Brandywine
From Tatiana's TOMATOBase
[edit]
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Brandywine - ripe fruit. 2010-09-24.
| Brandywine | |
|---|---|
| Maturity | midseason |
| Growth habit | indet. |
| Leaf type | potato |
| Fruit color | pink |
| Fruit shape | oblate, beefsteak |
| Fruit size | large |
| Fruit type | slicer |
| Variety type | open-pollinated, heirloom |
| Country | USA |
B.C KO T
- 78 days, large indet. plants with potato leaf foliage, large pink oblate beefsteak fruit, 10-18 oz. Outstanding flavor.
Seed source:
- 1. Reimer Seeds
- 2. Irina Ogorodnova, Nebraska 05
- 3. NESeed 13
- 4. CV PC Organics 03
Year grown: 2003(1), 2004(1), 2010(2), 2012*(3)
Location: Zone 7b, PNW, Anmore, BC, Canada (760 ft above sea level)
B.C GI K
- 85 days, large indeterminate plant, potato leaf. Large beefsteak-type fruit, weighs in at about 1lb. Pink with some green shouldering. Does not seem to react well to heat and humidity in my area, many of the fruit had cracking as well.
- Source
- Reimer Seeds / Laird Creek Farms, Nelson, BC. 2007.
Year: 2007, 2008
Location: Nelson, BC, Canada
ID DE M
- This is one of my favorite tomatoes. The first time I grew it (in 2022), it did all right, but I saved seeds from an extra large fruit that set in arid heat, and in subsequent years, it did amazingly. It sets well in arid heat (much, much better than average; by in the heat, I mean 90 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit or so), and earlier than many tomatoes. It resists viruses (including TSWV, and some kind of leaf curl condition that I'm convinced is a virus, among others). It does get foliar symptoms of Verticillium (more so than some varieties), but I've never had it wilt; it seems to resist the wilt decently, so far. It takes well to pre-fertilized clay loam soil (I've done that since at least 2024; I possibly did it in 2023, too). Anyway, it produces a lot of tomatoes (it has been my best producing variety out of probably hundreds, so far—but not the first year I grew it). I'm happy with it. The flavor is pretty mild; that's actually one of its strong points; in years where everything seems to taste acidic, it's refreshingly mild (so you can eat a fair amount without hurting your teeth). It seems to taste slightly better every year I grow it. I save new seeds every year. I've only tried it with black plastic. I prefer black plastic for most big tomatoes, since they're less often mealy that way. I've never had a mealy Brandywine Pink with black plastic. For pre-fertilization, I just use 2-3 scoops of 24-8-16 Miracle Gro, and mix it with the soil some time before the transplant, and that lasts the whole season better than if I water the same fertilizer in, in normal amounts, every few weeks; FYI, 3 scoops is a lot (it probably wouldn't work well with every kind of soil), and it can kill some tomato varieties (Brandywine Pink seems to be more salt-tolerant than many tomatoes; plus, I overseed and don't thin until a few weeks post-transplant as insurance against early season issues). (Much of my review seems to contradict the experience others have had with the same variety. Also, note, that the same tomato varieties that set well in arid heat don't necessarily set well in humid heat, nor vice versa. It's possible my fruit selection just paid off, or that I have a special strain of it. And just because something resists Verticillium wilt doesn't mean it resists Alternaria, Septoria, or whatever; I don't know how it does against those compared to how other beefsteaks handle it.) In 2022 and 2023, I only grew one plant each year. In 2024, I grew about 6 plants. This year (2025), I'm growing lots of them; they're taking up most of one of our garden plots. With regard to seed-starting, this variety does outstandingly in colder-than-average seed-starting conditions. It's a great variety to direct-seed, too, for that reason (that's how I started it in 2024). The fruits cling pretty strongly to the calyces; so, you'll probably want to harvest with scissors. I haven't noticed them to be prone to cracking or splitting in my garden. I wouldn't be surprised if they've done it a few times, but it's not something I remember it doing offhand. A local friend of mine grew Brandywine in straw bales in 2015 (not from the same source; I think hers was an orange-ish red, while mine is quite pink). It seemed to produce well, but was very late.
Seed source:
- Livingston Seed Co. packet with barcode 048389049593, gifted to me unopened by a local friend; packed for 2011; sell by 10/2011 LOT 10 (labeled Brandywine Pink); the seed packet said it was from China (but I imagine it was sold legally in the USA)
Year grown: 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Location: New Plymouth, Idaho
History
- Heirloom tomato, an unknown strain of Brandywine, introduced to SSE in 1982. It was intentionally used as a parent in many tomato breeding projects - see Dora, Marizol Bratka or Purple Brandy. It was also one of the parents in a few accidental crosses such as Little Lucky, Little Lucky Heart.
- This variety was mentioned in the 188? Johnson and Stokes Catalog:
- "The Brandywine, or No.45 Tomato.
- Two years ago a customer in Ohio sent us a small package of tomato seed, requesting us to give it a fair test on our trial grounds. A few plants were set out along with forty-five other varieties, we were testing, both new and old; this being the last on the list, was numbered 45. To our astonishment, it completely eclipsed, in great size and beauty, all other varieties we were testing, several specimens when ripe weighing over three pounds each, as smooth as an apple and remarkably solid. To still further test this tomato, we sent a few packets to tomato specialists, requesting them to report on its merits. The name given it was suggested by our friend, Thos. H. Brinton, of Chadd's Ford, Pa., who has probably grown and tested more varieties of tomatoes than any other person in the United States, who wrote September 25th, 1888: "The more I see of the Tomato No.45, the more I am pleased with it. It is certainly a magnificent new and distinct variety, and worthy of the name of Brandywine, after that most beautiful of all streams, which flows near our Quaker village. It is also spoken of in the highest terms by all to whom I gave a few plants for trial."
- The have not illustrated this new tomato, as had we given it a larger notice, we are afraid we would not have had half enough seed to go around.
- With two such handsome varieties as the 'Atlantic Prize' for early, and the 'Brandywine' for late, no garden could fail to give a bountiful supply of delicious tomatoes the entire season."
Related
See also
- Yellow Brandywine,
- Black Brandywine,
- Brandywine, Cherry,
- Brandywine From Croatia,
- Brandywine, Glick's Strain,
- Brandywine, Joyce's Strain,
- Brandywine, Liams,
- Brandywine, Pawer's,
- Brandywine, Sudduth's,
- Brandywine, Cowlick's
Picture Gallery
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Brandywine - flower. 2010-07-03.
Steve Adams. Brandywine. 2010.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Brandywine - ripe fruit. 2010-09-24.
Klaus-Peter Schurz (GERM SC K). Brandywine - ripe fruit. August 29, 2011.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Brandywine - sliced fruit. 2010-09-24.
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