Which Brandywine strains, and your experiences with them?

[slugworth]

They claim the brandy man F1 was the 1st brandywine hybrid,but I don't see it in the history books.
May be just a local thing.

[heirl00m]

Has anyone here grown Brandywine in straw bales?

I did Tastywine last season, which produced well (dwarf). This year I have BWS--which has yet to set any fruit, and Cowlick's--which is thundering along with multiple trusses set and growing.

[karstopography]

I grew Brandywine OTV (TGS seed) and True Black Brandywine (Baker Creek seed) one plant of each in 2023.
Both were 10# class tomato plants meaning they each produced around ten pounds of tomatoes. OTV made bigger tomatoes, but less of them. I probably lost about 10% not included in my total weight tally from each to creatures. The 10 pound class plants were the baseline or floor of production for 2023 medium or large fruited tomatoes. OTV tomatoes during the peak harvest time were 12-16 ounce sizes. TBB tended to be around 8 ounces. Both trended smaller as the season progressed.

Both had very good flavor. OTV was earlier, 75-80 days, than TBB more like 80-85 days. OTV had the majority of the tomatoes with moderate to severe blossom scarring problems and was an outlier in that respect as compared to its peer tomatoes. OTV was also somewhat more seedy than peer tomatoes.

True Black Brandywine produced much cleaner looking fruit than OTV, mostly free from defects such as the large blossom scarring.

I probably wouldn’t grow OTV again because of the excessive amount of moderate to severe blossom related defects. I would consider growing TBB again, but I have other dark tomatoes that I might like a little more.

I’m putting Brandywine Cowlick’s on my 2024 grow out radar, partially based on the feedback contained in this thread from the previous posts. I have the seed(MMMM source).

[slugworth]

Brandy Man is doing well in a container.
Still green,but at least the plants aren't dead like my other container plants-from the heat.
Genuwine only had 1 or 2 tomatoes (still green) and the plants expired.

[AKgardener]

I am putting brandywine pink on my 2024 grow list.. its gonna be a trial year husband wants to try a true brandywine and wants me to go for it..

[JosephineRose]

Honestly, the only Brandywine I grow is called Apricot Brandywine. It's a shade between yellow and orange just like the name implies. It is a heavy producer of amazing large delicious fruits.

I tried Sudduth's and Platfoot for years and had nothing but issues and very little fruit production. Apricot BW is a beaut and a heavy producer. Seed source was the Marvelous Dale at Delectation of Tomatoes back in 2016. I grow two plants every year.

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[Yak54]

I grew Sudduth in 2005,2006,2007,2008, and 2009 with great taste but meager production of fruit (like 8-10 fruit per plant) so I quit growing them and switched over to SOTW with considerably better productivity. In 2014,2015,2016 and 2017 I grew Cowlick's with improved productivity over Sudduth but still not great compared to other large pink beefsteaks. And in 2022 I grew a Cowlicks plant in a grow bag which produced 37 tomatoes which is way more than I ever got growing "in ground". This year I'm trying for a repeat but it's not looking good due to poor weather conditions. I'll be lucky to get 20 fruit by the end of the season. I will never grow the Sudduth version ever again.

[Docmom]

I am growing the Sudduth strain, from seeds from the MMMM swap. My first attempt at any Brandywine. The plant has looked anemic (weak) since it was planted out. There is not a single fruit present. I don't even see blossoms. The various tomatoes around it are growing and fruiting like gangbusters. I have seeds for Cowlick's, which I might try next year. But, if I don't have good luck, I'm sticking with Cherokee Purple and all the other dark, delicious varieties available.

Martha

[MissS]

@Docmom where are you located? Brandywine is a cool weather grower and will not do well if it is grown in a warmer area. It does great in Wisconsin and Minnesota but will not produce fruit if its grown in Kentucky and further south.

Depending on where you live could really help you decide what to grow or not. Also, adding your location to your profile helps us to better know your growing conditions and to help us answer your questions.

[karstopography]

@Docmom where are you located? Brandywine is a cool weather grower and will not do well if it is grown in a warmer area. It does great in Wisconsin and Minnesota but will not produce fruit if its grown in Kentucky and further south.

Depending on where you live could really help you decide what to grow or not. Also, adding your location to your profile helps us to better know your growing conditions and to help us answer your questions.

I believe Docmom is from Michigan.

[wannabgardner]

I grew Brandywine OTV (TGS seed) and True Black Brandywine (Baker Creek seed) one plant of each in 2023.
Both were 10# class tomato plants meaning they each produced around ten pounds of tomatoes. OTV made bigger tomatoes, but less of them. I probably lost about 10% not included in my total weight tally from each to creatures. The 10 pound class plants were the baseline or floor of production for 2023 medium or large fruited tomatoes. OTV tomatoes during the peak harvest time were 12-16 ounce sizes. TBB tended to be around 8 ounces. Both trended smaller as the season progressed.

Both had very good flavor. OTV was earlier, 75-80 days, than TBB more like 80-85 days. OTV had the majority of the tomatoes with moderate to severe blossom scarring problems and was an outlier in that respect as compared to its peer tomatoes. OTV was also somewhat more seedy than peer tomatoes.

True Black Brandywine produced much cleaner looking fruit than OTV, mostly free from defects such as the large blossom scarring.

I probably wouldn’t grow OTV again because of the excessive amount of moderate to severe blossom related defects. I would consider growing TBB again, but I have other dark tomatoes that I might like a little more.

I’m putting Brandywine Cowlick’s on my 2024 grow out radar, partially based on the feedback contained in this thread from the previous posts. I have the seed(MMMM source).

I’m growing Black BW this year. My overall healthiest plant. How are your Cowlicks?

[karstopography]

@wannabgardner

Cowlick’s was great. Hurricane Beryl changed that.

Superb tasting tomatoes. Big, healthy potato leafed plant. Super late. Set a lot of fruit. Had some trouble with BER.

Plan is to grow again in 2025.

[slugworth]

I bought a Jersey Boy 1gal plant today $3 with red tomatoes on it.
A cross between Brandywine and Rutgers. RL

[bboomer]

@Docmom where are you located? Brandywine is a cool weather grower and will not do well if it is grown in a warmer area. It does great in Wisconsin and Minnesota but will not produce fruit if its grown in Kentucky and further south.

Depending on where you live could really help you decide what to grow or not. Also, adding your location to your profile helps us to better know your growing conditions and to help us answer your questions.

Which strain do you plant? Every time I have tried I got a couple of super awesome tomatoes on a short sickly plant. Any advice will be appreciated

[MissS]

I plant just a regular old Brandywine. I sometimes will grow Cowlick's but I always seem to go back to my Brandywine. It out does any named variety that I have tried so far. If you would like seeds, PM me.

[Shule]

Honestly, the only Brandywine I grow is called Apricot Brandywine. It's a shade between yellow and orange just like the name implies. It is a heavy producer of amazing large delicious fruits.

I tried Sudduth's and Platfoot for years and had nothing but issues and very little fruit production. Apricot BW is a beaut and a heavy producer. Seed source was the Marvelous Dale at Delectation of Tomatoes back in 2016. I grow two plants every year.

Screen Shot 2023-08-10 at 2.12.54 PM.png

Those look so good.

[Mike G]

Brandy Man
Genuwine
Brandywine red was supposed to be RL but the bought plant was PL like the pink.
It acted like a determinate plant with 1 load of tomatoes all at once then nothing.
Genuwine is a cross between brandywine and costoluto genovese.
Nobody sold Brandy Big this year,so I started some from saved seeds,but late.

My Brandywine Red is also PL, so I am wondering if I have an imposter.

[Labradors]

I LOVED the taste of Brandywine, but it is so late that, by the time it ripens, we get lots of cool wet weather and it ripens unevenly and rots. Sadly, I gave up growing it.

On the Bright side, I tasted a Yellow Brandywine (grown by a friend) which was absolutely delicious and she had no problems growing it .

[slugworth]

Genuwine I had ripe in July this zone.

[Sue_CT]

I am in zone 6a now, used to be 5b. Could not find Sudduth this year so I tried a BW Red. Fruits are delicious and for only the second time BW was one of the first to ripen this year. Not sure how much more growing from seed I will do, but good to know the red will do as well if I find the plants. I am lucky that I live alone, don’t sell my harvests, and with about 14 plants which is all that will fit, I don’t need to grow for proction. If I got 10 tomatoes from each plant I would have more than I need, so I grow for taste. This year I picked up an OR117 and that has been my heaviest producer so far and pretty to boot. Taste is good but doesn’t rival BW. That said, with a few weeks of 4-5 inches of rain each week, might not be a good year to really judge it.