{"id":2237,"date":"2026-09-11T17:49:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T17:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=2237"},"modified":"2026-09-11T17:49:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T17:49:12","slug":"dwarf-chocolate-lightning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/dwarf-chocolate-lightning\/","title":{"rendered":"Dwarf Chocolate Lightning Tomato Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<div class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-auto kksr-align-left kksr-valign-top\"\n    data-payload='{&quot;align&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;2237&quot;,&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;valign&quot;:&quot;top&quot;,&quot;ignore&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;reference&quot;:&quot;auto&quot;,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;count&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;legendonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;readonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;score&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;starsonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;best&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;gap&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;greet&quot;:&quot;Rate this&quot;,&quot;legend&quot;:&quot;0\\\/5 - (0 votes)&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;24&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Dwarf Chocolate Lightning Tomato Review&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;_legend&quot;:&quot;{score}\\\/{best} - ({count} {votes})&quot;,&quot;font_factor&quot;:&quot;1.25&quot;}'>\n            \n<div class=\"kksr-stars\">\n    \n<div class=\"kksr-stars-inactive\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"1\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"2\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"3\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"4\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"5\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n<div class=\"kksr-stars-active\" style=\"width: 0px;\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n                \n\n<div class=\"kksr-legend\" style=\"font-size: 19.2px;\">\n            <span class=\"kksr-muted\">Rate this<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"tldr-box\" style=\"background: #f4f9f4; padding: 20px; border-left: 5px solid #4CAF50; margin-bottom: 30px; border-radius: 4px;\">\n<h3>\ud83d\udccc Quick Summary (TL;DR): Dwarf Chocolate Lightning<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\ud83c\udf0d <strong>Origin:<\/strong> A fantastic release from the international Dwarf Tomato Project. It was developed from a cross between &#8216;Beauty King&#8217; and &#8216;Dwarf Wild Fred&#8217;.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udf3f <strong>Plant Habit:<\/strong> Tree-type dwarf. A very vigorous plant with dark green rugose (crinkled) foliage and thick, sturdy central stems. Indoors or in a greenhouse, it can easily exceed 1 meter (3.3 feet). Due to the heavy fruit load, it requires strong staking.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udf45 <strong>Fruit Characteristics:<\/strong> Medium to large oblate beefsteaks. They are exceptionally beautiful \u2014 dark crimson\/chocolate in color, adorned with striking copper-green metallic stripes over the shoulders. Weights range from 150g up to a massive 300g (5.3 &#8211; 10.5 oz).<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc45 <strong>Flavor:<\/strong> Intense, rich, and juicy with an excellent balance of sweetness and tang. Growers note it retains its superb flavor even if picked green and ripened indoors off the vine.<\/li>\n<li>\u23f3 <strong>Maturity:<\/strong> Mid-season. Suitable for both open ground and greenhouse growing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"add-review-cta\" style=\"margin: 20px 0; padding: 15px; background: #f9f9f9; border-left: 4px solid #4CAF50; border-radius: 4px;\"><strong>\ud83c\udf45 Grown this variety?<\/strong> <a href=\"#wpdcom\">Click here to add your own photos and review below!<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">N<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Yaroslavna (Natalia) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (6,273 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Northern Yaroslavl Region, Russia (USDA Zone 3\/4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p><strong>Dwarf Chocolate Lightning.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A vigorous dwarf, a strong plant with rugose foliage and sturdy shoots. In a greenhouse (closed ground), it can grow to over 1 meter (3.3 feet) tall. The fruits are large, reaching 250-300g (8.8-10.5 oz) or more. They have a chocolate color with copper-green stripes over the top. Very juicy, with a pleasant, well-balanced taste.<\/p>\n<p>I recommend pruning the plants into 2-3 main stems, and tying each one securely to a support is absolutely mandatory.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-images\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/192\/318-100917101919.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/192\/thumb_318-100917101919.jpeg\" alt=\"Dwarf Chocolate Lightning tomato fruit on the vine\" width=\"160\" height=\"120\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/192\/318-100917102025.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/192\/thumb_318-100917102025.jpeg\" alt=\"Beautiful copper stripes on Chocolate Lightning tomato\" width=\"124\" height=\"160\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/192\/318-100917131948.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/192\/thumb_318-100917131948.jpeg\" alt=\"Harvested striped dwarf tomatoes\" width=\"160\" height=\"120\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/monthly_2019_02\/1624061508_ChocolateLightning.jpg.cfb06568834be8bb6c6f8e16c7dfb33a.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/monthly_2019_02\/227268202_ChocolateLightning.thumb.jpg.5817d2dc6b4c471c102117a315957e07.jpg\" alt=\"Seedlings of Dwarf Chocolate Lightning\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/monthly_2019_02\/25536853.jpg.47019b3f729063a26898bf0b4610f724.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/monthly_2019_02\/25536853.thumb.jpg.58dd3c859f7ec4d7d21d6e3fde7a79ec.jpg\" alt=\"Ripe dark tomato on the scale\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/monthly_2019_02\/1ef8a84f.jpg.52a50460e0ddf596c6eab859046a3e60.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/monthly_2019_02\/1ef8a84f.thumb.jpg.3d81882e22b5be5bbe891cc9f441dad0.jpg\" alt=\"Cross section of dark juicy tomato\" width=\"233\" height=\"300\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">I<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">ilja (Ilya) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 User (758 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Klinsky District, Moscow Region (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>A wonderful variety from the Dwarf Tomato Project. It&#8217;s a mid-height plant (around 1 meter \/ 3.3 ft), with a mid-season ripening time. The fruits are absolutely beautiful\u2014dark red with striping, oblate (flat-round) shape, weighing up to 300 grams (10.5 oz). Excellent taste, very sweet.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-images\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments01\/67257_af00e53682377d0ae5279b2cca515a9ca15b63b5.jpg\" alt=\"Chocolate Lightning dwarf plant with tomatoes\" width=\"499\" height=\"499\" \/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments01\/67259_11d7b06a70af309b1ad7df4c57ae2d0bd4c25237.jpg\" alt=\"Striped dark tomato harvest\" width=\"499\" height=\"499\" \/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments01\/67261_521d9d43baf129a0629c47275ac3b23595eb102b.jpg\" alt=\"Sliced Chocolate Lightning tomato on a plate\" width=\"499\" height=\"499\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">I<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Inn@ (Inna) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (6,399 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Arti, Sverdlovsk Region (USDA Zone 3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>I also really liked this dwarf. Beautiful, very tasty, sweet, and highly productive. The tomatoes reached up to 300g (10.5 oz). The bushes grew to about a meter (3.3 ft) in height. I grew it outdoors in open ground. Thanks to Natalia Pavlovna for the seeds!<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-images\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/236\/19631-210818140717.jpeg\" alt=\"Beautiful striped heirloom tomatoes from the garden\" width=\"750\" height=\"1000\" \/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/239\/19631-070918151104.jpeg\" alt=\"Chocolate Lightning tomatoes hanging on the vine\" width=\"595\" height=\"1000\" \/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/241\/19631-260918140128.jpeg\" alt=\"Harvest of Dwarf Tomato Project varieties\" width=\"1000\" height=\"766\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">E<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">neLENtyayka (Elena) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (2,794 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Kemerovo, Siberia (USDA Zone 2\/3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p><strong>Dwarf Chocolate Lightning<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It grew outdoors in open ground and shot up well over a meter (3.3 ft). It didn&#8217;t have time to ripen on the vine before the cold set in, so I had to harvest all the fruits while they were still green.<\/p>\n<p>I tried the tomatoes after they ripened indoors off the vine. And they turned out to be unexpectedly delicious! Even ripened indoors, they were tasty! It has a good, balanced flavor with a very pleasant aftertaste. I liked it.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to Lyubasha (@Vesennyaya) for the seeds.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-images\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/monthly_2022_10\/large.IMG_20221012_110502.jpg.8913dc86f42fdf2a5a2093d6c7fd6706.jpg.006c411ceb3adc881f974730cfae66bc.jpg\" alt=\"Chocolate Lightning ripened indoors\" width=\"338\" height=\"600\" \/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/monthly_2022_10\/large.IMG_20221012_114614.jpg.eef264062b1c8f16b525bceecb447e55.jpg.e5d685bc6d65a5d6284466137ef57c36.jpg\" alt=\"Sliced dark tomato showing meaty interior\" width=\"338\" height=\"600\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ud83d\udccc Quick Summary (TL;DR): Dwarf Chocolate Lightning \ud83c\udf0d Origin: A fantastic release from the international Dwarf Tomato Project. It was developed from a cross between &#8216;Beauty King&#8217; and &#8216;Dwarf Wild Fred&#8217;. \ud83c\udf3f Plant Habit: Tree-type dwarf. A very vigorous plant with dark green rugose (crinkled) foliage and thick, sturdy central stems. Indoors or in a &#8230; <a title=\"Dwarf Chocolate Lightning Tomato Review\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/dwarf-chocolate-lightning\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Dwarf Chocolate Lightning Tomato Review\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,1,66,6],"tags":[19,30,78,23,49,110,15],"class_list":["post-2237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bush-and-dwarf","category-beefsteak-large-slicers","category-bicolor","category-dwarf-tomato-project","tag-dark-tomato","tag-heavy-yielder","tag-indoor-tomato-growing","tag-mid-season","tag-open-ground","tag-rugose-foliage","tag-sweet-flavor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2237"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2239,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2237\/revisions\/2239"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}