Chocolate Cherry Tomato
A rich, sweet, smoky dark cherry: deep port wine fruit in heavy clusters, open pollinated so you can save the seed, bringing black tomato flavor to snacking size.
Flavor & performance
The honest verdict
What's great
- Rich, sweet, smoky dark flavor unlike a plain red
- Heavy yields in long clusters all season
- Open pollinated, so you can save the seed
- Striking port wine color in salads
- Vigorous and productive on the vine
Watch out for
- Dark color makes ripeness harder to read
- Thin skin can crack after rain
- Tall vine needs sturdy staking and space
- Moderate disease resistance
- Too small to use for sauce
Grow it in your zone
| Trait | Chocolate Cherry Tomato | Black Cherry | Sungold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Color | Dark red brown | Purple brown | Orange |
| Flavor | Sweet, smoky | Rich, complex | Intense, fruity sweet |
| Fruit size | 0.5 oz | 0.5 oz | 0.5 oz |
| Days | 65 to 70 | 65 to 75 | 55 to 65 |
| Yield | High | High | High |
| Breeding | Open pollinated | Open pollinated | Hybrid |
| Save seeds | Yes | Yes | No |
The name is a color description. What the color is actually telling you is worth understanding.
Most people expect chocolate flavor the first time they grow Chocolate Cherry. Something sweet and rich in the way cocoa is sweet and rich. What they get is different. The flavor is complex, less sharp, more savory than a bright red cherry. Still sweet, but in a different direction.
That difference is real and consistent. Dark cherry tomatoes, the mahogany, brown, and very dark ones, deliver a reliably different eating experience than red ones. Chocolate Cherry’s warm brown exterior comes from very deep lycopene concentration. That same pigment depth is associated with a softer acid profile. Less bite up front. More complexity through the finish.
Chocolate Cherry is one of the few open pollinated varieties in that color family with the production levels most home gardens need. No disease resistance, but solid seed saving, early to mid season timing, and fruit that holds up in any fresh eating comparison against the sweet red hybrids.
What the fruit is like
Chocolate Cherry produces round fruit about one inch across. Most weigh around half an ounce to just under one ounce. The exterior color at full ripeness is a deep mahogany brown, warm rather than cold. Cut one open and the flesh runs port wine to deep red.
The skin is thin. The flesh is juicy with a texture somewhere between a standard cherry tomato and the meatier interior of a dark beefsteak type. Seed cavities are small. Low seed count relative to size. More flesh per piece than a watery red cherry.
The flavor is rich and complex. Sweet, but not the candy sweetness of Sun Sugar or Super Sweet 100. There is a savory note underneath. The acidity is lower than a bright red cherry type, which makes the sweetness register differently. You taste the tomato first and the sugar second.
Days to maturity: 70 days from transplant. That is early for an open pollinated cherry tomato with this kind of flavor profile. Some growers in cooler climates report 75 to 80 days actual. First fruit usually arrives before midsummer in most zones and production runs through frost.
What the color is actually telling you
The name does not mean chocolate flavor. The name is a color description, nothing more.
But the color is useful information. Chocolate Cherry’s mahogany exterior comes from very high lycopene concentration. At the level where red pigment is dense enough to shift toward brown, the tomato’s acid balance changes. The genetics that produce the color tend to produce a softer, less sharp flavor profile.
This pattern holds across dark cherry varieties. Black Cherry, Brown Berry, Chocolate Cherry. All of them land differently than red cherries. Less bite up front. More complexity through the finish. Not sweeter in the candy sense, but richer in the way a fully ripened thing is richer.
That is the flavor promise of Chocolate Cherry. Not chocolate. Something more interesting.
Disease resistance
Chocolate Cherry carries no VFN resistance. No Fusarium, no Verticillium, no nematode coding. This is typical for open pollinated varieties of this age and origin.
In clean soil with good rotation, it performs well. In beds with known wilt or nematode pressure, it declines faster than a resistant hybrid. The plant is vigorous and productive in healthy beds. The limitation shows up in problem soil.
How to grow Chocolate Cherry, start to finish
Starting seeds
Start indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost date. Sow seeds a quarter inch deep in a clean seed starting mix. Keep soil temperature between 70 and 80°F. A heat mat keeps germination fast and consistent in early spring when indoor temperatures are still variable.
Set up fluorescent or LED grow lights close to the canopy the day seedlings emerge. Keep them 2 to 3 inches above the plant tops. Raise them as growth continues. Chocolate Cherry is a vigorous indeterminate that reaches 8 to 10 feet. A seedling that stretches toward distant light builds a weak stem that struggles under heavy cluster loads later in the season.
Pot up to individual containers when the first true leaves appear. Feed weekly at half strength with a balanced liquid fertilizer from that point through transplant day. A well fed seedling establishes faster in the garden than anything that was underfed during the seedling phase.
Chocolate Cherry is open pollinated and grows true from saved seed. Scoop seeds and gel from a fully ripe fruit into a jar of water. Ferment for 2 to 3 days. Rinse and dry flat. Store somewhere cool and dry until spring. Save from the darkest, most flavorful fruit each season. You are selecting toward a stronger local population over time.
Transplanting
Move plants outside after your last frost date, once nights hold reliably above 50°F. Cold nights below 54°F during flower formation cause catfacing. On small cherry fruit the scarring is minimal and rarely affects eating quality. Cool nights during flower formation still slow early set.
Harden off over 7 to 10 days. Set plants outside for increasing periods each day before leaving them out permanently. Indoor seedlings moved directly to full outdoor sun and wind experience shock. A proper hardening period prevents that setback at the exact moment you want roots going down aggressively.
Bury two thirds of the stem at planting. Tomatoes produce roots along any buried stem section. Strip any leaves that would go below soil level. More root depth means more drought tolerance and better stability through a long season.
Space plants 24 to 36 inches apart. Chocolate Cherry spreads into a full canopy and produces heavily. Crowded plants trap warm, humid air around the lower foliage. With no disease resistance to compensate, adequate spacing is your primary tool for preventing fungal pressure from the ground up.
Soil and feeding
Rich, well drained soil loaded with compost, pH 6.0 to 6.8. Work a balanced organic fertilizer into the planting hole before setting the plant in. This slow release base supports root development without pushing sudden leafy growth in the first weeks after transplant.
Switch to a lower nitrogen tomato feed once the first flowers open. High nitrogen after flowering drives leaf growth at the expense of fruit. Feed every two weeks through the full season. Chocolate Cherry runs from mid season through frost. Tapering off nutrition in August while the plant is still setting clusters is a common mistake.
Small fruit reduces blossom end rot risk compared to large fruited varieties. Consistent moisture still matters for crack prevention and cluster quality. Keep watering even throughout the season.
Light and water
Full sun, 8 hours minimum. Chocolate Cherry needs full heat and light to develop the deep color and complex flavor that define the variety. Partial shade extends time to first fruit and flattens both yield and flavor intensity.
Water deeply and consistently at the base of the plant. Target 1 to 2 inches per week. Chocolate Cherry cracks less readily than Black Cherry, but moisture surges after dry periods still split ripe fruit. A drip line or soaker hose keeps moisture steady and foliage dry.
Lay 2 to 3 inches of straw mulch around the plant after a deep watering. Mulch stabilizes soil moisture between rain events. It reduces wet to dry swings that crack cherry tomatoes. It also stops soil spores from splashing onto lower leaves during rain, which matters on a variety with no coded disease resistance.
Support and pruning
Chocolate Cherry is fully indeterminate. In good soil it reaches 8 to 10 feet and keeps growing until frost. Standard short cages fail with this plant by midsummer. Use a heavy duty cage at least 6 feet tall, tall sturdy stakes, or a trellis. Set the support at planting before roots spread.
Tie growing stems to the support with soft plant ties or strips of fabric. Nothing that cuts into swelling stems. Check and adjust ties every two weeks through the season. A 10 foot vine carrying dozens of clusters puts real weight on the support structure throughout the full season.
Remove suckers below the first flower cluster. This keeps the lower canopy open for airflow. Above the first cluster, let the plant develop two to three main leaders. Chocolate Cherry produces its best fruit on those upper branches and the trusses that form along them.
Strip any foliage touching the ground. Soil to leaf contact is the primary entry route for early blight spores. Keep the lowest foot of the plant clear throughout the season. Strip spotted leaves the day you see them. With no resistance built in, catching problems early is the whole strategy.
Grower's Picks for Chocolate Cherry
The gear that matters most for growing Chocolate Cherry well, so you can buy the right thing once.
Problems to watch
No VFN disease resistance. The main structural limitation. In beds with Fusarium, Verticillium, or nematode pressure, Chocolate Cherry declines faster than a resistant variety. Rotate beds each season. Water at the soil level. Strip spotted lower leaves as soon as you see them. Rapid wilting in a plant that looks otherwise healthy often points to soil disease rather than a surface problem.
Early blight. No resistance here. Brown spots with concentric rings on lower leaves, climbing from the base. Strip affected leaves immediately. Keep foliage dry. Rotate beds each season. This disease climbs fast in wet summers on unresistant plants. Stay ahead of it from the first sign.
Cracking. Less of an issue than with Black Cherry, but still present. A moisture surge after a dry stretch splits ripe fruit on the vine. Pick at full deep mahogany rather than waiting. Consistent moisture and thick mulch prevent most splitting. Our tomato fruit problem guide covers cracking and every other common fruit symptom in detail.
Catfacing. Cool nights below 54°F during flower formation cause it. On small cherry fruit it is barely noticeable. First flush fruit may show minor scarring at the blossom end. Safe to eat. Midseason fruit from the same plant comes in clean.
Overproduction. A planning problem. Chocolate Cherry produces prolifically through a long season. At peak, a single vine outpaces most households. Eat them fresh by the handful. Freeze them whole for winter sauces. Roast clusters with oil and salt. Have a plan before the plant hits its stride or you will be buried by August.
Hornworms. An 8 to 10 foot vine loaded with clusters is exactly what they target. Check undersides of leaves and look for stripped stems weekly through summer. Dark droppings on the ground below a branch are the sign. Handpick or treat with Bt at first appearance.
Container growing
Chocolate Cherry is workable in containers but demanding over a full season. The vine reaches 8 to 10 feet and produces prolifically. A container has to sustain that production with limited root volume and much more frequent feeding than a ground bed.
Use a 10 gallon container of quality potting mix at minimum. Many growers do better with 15 gallons for a full season of production. Set a tall stake or heavy duty cage at planting. Water daily in summer heat. Feed every week to 10 days because containers flush nutrients faster than ground beds.
Among open pollinated dark cherry types, Chocolate Cherry is a realistic container choice. The fruit is small and clusters distribute their weight across the vine. In ground is still where this plant performs at its potential.
Chocolate Cherry vs other dark and sweet cherry tomatoes
Black Cherry is the closest comparison in the dark cherry family. Both are dark, prolific, and open pollinated. Black Cherry runs sweeter and more tart. Chocolate Cherry is richer and rounder, with less sharpness up front. Black Cherry pushes toward intense sweetness. Chocolate Cherry pushes toward savory complexity. Neither carries VFN resistance. Growers who want dark cherry flavor often grow both for a season and pick a favorite.
Sun Sugar occupies a completely different position. Orange, hybrid, candy sweet. The comparison only matters if you are choosing between maximum sweetness and complexity. Sun Sugar wins on sweetness. Chocolate Cherry wins on depth and flavor range. They are different tools in the garden.
Sweetie is the red open pollinated comparison. Sweetie is sweeter and less complex. Chocolate Cherry delivers more layered flavor at the cost of some sugar intensity. Both save seed; neither carries disease resistance. Our heirloom tomato guide puts the full dark and sweet cherry family side by side with flavor and timing compared.
The verdict
Chocolate Cherry is the open pollinated path to dark cherry complexity. The name promises something sweet and rich like cocoa. What you get is better than that for a tomato grower. A small fruit with real depth. Flavor that does not default to candy sweetness. The kind of tomato that makes you think about what you are eating rather than just eating it.
The limitation is clear: no VFN resistance. In clean soil with good rotation that is manageable. In problem beds, plant a resistant variety alongside for comparison.
Give it full sun, adequate space, real support from planting day, and consistent water. Pick before rain when fruit shows full deep color. Save seed from your best fruit each season. That is how this variety improves in your specific garden over time. Our growing tomatoes guide covers the full season timing for early to mid season cherry varieties like this one.