Re: Brandywine-specific question

floyd1440 7/30/2012, 7:13 am

greatgranny wrote:I have 2 Brandywine tomato plants that are on one of SFG's trellis. They have literally taken over the entire trellis and are actually making the trellis lean a bit. There are about 25 large tomatoes and some smaller ones. Only 1 is showing signs of getting ripe.

I am wondering if I could go out with my scissors and search for branches that have nothing developing - (blossoms, etc.) and cut them. I think it would free up some congestion and put more energy into the ones that are already there. Yes, I have been removing suckers but now the foliage is so thick I can't even see them anymore. Any thoughts?

Now I planted a few plants, one vertical and one laying down, and they ended up growing side by side and looked like on big bushy plant growing up the trellis. I ended up cutting some of the leaves off so I could train them to frow up the trellis seperately. They look like two tomato plants finally!!! bounce

GWN 7/30/2012, 10:19 am

The thing I have found with brandy wines and a few other heirlooms is that they send out suckers in a variety of ways.
They also send out suckers at the end of a bunch of blossoms.
You also have to go back down the plant and find the "suckers that got away", I am always totally amazed to be checking every day for suckers and then find a huge one that restarted down at the bottom and is now a branch that has buds and tomatoes on it.

greatgranny 7/30/2012, 11:49 am

GWN wrote:The thing I have found with brandy wines and a few other heirlooms is that they send out suckers in a variety of ways.
They also send out suckers at the end of a bunch of blossoms.
You also have to go back down the plant and find the "suckers that got away", I am always totally amazed to be checking every day for suckers and then find a huge one that restarted down at the bottom and is now a branch that has buds and tomatoes on it.

I know. It was quite revealing yesterday when I did cut some. When it cools down a bit later today I think I'm going to search some more. It did help to take out a few yesterday - at least I can see through the leaves a bit more. My goodness, the fruit is huge. Will definitely plant more next year.

GWN 7/30/2012, 11:57 am

I had many 2 pounder and over last year....

CarolynPhillips 7/30/2012, 1:09 pm

Brandywine= 3.25 or 3.5 lb. cant remember

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littlesapphire 7/30/2012, 1:21 pm

I've read in many seed catalogs that brandywine, although one of the better tasting tomatoes, is a low producer. I got nine tomatoes from two plants last year, and I only have maybe four on the vines so far this year. Next year I'm going to try one called hillbilly, which is a big Tom like brandywine, but it is a heavy producer.

GWN 7/30/2012, 2:26 pm

Mine produce usually more than 10, but on the other hand they may produce low in numbers, but what about poundage?
I have friends who do not plant them because they ARE so big and you cannot just slice them up on an hamburger, you need to be making hamburgers for a crowd to use up your one brandywine lol!

greatgranny 7/30/2012, 4:49 pm

GWN wrote:Mine produce usually more than 10, but on the other hand they may produce low in numbers, but what about poundage?
I have friends who do not plant them because they ARE so big and you cannot just slice them up on an hamburger, you need to be making hamburgers for a crowd to use up your one brandywine

I lost count. The last time I counted about a week ago, there were at least 25 between the 2 plants. If they all make it I'll have to have a picnic, complete with grilled burgers. Actually, I plan on making some sauces with most of them. Hope to put up a few jars for winter.

**walshevak** 7/30/2012, 11:19 pm

GWN wrote:The thing I have found with brandy wines and a few other heirlooms is that they send out suckers in a variety of ways.
They also send out suckers at the end of a bunch of blossoms.
You also have to go back down the plant and find the "suckers that got away", I am always totally amazed to be checking every day for suckers and then find a huge one that restarted down at the bottom and is now a branch that has buds and tomatoes on it.

I thought I was dreaming it or just not doing a good job of suckering. Glad to know I'm not crazy.

Kay

Nonna.PapaVino 7/30/2012, 11:39 pm

We really like the taste of the Brandywine tomatoes, but, as others have noted on this forum, it's a bit stingy in the production department. Right now, I have a Brandywine (Suddeth's Strain) planted next to a Black Sea Man tomato (also a potato leaf type). Brandywine has 2 fruits set; Black Sea Man has a dozen. Last year (in Oregon, a difficult year to ripen tomatoes) Black Sea Man fed us, and it's delicious! I'm still experimenting with different varieties of tomatoes and have yet to decide what is best. BTW, a couple of plants of an old variety called Bloody Butcher looks like it will be a very generous producer. Have to wait to see what it tastes like. Anyone out there with experience with Bloody Butcher tomato?

floyd1440 7/31/2012, 5:42 pm

walshevak wrote:
GWN wrote:The thing I have found with brandy wines and a few other heirlooms is that they send out suckers in a variety of ways.
They also send out suckers at the end of a bunch of blossoms.
You also have to go back down the plant and find the "suckers that got away", I am always totally amazed to be checking every day for suckers and then find a huge one that restarted down at the bottom and is now a branch that has buds and tomatoes on it.

I thought I was dreaming it or just not doing a good job of suckering. Glad to know I'm not crazy.Kay

Yes I have noticed that on both my brandywine and WV 63s as I pinch the suckers off but the flowering branch keeps on growing and adding more flowers.

This is my first year with heirlooms. The brandywines aare not as prolific as others but they are a far better grade. Still will continue to try others in future season

**RoOsTeR** 8/26/2012, 10:44 am

I've mentioned a few times my brandywines have basically been a bust. Well, look at these pictures.
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Now, those came off two separate plants out of the same packet. Lol, not only do neither look like a brandy, they aren't even the same variety

I have gotten maybe one or two "real" brandy's off other plants, but holy cow! What a mixed bag tongue

They both look like store bought maters. The left one looks like your typical roma I would guess and the other is just your ordinary red tomato.
Kinda funny Razz

GWN 8/26/2012, 11:06 am

that is unreal
Do you have other varietals that might have somehow cross pollinated.
I know they self pollinate, but a busy bee might have...... you know..... been busy
The colour of the one on the left DOES look more like a brandywine, that pinkish colour

**RoOsTeR** 8/26/2012, 11:17 am

I don't have other varietals that would have created these I don't think? Black krim, green zebra, yellow pear. I started wondering a couple of weeks ago when I kept picking tomatoes like the right one. I was like something is not right here. It's kind of a bummer but it's pretty funny too.

**walshevak** 8/26/2012, 5:45 pm

If they are tastey like home grown tomatos then you are still a winner.

Kay

**Turan** 8/26/2012, 6:17 pm

RoOsTeR wrote:I don't have other varietals that would have created these I don't think? Black krim, green zebra, yellow pear. I started wondering a couple of weeks ago when I kept picking tomatoes like the right one. I was like something is not right here. It's kind of a bummer but it's pretty funny too.

These are from seed you saved? If they are from seed you bought then what else you are growing does not matter for this generation. We eat the fruit, its genetics are determined by the seed it was grown from. The seed inside it will affect the next generation. It does matter for corn because there we eat only the seed.

This sort of thing happens.... It can be due to many things from OP fields that were not quite far enough away to equipment not being totally cleaned so there is some seed mixing at the drying/packing end. One place I buy seed from had a notorious problem with the pea seed getting mixed. Figured out it was a 'helpful' mouse.....

**camprn** 8/26/2012, 6:24 pm

Oh brother! Sad that Roo, hit up the Farmer's market for a real brandywine tomato and save the seed. Very Happy

floyd1440 8/26/2012, 8:18 pm

I've mentioned a few times my brandywines have basically been a bust. Well, look at these pictures.

My Brandywines have been very few but consistent so your pictures have me wondering; can a tomato be effected by open polination during the production phase? I have some grapes, Mr. Stripey, and WV 63's but all have been growing normally in each plant. Will double check them tomorrow..thanks

**Turan** 8/26/2012, 8:37 pm

floyd1440 wrote:I've mentioned a few times my brandywines have basically been a bust. Well, look at these pictures.

My Brandywines have been very few but consistent so your pictures have me wondering; can a tomato be effected by open polination during the production phase? I have some grapes, Mr. Stripey, and WV 63's but all have been growing normally in each plant. Will double check them tomorrow..thanks

No. The fruit and plant are determined by the seed it was grown from. Future generations can be if there was cross breeding between different varieties. But that is less likely with tomatoes than something like squash.

Nonna.PapaVino 8/26/2012, 8:52 pm

Rooster, from whom did you get the seed? I ask because I have two "Black Cherry" plants, from TomatoFest seed and planted at the same time, in the same mediium, same 4-pack seed tray, carefully labeled, but now the fruits on the two look totally different. One (like two of the siblings planted elsewhere) look like cherry tomatoes. But one has large, almost 3" across, fruits that look very like an Early Girl. I do not plant or grow Early Girls any more. Only thing I can think of is that a recessive gene in open-pollinated heirlooms suddenly becomes dominant and the result is: what you and I are experiencing. Hope they taste good! Nonna

**RoOsTeR** 8/26/2012, 9:14 pm

The seeds came from the same packet labeled as brandywine that were purchased. Lake Valley seeds. These aren't seeds I saved myself. The tomatoes taste better than store bought, but obviously not as tasty as what I thought I was going to get Razz

I have gotten maybe one or two brandy's off other plants. It's not a biggie and I can live with it. Just thought I would share my brandywine mutant medley Very Happy

Nonna.PapaVino 8/26/2012, 9:22 pm

In defense of seed from TomatoFest: another four-pack planted with seeds from a yellow variety called Dagma's Perfection, is planted together in a 4-foot square bed, and all four plants look alike and are producing fruits that all look alike. We are dealing with heirlooms, open-pollinated varieties, and "genetics happens." Recessive genes, sneaky pollinators with unexpected pollin in their jeans, etc. I'm just glad that only1 of the over 20 tomatoes I planted is a surprise....or shock.

plantoid 8/27/2012, 6:04 am

Sometimes when using hybrid seeds you often get " throwbacks /recessive genes " of earlier crosses especially if the hybridization is a first or second time fertilization / cross where the cross has not been well fixed over several generations .

If your interested ....read up on " Lendel's sweet pea experiments " ,where he developed the idea of genetic mutations and being able to forcast the outcomes.

greatgranny 8/31/2012, 4:05 pm

Live in zone 4. First frost can happen as early as Sept. 15. My brandywines still have quite a few green tomatoes on. Should I start to cut the branches that don't have fruit so that all of the energy goes to the fruit? How about the top most branches that still have flowers and/or very small toms?

floyd1440 8/31/2012, 9:15 pm

greatgranny wrote:Live in zone 4. First frost can happen as early as Sept. 15. My brandywines still have quite a few green tomatoes on. Should I start to cut the branches that don't have fruit so that all of the energy goes to the fruit? How about the top most branches that still have flowers and/or very small toms?

I planted mine late last year and had a similar problem. If I remeber correctly I cut off the main stem to focus on the tomatoes already set but unfortunately I was late and never new for sure if that would have helped them ripen in time.
Sorry I cannot help but am sure someone else can...
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