Brandywine comments & a question

[EV]

I planted them for the first time. Grew them from seed from Stokes. Put one plant in the tomato bed in the first week of June, and held back another 3 as backups in their tiny 3" pots. When I read that they didn't produce much fruit in this newsgroup, I hoped mine would be different!

Happily, the Brandywine in the main tomato bed produced over 30 tomatoes before I beheaded it. It was quite disease and mildew resistant. We had unusually cool and wet weather all spring and summer in this part of southern Ontario (Zone 6), so powdery mildew wasn't a problem. Then we had about 2 drops of rain in September and the powdery mildew went nuts. The Brandywine, along with all the other tomatoes got it.

I had beheaded the tomatoes in early August, figuring that the lukewarm weather would soon be gon ... and I didn't want a bunch of small green tomatoes. I still had lots of them in my freezer from last year. Basically I wanted to get all the tomatoes in by mid Sept, around the time when frost can hit. By early October, the Brandywine had grown some new lush foliage that completely resisited the mildew and started making new tomatoes. It was quite chilly, so they never got all that big, and none ripened.

I harvested the garlic in early August, and decided to put the straggly little Brandywine backups in that bed. The one in the main tomato bed was already starting to ripen tomatoes, and was 5 ft tall, while these backups were about 14" tall ... in 3" pots! I thought what the hey ... if they don't do anything it doesn't matter. They'll keep the horseradish and the buttefly bushed company.

By August, that bed gets way less light than it does in the spring and early summer, but the Brandywines, along with some spare Sweet Milllion, Ultra Girl and San Marzanos grew desperately. By early Sept. they'd quadrupled in size and were producing tomatoes ... some of which (Sweet Million) almost ripened ... but I had to pick them for fear of frost at the end of Sept. and then some more on Sunday, a day ahead of the hard frost.

But back to the Brandywines, if you're still with me on this ramble through the tomatoes. The ones that ripened in the summer were huge, sweet, and flavourful ... though maybe a bit too juicy and mushy textured. I wonder if that wasn't from having such a wet season.

Has anyone noticed whether their tomatoes are juicier in wetter years?

So sad it's over ... I do love prime tomato time the best.

EV

[Pat Kiewicz]

They've always been too mushy-textured for me, every time I tried them (or similar strains). Dry summer or wet, very soft. The yellow brandywine are a tad less mushy and still very flavorful but prone to cracking and spoiling quickly. I prefer firmer tomatoes. And I like them to have a bit of "zing."

There wouldn't be so many different varieties of tomatoes if we didn't have different tastes (and different climates).

[simy1]

By now I have tried four different packets of brandywines, and only the first was the truly perfect tomato. Not firm, but not nearly as mushy and the other three (I suppose I like them medium). The first was from Territorial, huge, off-red fruits with, well, brandywine flavor, and also more resistant to cracking and having white zones. But the fourth also was from Territorial and is similar to #2 and #3, so I may have lost that strain for good. I should have saved the seeds...

[<ahall]

Pat> EV said: >> But back to the Brandywines, if you're still with me on this ramble >> through the tomatoes. The ones that ripened in the summer were huge, >> sweet, and flavourful ... though maybe a bit too juicy and mushy >> textured. I wonder if that wasn't from having such a wet season.

Pat> They've always been too mushy-textured for me, every time I tried them Pat> (or similar strains). Dry summer or wet, very soft. The yellow brandywine Pat> are a tad less mushy and still very flavorful but prone to cracking and Pat> spoiling quickly. I prefer firmer tomatoes. And I like them to have a bit Pat> of "zing."

The ones I have grown (brandywine, rose and pruden's purple, all from Jonnies) are very firm through early Sept, with very small seed pockets, and loads of firm meat. When the nights begin to get cool, the outer part gets a big mushy.

That said, they virtually all got very sick this year, by far my worst ever for tomatoes.

[Pen]

Maybe the strain isn't the problem. Perhaps it's weather. Dry, hot summers makes yummy Brandywines.