I have five Brandywine tomato plants that are doing great, and producing some great fruit. I have to pick the maters a little early or else the squirrels will beat me to them. Here are a few pictures of what they are producing:
[img]https://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/lakngulf/June2011/IMG_0126.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/lakngulf/June2011/IMG_0127.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/lakngulf/June2011/IMG_0120.jpg[/img]
The seed came from gift shop of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. I have good luck with their heirloom brandywine seed.
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gardenbean
- Senior Member
- Posts: 251
- Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2011 8:47 pm
- Location: Westminster Colorado
The Brandywine are the only plants that survived for me this year, but I have had good luck with this variety. This is a very tasty tomato, and, as you can see from the picture, one tomato feeds a family. Well, at least it gives my wife and me all we need for sandwiches for one meal.TZ -OH6 wrote:Nice! Its good to see someone in the South haveing good luck with Brandywine. It single handedly gives all heirlooms a bad rep because it can be temperamental even though it does well for the silent majority.
As I have posted elsewhere, most of my plants were hit with what I think is southern bacterial wilt. These Brandywine plants were placed in a spot where I dug out the existing soil with a tractor front end loader and put in new soil. Seven or Eight plants were in the row. The plants were so tall that I planted them horizontal instead of digging deep into the soil. The plants at either end of the row bit the dust like my other tomato plants did. I am convinced that the roots from these plants were in less new soil than the others, and reached the wilt germ. I am hoping these five plants will make it.
We eat a lot of BLTs or just tomato sandwich. I normally freeze some tomatoes and okra cooked together so it will be ready to make soup in the wintergardenbean wrote:Nice! Looks like you are going to have a delightful dinner tonite! What do you use your maters for? Canning, etc.?
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gixxerific
- Super Green Thumb
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- Location: Wentzville, MO (Just West oF St. Louis) Zone 5B
I agree with TZ. I have 2 brandywines going. One had the growing tip eaten by a rabbit but is coming back the other non molested plant is just setting fruit. Almost every other plant I have, maybe all of the others, have fruit on them. B-Wines did poorly for me last year but than again so did everything else.
Nice harvest. Especially for this variety most people say they either do or they don't and that when they do they don't do a whole lot but what you get is worth it.
Nice harvest. Especially for this variety most people say they either do or they don't and that when they do they don't do a whole lot but what you get is worth it.
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mattie g
- Green Thumb
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- Location: Northern VA, USA -- Zone 7a
Looks good, lakngulf!
I've got two Pink Brandywines - one has been in the ground for a couple months and be other just moved from a pot to the ground (spindly little thing). The bigger one has a few fruit on it and more are starting to set each day - lots of blossoms as well. Looks like a really healthy plant (knock on wood). The little guy is holding on, but it's a tough road. I'm hoping it might give me some extra late-season love!
I've got two Pink Brandywines - one has been in the ground for a couple months and be other just moved from a pot to the ground (spindly little thing). The bigger one has a few fruit on it and more are starting to set each day - lots of blossoms as well. Looks like a really healthy plant (knock on wood). The little guy is holding on, but it's a tough road. I'm hoping it might give me some extra late-season love!
Huh?? Now that's a mouthfull, just like one of those big Brandywine.gixxerific wrote: Especially for this variety most people say they either do or they don't and that when they do they don't do a whole lot but what you get is worth it.
I got started with this version of Brandywine when my daughter-in-law worked at Monticello. They gave me some seed for plants that Thomas Jefferson had written about. That year I had a few plants, and gave some to my Mom. We really like the taste, texture an very little core. These make some good sandwiches.
mattie g: As I said above these seed came from up your way. You will have to give them a try.mattie g wrote: The little guy is holding on, but it's a tough road. I'm hoping it might give me some extra late-season love!
Sharing with the squirrels
"Plant enough for them too" is a saying I have heard for years. The idea is that when planting corn, etc the the birds, especially the crows, would get their share so "plant enough for them too". The squirrels in my neighborhood have decided that I should adopt that motto for them:
Here is what they do:
[img]https://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/lakngulf/June2011/IMG_0131.jpg[/img]
"Plant enough for them too" is a saying I have heard for years. The idea is that when planting corn, etc the the birds, especially the crows, would get their share so "plant enough for them too". The squirrels in my neighborhood have decided that I should adopt that motto for them:
Here is what they do:
[img]https://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/lakngulf/June2011/IMG_0131.jpg[/img]
After all the warnings about the difficulty of growing Brandywine varieties in the deep south heat, I had very low expectations for them. My BW pink and yellow were among the fastest growing and heaviest producing plants in my garden. While they were slightly outpaced by Mortgage Lifter and Hillbilly in production, they really produced in flavor and longevity. They were the last plants to have green fruit still hanging when we left for an extended trip. I cut both plants back severely before we left and the yellow variety has produced new side shoots for fall blooming, but the pink variety has not. I think the trick to getting good Brandywine plants with good production, is plant early, and shake the plants daily for pollination.
Ted
Ted
I actually started brandywine pink from seeds this year. I have about a dozen planted at three locatios so I will ses how they do. For those who never grew them the leaves look something like a potato leaf a litter different from other tomatoes! Mine look good so far and did grow nice from seeds! I had about 6 dozen and gave a bunch away!
my first year trying and the brandywines are doing great here in the Va heat....despite a few high 90 degree days. The only problem I have had is with splitting because we had a dry 3 weeks and then had a few drenching downpours in a row. Otherwise I have been more than satisfied. They are the healthiest plants I have and definitely the biggest tomatoes, most of them being about twice the size of my fist (and I have big hands!) and very meaty. According to family experts, 
, they are very close in quality to the Hanover tomatoes grown about 20 minutes north of me.
Your tomatoes look great Lakn! Keep ahead of those pesky squirrels.
, they are very close in quality to the Hanover tomatoes grown about 20 minutes north of me.Your tomatoes look great Lakn! Keep ahead of those pesky squirrels.