An extremely unusual and exotic guest in your garden is the Negritenok tomato: we grow it ourselves and enjoy the harvest

Do you like exotic? Tired of the good old red, yellow and pink tomatoes? Do you want to diversify your country life and grow a vegetable of unusual color to the envy of all your neighbors? Tomato Negritok is what you need: exotic appearance, sweet taste and aroma, ease of care will delight both you and your loved ones.

In our review, read the characteristics and description of the variety, cultivation features and techniques used by farmers to get a larger harvest.

Description of the variety

The tomato gets its name from its brown color. The Negritok variety belongs to the variety of black-fruited tomatoes. The unusual color for these vegetables gives the tomato the anthocyanin contained in it. However, it is not entirely true to talk about black tomatoes.

In fact, due to the purple pigment, tomatoes acquire the color of the fruit:

• from brown-green to brown-red-brown - a shade of both skin and pulp;
• blue-violet - only the skins, the flesh is red.

The variety was bred by the selection specialists of the Poisk agrofirm. The tomato was added to the State Register of the Russian Federation in 2010. The originators recommend growing it in open ground and greenhouses in all climatic zones of our country.

Distinctive features

Mid-season, indeterminate variety. Fruit ripening occurs on day 110-115. The maximum height of the bush is 3.5 m. Medium leafy, the leaves are dark green, oblong, medium in size with a small downy. The first inflorescence is formed after 13 pairs of leaves, each cluster has 6 to 8 ovaries.

The roots of the plant do not go deep into the ground, they are located close to the surface, but grow in width.

Tomatoes tolerate a temperature drop of up to +7 degrees.

Fruit characteristics, yield

From the description above and the photo, it is clear that the fruits are dark brown in color. They acquire this color at the time of biological ripeness, before that green tomatoes have a dark brown-green spot at the stalk.

Other characteristics of tomatoes:

• flat-round shape;
• slight ribbing at the stalk (pronounced in large fruits);
• dense skin;
• juicy, medium density red pulp;
• many chocolate seeds (6 seed chambers);
• sweet and sour taste, tomato aroma;
• the weight of one fruit is from 150 (upper hand) to 350 g (lower hand).

The first fruits ripen 110-115 days after germination. The yield is low: from 1 sq. m, 6.5-8 kg are harvested, on average - 1.5-2 kg of berries from a bush.

How to grow seedlings

Sow seeds for seedlings 60-65 days before transplanting: in the first half of March.

Important! Check the expiration date of the seeds purchased in the store (maximum - 2-3 years). Seeds collected by yourself, on the contrary, take older ones - at least 2-3 years after collection.

Seed preparation

Before planting, prepare seed material to increase seed germination and seedling vitality:

1. Go through the seeds: select the larger, even seeds that are not empty to the touch. Place them in saline solution for 15-20 minutes (1 tablespoon salt in a glass of water). Pick up the grains that have sunk to the bottom.
2. Warm the seeds on a central heating battery: place them on a cotton cloth on a radiator for 1.5-2 days.
3. Disinfect the grains with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate (1 teaspoon of potassium permanganate per 600 g of water) for 15-20 minutes. After that, be sure to rinse with clean water.
4. Enrich the seeds with oxygen: place in warm water (+ 26 + 30 degrees) and stir every 60 minutes for 15-18 hours (if there is an aquarium compressor, use it).
5. The seeds of many crops are protected by a thin film layer that dissolves after a long stay in moist soil. Therefore, they need mechanical or hydraulic action to accelerate the germination process. Experts recommend a method using water and gas - bubbling. Oxygen helps accelerate seed germination, improves seedling development and tomato growth.
6. Soak the seeds in warm (+21 degrees) water or biostimulants ("Zircon", "Epine", "Sodium humate" or liquid "Energene").
7. Harden the planting material: wrap the seeds in cotton cloth and plastic wrap and place for 8 hours in a cool place with an air temperature of -3 + 2 (for example, in a refrigerator, on a balcony) for 8 hours. Then keep the seeds at room temperature for 8 hours. Repeat the procedure 5-6 times.
8. Germination of grains. Moisten a cloth or cheesecloth with warm water and lay on a flat dish. Place the seeds, cover them with another layer of damp cloth and send them to a warm place. Keep the tissue moist at all times and wait for the embryos to appear. When they reach a size of 2-3 cm, plant them in the ground.

Capacity and soil

For seedlings, choose any convenient container: plastic cups, cut PET bottles, special containers. Before use, disinfect the container with a cool solution of potassium permanganate.

Buy a multi-purpose tomato soil. It will necessarily include:

• humus;
• river sand;
• peat or coconut substrate.

Or prepare the ground yourself by mixing:

• 1 part of garden land;
• 2 parts non-acidic peat (pH 6.5) or coconut substrate;
• 0.5 parts of sand (river or washed);
• 1 part humus or sifted mature compost.

Add sifted wood ash or dolomite flour, sphagnum moss and fallen needles.

Pour the prepared mixture with boiling water or potassium permanganate solution.

Sowing

Spread out the seeds and cover with a 5-7 mm layer of soil. Moisten the soil with a sprayer or spoon. Cover the containers with plastic wrap and place in a warm (+24 degrees) place. When shoots appear, lower the temperature: in the daytime to +12 - +15, at night to +8 - +10 degrees, remove the film and put the seedlings in a bright place. Provide seedlings with 11 hours of daylight. If there is not enough natural light, supplement the plants with fluorescent or LED lamps of the red or blue spectrum.

It is important to correctly install lighting devices. Correct the position of the light bulbs if:

1. Burns appeared on the leaves - increase the distance between the lamps and plants.
2. The leaves are paler and the stem is stretched out - bring the light closer.
3. The lamp is on the side and the stem is bent towards the light - place the lamps directly above the plantings.

Growing and care

Dive the plants in the 4 true leaf phase, digging in the seedlings to the cotyledonous leaves. Add mineral fertilizers to the soil for transplanting (1 tablespoon per 5 liters of soil mixture).

After 10-14 days feed with complex fertilizer... Repeat this every 2 weeks.

Water as the soil dries up with warm water under the root, avoiding water getting on the casting and the stem. Use a syringe or spoon for this.

Continue lighting if the daylight is less than 12 hours.

Start hardening the seedlings in 20 days. In the first 5 days, take out into the open air for 3-4 hours in the afternoon. Then add an hour a day. Leave the seedlings overnight 4 days before moving to teach them night frosts.

How to grow tomatoes

Tomatoes are transplanted to a permanent place in May. At the beginning of the month - to greenhouses, in the middle-end - in open ground.

Landing

Prepare the plot before placing the Negro Tomato seedlings. Loosen the soil, remove weeds, apply organic and phosphate fertilizers. A day before planting, treat the soil with a solution of potassium permanganate or boiling water to destroy possible infections or pest larvae.

Planting scheme - 40x60 cm. Plant tall seedlings at an angle, sprinkling with soil. This promotes the development of an additional root system and ensures better plant growth and development.

Care

Water the plants every 7-10 days with warm water under the root. With each watering, remove the weeds and loosen the soil to provide oxygen to the rhizome.

Before the first flowering, feed the tomatoes with fertilizer with ammonia. During the period of fruit formation, apply a phosphorus fertilizing.

Form the plants into 1-2 stems. Remove stepchildren and bottom leaves regularly. Tie the tomatoes to a support and continue the garter as the bush grows. Pinch off the top when the shrub reaches 2 meters in height.

Features of cultivation and possible difficulties

Choke tomatoes do not differ from red ones, and there are no difficulties in caring for them.

Tomatoes do not ripen well, so as soon as the brush has given up all the fruits, cut it off.

Diseases and pests

According to the originators, the variety is immune to common tomato diseases. For the prevention of fungal diseases in greenhouses, as well as in cool, rainy summers in the open field, treat plantings with "Fitosporin".

From harmful insects, the Negritok is attacked by ground pests (Colorado beetles, whiteflies, slugs) and underground (May beetle larvae and wireworms).

Treat plantings from the Colorado potato beetle "Prestige", from the whitefly - "Confidor", from slugs - a biological additive with a parasitic nematode.

Important! The beetle poison will help from the Colorado potato beetle. Collect a 1 liter jar of adults, pour into a 20 liter bucket and fill with water to the brim. After the beetles gasp (they sink to the bottom), insist on the poison for another week. Spray the tomatoes with a freshly prepared solution diluted with water (1: 1, 1: 2 - choose the required proportion yourself). For slugs, spray the tomatoes with a solution of ammonia (dissolve 4 tablespoons of alcohol in a bucket of water).

Pre-planting soil cultivation will help from underground pests: dig up the area before autumn, and the eggs will die from frost. The wireworm does not like calcareous soil, and the beetle larvae are not rich in nitrogen. Mulch bushes with straw (sawdust, grass cuttings) saturated with nitrogen-containing fertilizers:

• urea;
• ammonium nitrate;
• old manure.

The nuances of growing in open ground and in a greenhouse

In the greenhouse, increase the row spacing to 70 cm. Ventilate structures frequently.

When landing in open ground, check that the air temperature at night does not drop below +7 degrees. Tomatoes planted in cold ground or damaged are susceptible to root rot disease.

The photo shows that the disease affects the neck of the stem. Treatment is effective only at the beginning of the development of the disease, since the fungus quickly infects the entire bush, and the plant dies. Even if you manage to cure the tomatoes, the rotten bushes will stagnate and give a low yield.

Harvesting and application of the crop

Tomatoes ripen at 110-115 days. Subject to the rules of agricultural technology, you will receive from 6 to 8 kg of fruits from 1 sq. m (3 bushes).

Use fresh fruits and for preservation: lecho, adjika, ketchup and pickling in whole-fruited form. Keeping quality is good: fruits are stored for up to 1 month and do not lose their presentation during transportation.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

The dignity of the variety includes the unusual color of the fruit. In addition, tomatoes:

1. Long fruiting period.
2. Good taste and aroma.
3. Immunity to infections and diseases of tomatoes.
4. No need for frequent watering.
5. Possibility of long-term storage and transportation.
6. Versatility of use.

Important! The fruits have a high content of antioxidants, which contribute to accelerated cell regeneration. They slow down the aging process and reduce the inflammatory response. Some scientists believe that antioxidants minimize the risk of cancer. The increased content of lycopene helps prevent diseases of the heart and blood vessels, atherosclerosis, and strengthens the immune system. Carotene improves vision.

The disadvantages of the variety include:

• need for pinching and garter bushes;
• crop instability;
• the tomato is not suitable for sale.

Farmers reviews

Below we provide reviews of summer residents who tried to grow Negritenok tomatoes on their plots. They note that they plant them not for the sake of a high yield, but for obtaining unusual black fruits with a pleasant taste.

Igor Pankov, Krasnodar Territory: “I've been growing vegetables, it seems, all my life, in rural conditions it is not difficult. On the plot there are tomatoes of different colors, among them a Negritenok tomato. The unusual colors are emphasized by the nearby yellow-fruited species. The tomato is tasty, non-acidic, the first brushes ripen quickly. I have it growing in an open area. The variety does not like shade and drafts, it is best to determine the seat on the south side behind the wall of the building. "

Svetlana Khramova, Voronezh region: 

“I have been growing the Negritok tomato variety for a long time, my priority is not high yield, but taste and unusual appearance. I plant tomatoes in seedlings in a greenhouse in early May. Forming the future bush, I leave one stem at a time. They grow in a greenhouse until the night temperature is + 10 ° C, then I remove the film from the roof and sides. The trellis is solid - 2 m high. This is the end point of growth, at this level I break the top. Tomatoes grow open until September, then I cover the greenhouse again and until frost. "

Nadezhda Sonina, Rostov region: “From 5 seeds 4 bushes have grown, tall, strong. Green all summer. I let them grow in one stem, shaped, tied up. But only 4-5 tomatoes have grown and matured on the luxurious bushes. Moreover, the first brush was formed very late, only after 14 leaves. The tomatoes were large, beautiful, very tasty, but so few! I liked their taste so much that I chose seeds for sowing next year. I will try again. "

Olga Gradova, Kemerovo: “The Negro's seedlings were very ordinary. Is that a little stretched out. I planted it both in the open ground and in the greenhouse, and everywhere they started well. The bushes grew very powerful, beautiful, but tied worse than other varieties. The first fruits were large and beautiful, then they were much smaller and remained green, did not have time to ripen. They matured, lying in the room, and even acquired brown spots. The harvest was average, but I am happy with that too, because it is so nice to grow such exotic plants here. "

Conclusion

Tomatoes Negritok are grown both in open beds and in a greenhouse, but in a shelter, bushes give more fruits. Tomatoes are watered every 7-10 days, formed into 1-2 stems, tied to supports. The yield is not high (1.5-2 kg per bush), the weight of the fruits decreases towards the top (from 350 to 150 g). Summer residents put up with this because of the exotic color of the fruits, taste and greater health benefits in comparison with tomatoes of other colors.

Tomatoes are used both fresh and in canning: whole fruits, in snacks and sauces.