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hi, I'm new to the forum, ne wayz was wondering if anyone has grown a brandywine heirloom tomato before? I was at a local green house here in new mexico and saw the plant it stood out froma all the other tomato plats wanted some advice on how to grow them and what to expect. I have grown all other varities of tomatoes before but nothing like this. I'm very excited to see what happens. thanx

We will learn together! I started seeds and I have alot of Brandywine seedlings, that are soon to go into the garden. As seedlings they have really grown well!

I have pink and red ones growing.

brandywines are an open pollinated heirloom variety.

they have little no wilt or virus resistance.

fairly big plants, medium fruits, excellent taste in a good year.

Grow Brandywine just like any other tomato and hope for the best. They can be temperamental about setting fruit, but noone has figured out what specific factors are involved. You hear a lot about it but for everyone that has problems there a many more people who don't.


It is a big plant so give it a lot of space in the garden.


There are alot of varieties that have Brandywine as part of the name. The famous one should have potato leaves and pink fruit.

I havn't grown them till this year but have eaten them before. TZ-OH6 said "famous" so you can figure out from that they are very awesome tomatoes.

Good luck

This is my first year to grow them. I have been impressed with the plants (Sudduth strain) from the moment they germinated. They are the most vigorous tomato plant I have ever seen. Mine are blooming like crazy. The blooms are huge. If half the blooms produce fruit, I will have a great harvest. I keep waiting for the bad things that happen to some people who grow Brandywine. So far, mine are doing great and my mouth is watering in anticipation of what many claim is the absolute best tasting tomato. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Ted

I'm growing some Brandywine alongside with Green Zebra, Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, Beefsteak.

I grew some last year in soil and they are absolutely delicious. Most people hip' to great tasting heirloom tomatoes will tell you that Brandywine are in their top 5 list.

I'm not growing mine in soil however but an outdoor hydroponic ebb and flow bucket system.

Check it out:



[img]https://i43.tinypic.com/1y22o0.jpg[/img]

That is very interesting PacG I hope you stick around so we can see how this outdoor hydro system is done and the final outcome this summer.

I'm always interested in the various methods available to grow tomatoes (or any plant for that matter) I've played with growing in sterile soil, hydroponic, and other methods. I always return to growing in natural soil. I find myself asking if am I more interested in the method or the result. My interest seems to lie with the result and it always seems growing in well balanced soil produces the results I want most consistently with the least effort.

Please keep posting the reports on your system and results. It is very interesting.

Ted

gixxerific wrote:I havn't grown them till this year but have eaten them before. TZ-OH6 said "famous" so you can figure out from that they are very awesome tomatoes.

Good luck

This is our first year growing anything on purpose....

Got some Brandywine starts and also started a few from seed....
So far the starts have got tiny green tomatoes on them and the seed started ones are growing but not blooming yet ( I don't think they are big enough yet, I was kind of hoping to stagger things a little) I am just hoping it doesn't get too stinkin' hot this summer....we'll see

albucsfan wrote: I am just hoping it doesn't get too stinkin' hot this summer....we'll see

I am hoping it doesn't get too hot for us (humans); but the Tomatoes probably won't mind.
To me, Tomatoes seem to be a heat loving plant... sometimes, I think the hotter the weather gets, the better they do.

Of course, when it's really hot, or hot and windy, they will transpire like crazy and really go through a lot of water. "Deep" watering every few days (when needed), and a good mulch layer will help.

farmerlon wrote:

albucsfan wrote: I am just hoping it doesn't get too stinkin' hot this summer....we'll see

I am hoping it doesn't get too hot for us (humans); but the Tomatoes probably won't mind.
To me, Tomatoes seem to be a heat loving plant... sometimes, I think the hotter the weather gets, the better they do.

Of course, when it's really hot, or hot and windy, they will transpire like crazy and really go through a lot of water. "Deep" watering every few days (when needed), and a good mulch layer will help.

Your right, tomatoes like it hot. Some varieties like it hotter than others. Brandywine doesn't seem to be one of those however.

Ted

My son was in law school at the University of Virginia, and my daughter-in-law worked at Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson. One year for my birthday they gave me all different kind of seed from the Jeffersonian era. Included were Brandywine heirloom tomato seed. I had never heard of Brandywine before, but I planted those little seed, transplanted the starters to the garden and produced some magnificent, huge juicy tomatoes. I gave my mom a few plants, and she said these had the least core of any tomato she had seen. And they produced well into the fall.

The next year I ordered some Brandwine seed, and they WERE NOT the same. It was almost like some seed had gotten mixed up. These turned out to be more like overgrown cherry tomatoes that did not taste as good as Sweet 100s.

I will try again, but because of the problems with variety last year, I only started Celebrity and Better Boy this year.

I'm growing Brandywine Sudduth strain this year. This is my first year to grow or eat Brandywine tomatoes. The supplier told me his strain is the Sudduth strain, but I will not know for sure until the tomatoes are set and ripen. The Sudduth strain is supposedly the original heirloom variety which produces, large beefsteak type, meaty tomatoes. Unfortunately people have bred a number of Brandywine based hybrids and grown them out enough to be fairly pure strains. When they name them, they want to make sure the Brandywine heritage is predominant in the name. Now we have a number of Brandwine tomatoes with words like pink, red, cherry, striped, purple, or other words added to the name. Sometimes the extra descriptive word is left off and you purchase a Brandywine cherry tomato expecting the original variety. You need to always read or ask about the strain of Brandywine plant or seed you are purchasing.

Ted

Grrr... looks like I will have to junk half of my Brandywine seedlings, they seem have contracted the wilts. so close to transplant date too. Should of known when seedling start lagging behind my yellow pears. anyone know if I can compost the seedlings or should trash it and bleach everything?

I grew brandywines last year in my garden. They produced a ton of tomatoes but I had a a lot of problems with them. Even the best of them had green shoulders. They tended to split. They also rotted before they were entirely ripe. The ones that did make it to the table tasted great. I don't think I will grow them again due to the problems I had. Maybe you won't have those same problems in the southwest.

Last year, I grew Brandywine Sudduth's (suggestion of HG), and I'm glad I did. Full flavor, just great all around tomato, most in 1+lb range.

As mentioned earlier, these can be hit or miss, with no particular trends observed by anyone as to what makes them produce for some and 3-5 tomatoes all season for others. All in all, I've had about 50 fruits in the season of this one plant. Hoping for the same this year, but who knows. Growing it side by side with Brandywine Cowlick's and Brandywine Black.

One thing about those shoulders, most of mine did have those green shoulders, all eatable. Fruits were ripe to my taste (and firmness) at the nice, creamy pink stage (Sudduth's):

[img]https://drphotography.smugmug.com/Other/2009-Garden/09012009brandywinelargest/626173542_h8ztq-XL.jpg[/img]

Happy growing season to all with Brandywine, may it produce for you abundantly!!!

Regards,
D

tedln wrote:I'm growing Brandywine Sudduth strain this year. This is my first year to grow or eat Brandywine tomatoes. The supplier told me his strain is the Sudduth strain, but I will not know for sure until the tomatoes are set and ripen. The Sudduth strain is supposedly the original heirloom variety which produces, large beefsteak type, meaty tomatoes.

Ted

That's great information... thanks for sharing.

This is the first year that I am growing several Heirloom tomato varieties... small tomatoes are on several of the plants now, so I am eagerly waiting for them to grow and ripen.
I did not grow any Brandywine this year... but, after reading this thread, I will have to add the Brandywine Sudduth to my list for next year. That will make three new (new for my garden) "B" tomatoes on my list: Brandywine, Belgium, and Bradley.