You’ve heard of chocolate-covered fruit, but you probably haven’t heard of fruit with chocolate officially in its name. It sounds like a fun addition to your garden, doesn’t it?
If you like eating tomatoes and adding a sweeter taste to your meals, the Chocolate Sprinkles tomato is for you!
Read on to learn about this tastily named and unique cherry tomato.
What is the Chocolate Sprinkles Tomato?
The heirloom oval-shaped cherry tomato is one inch in size with glossy red and green-striped and crack-resistant skin. The colors give it a brown, chocolatey appearance, hence the name.
This annual tomato plant produces clusters of five to seven tomatoes. It’s an indeterminate plant, meaning it keeps producing fruit all season long, unlike the producing-all-at-once determinate tomato plants.
The plant’s height reaches five to seven feet, and its vines are six inches long. It requires a trellis or tomato cage to support the growing vines so the tomatoes won’t touch the ground.
Brief History
Around 2015, PanAmerican Seed, a flower and vegetable breeder in West Chicago, bred the Chocolate Sprinkles tomato. Their goal was to create a vigorous heirloom with a new flavor, an eye-catching appearance, and good disease resistance.
Farmers and gardeners were thrilled when PanAmerican Seed introduced the modernized heirloom tomato in their vegetable trials. They praised the tomato for its unique flavor, appearance, and plant performance.
Growing at Home
Growing the high-yielding Chocolate Sprinkles tomato plant is quite the money-saver. Why buy these tomatoes when they’re growing all season long at home?
You can grow this tomato plant either indoors or outdoors. It’ll eventually end up outside, but you get to decide when you want to plant it. Whichever option you prefer, we’ll go over both planting methods, followed by further care instructions.
Planting Outside
The outdoor method is simple and straightforward. However, you’ll have to wait until after the last frost date before you plant the seeds.
Soil
The soil must be rich, well-draining, and in direct sunlight, as well as between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a garden soil thermometer to check the temperature.
Mix some manure, compost, or slow-releasing granular fertilizer into the soil. Dig holes a quarter to half an inch deep and three feet away from each other and plant the seeds.
Watering
Water your tomato plants around the root zone to keep the soil moist (at least every two to three days). We recommend watering them early in the day so the soil will dry before evening.
To retain soil moisture, apply mulch around the root zone.
Planting Inside
The indoor method requires transplanting your Chocolate Sprinkles tomato plants. Fortunately, you can get a jump on growing them six to eight weeks before the last frost date!
Containment
Plant the seeds in one-by-one-inch-cell trays. Make sure the soil is well-draining, sunlit, and at the right temperature—water to keep the soil moist.
Transplanting
When one to two sets of leaves appear on the plants, transplant them to three-to-four-inch pots. Prepare the soil just like you would with the outdoor method.
Repeat the soil preparation outside one to two weeks after the last frost date. Dig six-inch-deep holes three feet away from each other.
Loosen the soil in the pots to remove the plants’ root balls. Cut the leaves off the stems until you get to the top two leaves. Finally, insert the plants in the holes and water them.
Pruning
These trellised tomato plants should be productive but manageable. To ensure that, remove any suckers on the joint of the stem and branches.
If left alone, these vertical leafy growths will become stems, producing more tomatoes than you can harvest and handle.
Learn the pruning steps by reading our pruning indeterminate tomatoes page!
Protecting against Pests and Diseases
The Chocolate Sprinkles tomato is resistant to tobacco mosaic virus and Fusarium wilt. Unfortunately, it’s not resistant to diseases like blight and blossom end rot.
It’s also resistant to root-sucking root-knot nematodes. However, pests like flea beetles, cutworms, and hornworms can still harm this tomato.
To learn about protecting your tomato plants, visit our tomato plant diseases and tomato pests pages.
Harvesting
The Chocolate Sprinkles tomato matures in about 53 to 70 days, usually in early summer or fall. It’s ripe and ready for harvest when it’s firm and turning red.
Storing Chocolate Sprinkles Tomatoes
Once you’ve harvested your Chocolate Sprinkles tomatoes, refrigerate them to slow the ripening process.
Green tomatoes aren’t ripe yet, so if you’ve harvested them early, store them at room temperature in the dark. Let them sit for about two to three days until they ripen.
Above all, don’t let them touch each other when storing them.
Eating Chocolate Sprinkles Tomatoes
Flavor
Chocolate may be in its name, but that doesn’t define the taste. Still, the Chocolate sprinkles tomato has a rich, sweet-tart flavor that makes it just as good!
Snacking
Post-harvest, Chocolate Sprinkles and tomatoes make a great snack by themselves. If you’re hosting a party, add them to your fruit and vegetable trays for your guests.
They’re also great ingredients for sandwiches and salads, and they’re perfect for a salsa recipe.
Cooking
You could say this is one chocolate variety that counts as a healthy meal. One way is to sauté these tomatoes with garlic and basil as a side dish.
Other ways include grilling them into saucy beef or shish kabobs or stewing them.
Health Benefits of Tomatoes
The Chocolate Sprinkles tomato has a high Brix level, meaning it has high sugar content. Still, like all tomatoes, it’s a nutrient-dense fruit.
In general, tomatoes are high in fiber and potassium. They are a good source of vitamins A, C, and K. These nutrients make tomatoes useful for losing weight, regulating blood pressure, boosting immunity, and maintaining bone health.
Tomatoes are known for containing the antioxidants lycopene and lutein. The former prevents heart disease and certain types of cancer, and the latter maintains eye health and function.
Where to Buy the Seeds, Tomatoes, and Plants
If you’d like to grow these tomatoes, you can order a 25-seed packet on Amazon.
The tomatoes and plants themselves are difficult to find online. But you may find them at your local farmers’ markets or garden stores!
Wrapping up Chocolate Sprinkles Tomatoes
You may not get chocolate sprinkles out of this tomato variety, but it gives your garden a unique touch. And your meals that usually have tomatoes in them will taste sweeter with the Chocolate Sprinkles tomato!
Visit our tomato plants page to discover more varieties of tomatoes.
- About the Author
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With a lifelong appreciation for the vibrant hues and serene beauty of landscapes, Sarah Keck brings a wealth of practical and observational gardening knowledge to her writing. Her hands-on experience stems from years of assisting her mother in tending a diverse array of plants, mastering the art of plant care through careful adherence to proven horticultural practices.
A seasoned observer, Sarah delights in the study and admiration of flourishing flower gardens and lush greenery during her frequent strolls through local parks and the quiet streets of her neighborhood. Her natural curiosity drives her to investigate various plant species, deepening her understanding of the flora she encounters.
In addition to her botanical pursuits, Sarah cherishes the culinary arts, drawing from her college experiences of handling and preparing fresh produce. Her penchant for discovery leads her to continually refine her methods, which she eagerly documents and shares with fellow gardening enthusiasts.