Description
“Tasmanian Chocolate” Slicing Tomato
MEG’s “Tasmanian Chocolate” Slicing tomato plant is unlike anything you experienced from the grocery store (Psst….it can’t be found at a grocery store either;). These tomatoes ripen to a purplish-red color averaging 3-4″ in diameter. They’re a great tomato for sandwiches or any recipe requiring a medium sized slicing tomato.
5 Helpful Points:
- 3-4” diameter purplish-red slicing tomatoes with a slightly sweet taste
- Expected yield: 20-25+ tomatoes per plant
- Great for sandwiches, salsa, common recipes
- Full sun preferred
- Won’t tolerate frost. Prefers low temperatures above 55F for best performance
When to expect ripe fruit
Fruit may begin to ripen as early as mid to late July depending on weather. Fruits will continue to grow and ripen all the way up the first frost in the fall.
Growth habit
The “Tasmanian Chocolate” Slicing Tomato plant is a determinate/bush plant. The plant will go through its vegetative stage, fruiting stage in flowering stage in a succession. There’s typically one event for each stage. Because of this, the plant requires a lot of water to thrive as well as additional nutrients once fruit is set. MEG’s slicing tomato plants come with slow release fertilizer included in the grow bag.
Basic care information for “Tasmanian Chocolate” Slicing Tomato plants
Thoroughly saturate the grow bag with water in the morning before the heat of the day arrives. If daytime highs are consistently above 70F, your plant will need to be watered daily. If below 70F, check the grow bag frequently by using the finger method described on the bag tag. Apply water to the base of the plant and avoid splashing water onto any part of the leaves.
Stake or brace your “Tasmanian Chocolate” Slicing plant before it begins to set fruit. Strong winds (or gravity!) may damage the plant due to the weight of the tomatoes if not braced or securely staked. Once fruit is set, these plants will get very heavy! Additional bracing is a must.
Apply supplemental fertilizer a couple weeks after the first fruit set. Any balanced fertilizers labelled for fruits and vegetables will be sufficient.
In the spring and early fall
Easily move the grow bag indoors if there’s a threat of frost or freezing temperatures overnight. Mature (but not ripened) fruits may be harvested and ripened inside during the fall season.
More Information
Check out MEG’s Edible Knowledge Base for more information on slicer tomato plants.