Little Brandywine compared with Red Brandywine (pic)

[BVGardener]

Okay, it's a little early to do a side by side comparison as I don't have a ripe Red Brandywine yet. But if you look at the photo below, the red fruit is Little Brandywine and the green fruit are Red Brandwine. I should have a ripe Bucks County fruit in the near future.

[carolyn137]

Jay, what is Little Brandywine for I've never heard of it before.

What's the background on it as to origin?

[BVGardener]

Carolyn,

Little Brandywine is a Burpee variety and the blurb on back of the package states "This improvement of the popular Red Brandywine offers a nicer fruit, higher yields and harvests 10 days earlier. Indeterminate plants produce clusters of fruit averaging 10 oz. each".

So I thought I would grow them out but even more important is comparing the Bucks County variety with the above as I think there was a discussion in the past regarding whether Bucks County was a reincarnation of Red Brandywine.

Jay

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by BVGardener

Carolyn,

Little Brandywine is a Burpee variety and the blurb on back of the package states "This improvement of the popular Red Brandywine offers a nicer fruit, higher yields and harvests 10 days earlier. Indeterminate plants produce clusters of fruit averaging 10 oz. each".

So I thought I would grow them out but even more important is comparing the Bucks County variety with the above as I think there was a discussion in the past regarding whether Bucks County was a reincarnation of Red Brandywine.

Jay

Burpee introduced Red Brandywine Hybrid quite a few years ago. I got both seeds and plants and compared against my standard OP Red Brandywine and saw no difference at all.

They then changed the name to Bucks County Hybrid and for several catalogs didn't indicate that it was the same as Red Brandywine HYbrid, but eventually did say so.

So now they say that Little Brandywine is yet another take off on Buck's County but don't tell you if it's OP of hybrid?

Doesn't make much sense to me but knowing George Ball's preference methinks it's no doubt hybrid and how it could differ from Buck's County or even the original OP RB I don't know.

[Tomatovator]

The name on the seed pack is "Little Brandywine Hybrid" so I'm pretty sure Burpee has made it clear that it is a hybrid. The description sounds a lot like Bucks County but several people called Burpee last year and were told is was not the same. It is not listed in their catalog but was sold last year on seed racks in Wmart (and maybe others). I bought some seeds but have not tried any yet. I don't know if it is being sold this year or not.

[carolyn137]

As I assumed above it is a hybrid. And if it isn't in the catalog/website this year when it was only available otherwise last year, what might that tell you all?

[bryanccfshr]

Carolyn, It is a Burpee line that is rumored to be the same as Bucks County which are all supposedly either red Brandywine selections or hybrids. I am growing 4 plants from the package labeled Little red Brandywine and calling it Red Brandywine just to be short. I am interested to see how the Burpee seed compares to the true heirloom Red Brandywine. I can say the the plants I have are vigourous and productive and they have displayed a little leaf cuurl and seem to not be so susceptable to foilage disease. I personally have not ate any of the fruit yet. But I will in a week or so when I get home.

Nice consistant looking fruit BV. Mine have various forms from almost a pointy tip oxheart to the oblate and beefsteak looks. Could have been my wild temp swings during fruit set. These are the only two I can find pics of right now.

[feldon30]

Other than typical Burpee confusion tactics?

I know Suze got a bunch of RL seedlings out of a packet of Bloody Butcher from Burpee this year. Other than Brandy Boy I won't touch them, and so far side-by-side, I am getting the same productivity out of Brandywine as Brandy Boy, so there's no reason to run around town and buy seed packets of BB.

[Tomatovator]

I have nothing against Burpee but one of my biggest flops last year was Brandy Boy. It was the first to get sick, produced mostly cat-faced tomatoes and overall was not very productive. I did not grow it this year.

[BVGardener]

So far I can say that there is no comparison between Red Brandywine and Little Brandywine Hybrid. RB is a huge plant and loaded with fruit. LBH is a small plant with not many fruit but to be fair, I do have LBH planted in one of the nematode rows. However, Bucks County is also planted in that same nematode row and it's a huge, healthy plant that is loaded with fruit so we will see how things go as the season progresses.

Jay

[elkwc36]

I will add the one year I grew Brandy Boy I had 2 plants and each produced more fruit than 15 plus Brandywines did over 6 years. Last year I lost my Brandyboys to hail. This year I'm doing a comparison against Brandywine Sudduth from Carolyn and also Brandywine Glick's. Will see how they compare this year. JD

[barkeater]

I'm a big fan of Buck's County, and grew Red BW beside it 2 years in a row. There was no comparison. Bucks County was much more productive and tastier. Both were very late, and I really think the similarity is there, but Buck's is definitely superior in my garden.

[BVGardener]

Barkeater, I found the exact same results regarding flavor. I was unexpectedly shocked by the incredible flavor of Bucks County. I have it in one of my rows infested with nematodes and it has been growing totally uneffected by the RKN.

Little Brandywine Hybrid, though, is another story. The flavor was virtually non-existant.

Jay

[rsb148]

In my garden I have 2 plants each of LBH and Bucks County. They are not the same as has been reported but are very similar (as has also been reported). The Bucks County friut is smaller and just slightly more elongated than the perfect globes of LBH. Both are getting good reviews with BC getting a slight nod in the taste dept. I'm sure the family will request at least one of these to be grown again next summer. All 4 plants are 8' + and are producing fairly well considering the goofy weather we've had this summer.

[creister]

I saw seeds at Walmart for the Little Brandywine Hybrid. I am growing Brandyboy vs. Aunt Ginnies Purple and Earl's Faux. The heirlooms are much more productive.