Contents
Tomato Chocolate Zebra is an exotic mid-season high-yielding variety. Suitable for cultivation in open ground and under a film, withstands Siberian weather conditions. Since the variety is not a hybrid, you can use seeds collected with your own hands for planting.
History of occurrence
The chocolate zebra was bred by the Siberian Garden agricultural firm. The brand’s products are distinguished by immunity to diseases of the nightshade family, frost resistance, withstand adverse weather conditions. For the first time, seeds of the variety appeared on the markets in 2019.
Description of the tomato variety Chocolate Zebra
The variety is mid-season, determinant. The bush reaches a height of 1-1,2 m. The fruits are an exotic chocolate brown color with yellow-green stripes. Tomatoes are large, flat-round in shape, their weight ranges from 200 to 400 g. If the bush is formed into one stem, then there are specimens up to 600 g.
The pulp of the fruits of the Chocolate Zebra is dense, sweet and sour, aromatic, granular
Characteristics of the tomato Chocolate zebra
Tomato of this variety can be cultivated both in open ground and in a greenhouse. Bushes need pinching. Tomatoes Chocolate Zebra are frost-resistant, suitable for growing on an agro-industrial scale.
Tomato yield Chocolate zebra
The first brush is formed over the fifth sheet. In total, a tomato of this variety gives up to six brushes, in each of which 4-6 tomatoes are tied. It takes 115-120 days from the moment of sowing the seeds to the harvesting of the first harvest. The yield of one bush is 3 kg.
Disease and pest resistance
The Chocolate Zebra variety shows resistance to major diseases, provided that agrotechnical standards are observed and all preventive measures are taken.
Tomatoes grown in the open field can be chosen by a spider mite.
How to apply
Tomato fruits are suitable for fresh consumption, salads. Canning in its entirety will not work, because they are too large, but sauces, juices and ketchups from tomatoes of this variety are delicious.
Advantages and disadvantages
Variety Chocolate Zebra attracts attention not only with an exotic look. It has a number of advantages that outweigh the minor disadvantages noted by experienced gardeners.
Fresh tomatoes can be stored for up to two weeks.
Pros:
- frost resistance;
- high yield;
- excellent taste;
- resistance to adverse weather conditions and diseases;
- can be grown under film and in open ground;
- fruits are not prone to cracking.
Cons:
- the need for pinching;
- the impossibility of whole-fruit canning.
Features of planting and care
Tomatoes of the Chocolate Zebra variety are recommended to be grown in seedlings. The place should be chosen sunny, not shaded.
Chocolate Zebra tomatoes prefer fertile, sandy soil
Seeding for seedlings
Sowing tomato seeds for seedlings is carried out 55-60 days before the expected day of transplanting to a permanent place. To protect plants from damage by diseases, pre-sowing treatment of seed material is carried out by soaking it for 20-30 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate.
For growing seedlings, individual glasses are suitable, as well as common containers. The container is filled with nutrient soil mixture, the soil is watered. When the water is absorbed, the seeds are buried. In separate containers, two seeds are sown in the hole, in a common one they are laid out in furrows at a distance of 4 cm from each other. Before the appearance of sprouts, the container is covered with a transparent film. Approximately two weeks after the appearance of seedlings, seedlings are dived.
Transplanting seedlings into the ground
The transplant procedure is carried out after the threat of morning frost has passed. The soil should warm up to +16 ° C. In the southern regions it is the first half of May, in the northern regions it is the end of the month or June. Another indicator that the time has come to transplant is that the seedlings have reached a height of 30 cm, have 6-7 true leaves.
Permissible number of seedlings per 1 m2 – 3 bushes, row spacing – 50-60 cm.
Watering rules
Watering seedlings is carried out in the morning or evening hours.
They use settled water heated in the sun, since the difference in air and liquid temperatures can cause shock in the plant. Irrigation is carried out strictly under the root. Contact with water on the leaves can cause the development of late blight.
Before the start of the fruiting period, watering is carried out once a week at the rate of 5 liters of water under the bush. After irrigation, it is recommended to mulch the beds. So moisture will linger in the soil longer. The procedure is carried out with sawdust or straw. Light-colored mulch reflects sunlight.
Formation of tomatoes
The more lateral processes a bush has, the smaller the crop. Experienced gardeners advise to form a tomato of this variety into one or two stems. Stepchildren are not allowed to grow more than 5 cm. It is undesirable to break them out completely, it is recommended to leave a stump up to 1 cm high.
Loosening, weeding, hilling
The soil under the bushes should always be loose. The procedure for saturating the soil with oxygen is carried out after each rain or watering. At a minimum, loosening should be done once every two weeks. The procedure is best combined with weeding.
When the bushes grow, they are spudded
Two procedures are carried out per season. The first hilling is necessary when the rudiments of roots begin to appear on the stems near the ground. The second procedure is carried out at the moment when the stem below begins to turn blue.
Top dressing of tomatoes
During the season, tomatoes need to be fed 3-4 times. Fertilizer recommendations:
- The first top dressing is carried out two weeks after planting the seedlings. The main condition is that plants must adapt to a new place, grow. Tomatoes need nitrogen and phosphorus.
- The time of the second feeding comes two weeks after the first. The plant is fed with phosphate and nitrogen fertilizers.
- The third procedure is carried out at the height of flowering or at the beginning of fruit growth. Tomatoes need phosphorus and potassium.
- The fourth feeding is carried out during the fruiting period. Bushes are fed with potash and phosphorus fertilizers.
It is recommended to alternate mineral and organic top dressing.
Pest and disease control
To protect the planting of the Chocolate Zebra from pests and diseases, planting and crop rotation patterns should be followed, which include:
- pre-sowing soil treatment;
- timely application of fertilizers;
- compliance with irrigation rules;
- prevention of disease transmission through seed material.
Bacterial diseases can be cured using the chemicals Fitolavin, Ordan. Pests are disposed of by spraying the bushes with a soapy solution made from green or laundry soap.
Conclusion
Tomato Chocolate Zebra is an exotic variety that was bred by breeders of the Siberian Garden agricultural company. The unique taste, unpretentiousness in care, resistance to diseases and pests were highly appreciated by gardeners who ventured to cultivate a new variety. A video about the Chocolate Zebra tomato will allow you to appreciate the benefits of the culture.
Reviews of gardeners about tomato Chocolate Zebra
