, but they are excellent for preparing tomato paste, ketchup, sauces, etc.

Brief description and taste of the fruit

Tomatoes belong to the maxi category with an average diameter of 15 cm. Most of the harvest is 500 - 600g, but there are specimens up to 1 kg. The fruits are round in shape, flattened in the lower and upper parts. Features of the variety are the presence of stripes on the surface.

The pulp is dense, but not watery, and has a dark color. Inside there are 8 spacious chambers with a small number of fairly large seeds. It’s not for nothing that producers call the Striped Chocolate variety beef tomato: these are really large tomatoes with a lot of juicy pulp.

The technically mature fruit is red or burgundy in color with dark red or green stripes evenly distributed over the surface. The peel is dense and shiny. Tomato Striped chocolate is consumed fresh, which allows you to feel its pronounced aroma. The fruits taste sweetish, with a piquant sourness.

The variety is used for preparing salads, preserves, or grown for sale. However, it is not suitable for making juice or whole-fruit canning. Green tomatoes can also be rolled into glass jars with seasonings.

Description of the plant

The bushes are tall, in general there is data on a height of 1.5 m, but there are specimens 1.8-2 m high.

The strong stems have fairly weak foliage, making them easier to grow. These are tomatoes with leaves like potatoes. Indeed, the leaves resemble potato leaves, thick green in color with a very dark tint.

The Striped Chocolate variety has potato-like leaves

Bushes are formed into 1-2 stems. The root system is quite developed.

The inflorescence begins to form above the eighth leaf, each next one after two leaves. Up to five fruits ripen in an inflorescence.

Ripening is at 95-120 days.

Description of fruits

The fruits are massive. The average weight of one tomato is 0.6-0.8 kg. Some breeders and their partners obtained Striped Chocolate tomatoes weighing more than 1 kg.

Tomatoes grow round with flattened sides. They are colored in dark red shades with darker or green stripes. The skin is dense and elastic, which allows the crop to be transported over long distances.

There are not many dry substances in the pulp. Their presence, even in small quantities, prevents tomatoes from being watery. The inside of the fruit is divided into 8 chambers, each of which contains a small amount of seeds.

Appearance of tomato fruits of the Chocolate variety

Taste qualities of fruits

Tomato Striped Chocolate has excellent taste, combining the sweetness and characteristic taste of black tomatoes. The pulp is juicy, fleshy, multi-chambered; striped chocolate tomato seeds are few in number.

How the variety was developed

The Striped Chocolate tomato was bred by a group of American breeders under the leadership of J. Seigel. Work on developing a new variety took several years and the new tomato was obtained by crossing two varieties - Shimmage Craig and Pink Beefsteak. This tomato was finally introduced to American farmers in 2010.

Since then, the Striped Chocolate tomato has been in demand not only in America, but also in many European countries, including Russia. True, it has not yet been included in the State Register of the country, but it has been in demand among local vegetable growers for more than 5 years.

TOMATO STRIPED CHOCOLATE. REVIEW - video

Characteristics of tomatoes Striped chocolate

From 10 to 16 kg of large and medium-sized fruits are collected per square meter of area. Fruiting in greenhouse conditions begins in June, in open ground - in July, and ends in mid-September. In some particularly warm areas, tomato growth can be observed until the end of the month.

Tomato yield is affected by:

• illumination of the landing site;
• fertilizer balance;
• regularity of feeding;
• sufficient soil moisture;
• timely loosening and weeding;
• soil fertility.

The plant is immune to viral diseases; only isolated cases of infection have been recorded. Pests don't like the taste of new tomatoes, so they prefer other varieties. In the description of the Striped Chocolate tomato, you can find a mention of late blight, but most often the plant resists it well.

Useful video

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Optimal growing conditions

For cultivation in open ground, southern areas are chosen; tomatoes grow well near walls and fences. The soil for planting is prepared in the fall; high acidity is eliminated by adding lime. Growing beds should be free of any weeds.

Advice! During spring or autumn processing, the soil for the Striped Chocolate tomato is dug up and organic or mineral fertilizers are applied.

Tall tomatoes require tall greenhouses, in which it is desirable to have free space between the top of the plant and the ceiling. The bushes also need a large feeding area. To ripen large fruits, increased amounts of fertilizer are used.

Growing seedlings

Striped chocolate seedlings are sown in the second half of March. Before sowing, the seeds are kept in a pink solution of potassium permanganate for 30 minutes. This treatment prevents the development of fungal and viral diseases.

Sowing is carried out in fairly fertile, light soil. The seeding depth should not exceed 0.5 cm. After germination, the boxes are transferred to a well-lit place with a temperature of 22-25 °C. A higher temperature is not desirable, otherwise the plants will begin to stretch out greatly. 10 days after germination, the seedlings are fed with complex mineral fertilizer. Fertilizer is applied on pre-watered soil strictly at the root.

After the second true leaf appears, the seedlings are planted in spacious boxes or separate containers. After picking, the seedlings are shaded for 2-3 days. A week later, the picked tomatoes are fed with universal fertilizer “For seedlings”. Further care of the seedlings consists of periodic watering and loosening the soil.

Striped chocolate is planted in the ground at the end of May. At the time of planting, the soil should warm up to at least +15 °C. In regions with late spring, film shelters are provided for tomatoes to protect them from return frosts.

Optimal timing for sowing

For greenhouse cultivation, sowing time is the second half of March; for open ground, sowing is carried out in mid-April.

Soil and container

Choosing the right soil is the key to successfully growing tomatoes.

Soil mixture options:

1. Purchased mixtures. In the store you can buy soil mixtures intended for vegetables. They contain all the components necessary for plant growth.
2. Preparing the soil yourself . This is the most economical way. The easiest way to prepare soil for tomatoes is to mix turf soil and humus in equal proportions. To make the soil more fertile, you can add sand and ash to the mixture.
3. Peat tablets. This is the most convenient, but also the most expensive way to grow tomatoes. Such containers are bags that already contain peat soil with all the necessary fertilizers. When using this method, picking tomatoes is not required.

Rules for planting, growing and care

In order for the Chocolate Striped Tomato to develop properly and produce a good harvest, it is necessary to follow certain recommendations at all stages of its cultivation. So, the main care procedures are:

• picking;
• weeding;
• loosening;
• watering;
• feeding

Growing and rooting seedlings

You should start preparing planting material from the beginning of March if you plan to grow tomatoes in a greenhouse. When planting a crop in open ground, the preparation procedure can be postponed to April. The initial stage is the preparation of containers and their disinfection.

Advice! You can clean containers for seedlings well using a soap solution and treating with boiling water.

Next comes checking the seeds. To do this, they are filled with warm water and after 10-15 minutes those that have floated to the surface are removed. The remaining planting material is treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Planting seeds using the tape method

Tomato seeds are planted in a mixture of peat, river sand and soil in a 1:1:1 ratio. One hole made with a finger will fit 2-3 seeds. The number of holes is calculated based on the area of ​​the container. Then the sowing is covered with a thin layer of peat, polyethylene or cling film. The optimal temperature for germination is +25 °C.

Transplanting

Before planting seedlings in a permanent place, you need to prepare the soil. Ideally, this is done in the fall.

For 1 sq. m of soil you need to take 0.5 kg of lime, 5 kg of organic fertilizers and 40 g of superphosphate. Dig the soil well before planting.

Advice. You should not grow tomatoes in one place for more than two years in a row. You cannot do this in beds where other nightshades (for example, potatoes or eggplants) grew last year. The best predecessors for this crop are legumes, onions, carrots and cabbage.

Before planting seedlings, you need to dig holes. The distance between rows should be 50 cm, and between plants - 40 cm. The holes are watered in advance.

Seedlings are placed in the prepared recesses. You need to remove it from the containers immediately before planting. The holes with plants are watered with water and filled with soil on top.

Before planting plants in their permanent place, it is worth disinfecting the soil. To do this, just pour it with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, prepared in a ratio of 1:100.

Tomato care Striped chocolate

During the growing season, tomatoes of this variety must be periodically watered and loosened.

Watering

The amount of watering directly depends on weather conditions. In hot, dry weather, tomatoes are watered weekly. The soil must be wetted at least 40 cm.

Advice! To reduce the amount of watering and weeding, the surface of the soil under the bushes can be mulched with a layer of straw, sawdust, and peat.

Feeding

The application of mineral fertilizers is carried out in 2 stages:

1. 10 days after planting in a permanent place, the tomatoes are fed with a solution of urea with potassium humate. Fertilizer application rates can be found on the packaging. It may vary depending on the manufacturer.
2. The next feeding is carried out during the budding phase, using potassium monophosphate. If necessary, it can be replaced with other fertilizers of the phosphorus-potassium group: superphosphate, potassium sulfate.

During the growing season, in addition to mineral fertilizers, organic matter can be used. It is especially useful during the development of green mass and at the time of ovary formation. The following can be used as organic fertilizers:

• fermented mullein solution;
• bird droppings;
• fermented infusion of nettle.

The last option is the most accessible, since nettle is present in almost any garden or summer cottage. To prepare the fertilizer, nettles are tightly packed into a barrel or another suitable container. Fill the container to the top with water. When bubbles appear on the surface of the slurry, the fertilizer is ready for use. Before watering, the infusion is diluted in a ratio of 1:10.

Soil care

Watering is combined with weeding and loosening the soil. You need to loosen shallowly, about 5 cm, since the roots are located close to the surface.

Tall tomatoes often form adventitious roots close to the soil surface. Therefore, it is advisable to hill them to a height of approximately 7–10 cm. To curb the growth of weeds and retain moisture in the soil longer, the plantings are mulched. Use peat or pine needles, covering the soil with a layer of 5 cm.

Pinching and tying

During the entire period of tomato growth, it is necessary to remove stepsons - side shoots emerging from the axils of the leaves. Stepchildren grow quickly, overloading the bush with green mass, taking up a lot of nutrition and moisture, so it is undesirable to allow them to outgrow.

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.

Diseases and pests

Reviews from gardeners indicate that the Striped Chocolate tomato is resistant to most diseases. He rarely even suffers from late blight, which is the most common cause of crop damage.

To protect the bushes from harmful insects, they can be sprayed with a soap solution. Regular weeding and loosening the soil will prevent damage to the bushes by mole crickets and slugs. Once a week, inspect the bushes and remove pests manually.

Attention! If the plants are covered in spots or their leaves are dry and curled, the problem may lie not in diseases, but in a lack of necessary substances. In this case, make sure that the fertilizing is applied correctly.

Advantages and disadvantages

The exotic variety is endowed with more advantages than disadvantages.

• Pros of culture:
• extended fruiting;
• resistance to mosaic, late blight, root rot, powdery mildew;
• grows well both in shelter and in open beds;
• the yield is stable;
• large fruits;
• transportability;
• spicy taste.

• Flaws:
• large fruit size, not suitable for preservation;
• not everyone likes the cloying taste;
• In extreme heat, the skin is prone to cracking.

Did you know? The tomato dress, called “The Souper Dress” by its creator Andy Warhol, was valued at $2,000 at an art auction in London and sold for about 8 times that price.