Cowlick's Pink Brandywine is for Real

[amideutch]

Cowlick's is a Pink Brandywine PL, Indeterminate found by Mike Henry at a nursery called Cowlick's, hence it's name. Mike posts at several forums under the name of Camo. Here is the history of Cowlick's as told by Camo at GW.

Queuetue,
i just stumbled onto this thread. I'm the one responsible for naming "Cowlick's Brandywine". I bought it as a plant from a local Nursury, a few years back. It was labeled simply Brandywine or Pink Brandywine. I had others from maybe a half dozen nursuries that year. This one outperformed them all. It produced more tomatoes, ripened earlier, produced much longer, tasted much better, and on a whole they were larger and prettier.
I kept the seeds separate and assumed it must have been the legendary Sudduth's strain! I also ordered seeds for every type of brandywine I could find from many different sources. Even though it was late in the year I planted one or two of each and grew them out. They all produced except the Yellow Brandywine and the Brandywine OTV. None of them were anything like the Cowlick's.
Meanwhile as the next season began, I was able to get in touch with the owner of the nursury from which I had purchased the "WONDERFUL PLANT" He had no idea what strain it was. He had bought seed from a local company and grew about a dozen of three different varieties. I just kept the name of his nursury so I could tell the difference.
The following year I went on a Brandywine crusade. I bought every imaginable type of Brandywine from every imaginable source. I grew them all. Sudduths Strain, Glicks, Stumps, Pink Brandywines, Black Brandywines, Purple Brandywines, Yellow Brandywines, Plattsfoot strain, OTV, Nothing compared.
Again it was the first to produce ripe tomatoes, they were larger, tastier, and produced longer and much more than any other Brandywine. I had twenty plants of Cowlicks out this year, so I had enough seed to send them all over the U.S. and to Canada and even to the Phillipines and Europe. I even sent some members of other tomato forums enough for them to do their entire gardening clubs. I gave bags full to local nursuries. After this season, they should be available just about everywhere if others have anywhere near the success I've had with them.
I have very few left now as I gave away almost all I had from a couple years, I still have some but I also have a few more SASE 's coming yet. I'd say to PM at a different forum, but I've already gotten grief on here for doing that in the past. So if you can figure out a way to to PM me elsewhere, please do!
Camo

I got my seeds for Cowlick's from elkwc 36 and planted the seedling in a 10gal SmartPot. The plant was grown in my greenhouse and it got so big I couldn't get it out the door after the weather had settled. Anyway the support system I put up tipped over due to the weight and number of fruit that developed on the plant. I have yet to have a brandywine produce so many fruits on a single plant. This is the first flush if you will as I have picked a few earlier fruits last month. Theirs still 15-20 fruits on the plant at different stages of growth. The 3 yellow/orange fruits are Mahlor Roth's Orange. Cowlick's taste is right up there with Sudduth and it's all meat with no core. So here are the pictures in different lighting conditions along with the Mahlor Roth's. Ami

[RJ_Hythloday]

I was considering a brandywine for next year, but then was thinking of Earls Faux instead of any other brandywine. Cowlicks was high on my list, can any one comment that's grown both Cowlicks and Earls?

[amideutch]

Taste of both Earls Faux and Cowlick's are similar but no comparison in the production department, Cowlick's all the way. But don't let that stop you from Growing Earls Faux as that is one fine tomato. Ami

[cottonpicker]

I've also grown both varieties. In my garden & under my conditions... I find Cowlick's Brandywine to have good flavor with very good production. Earl's Faux is my favorite in the flavor department but not quite as productive as C. B'wine. My 3 all-time favorites in THIS category are: Earl's Faux, Stump of the World & Cowlick's Brandywine and in that order of preference.
Ldd

[camochef]

I grew Earl's Faux for the first time this season. I found it to be a tasty tomato once it started to produce well. My Cowlick's started a couple weeks earlier, and lasted much longer into the season. Earls faux ( I had 8 plants in two different gardens) all suffered with "BER" initially but eventually got over it when the weather finally warmed up in August.
This year I rated Cowlick's Brandywine in the #9 position tastewise and Earl's Faux in the #30 position. This year was a very wet and cool season here in south central Pa. and all my favorites which were planted early, didn't do nearly as well as the "new to me" varieties that were planted later.
I had over 75 varieties, about 230 plants...many surprises as it was far from normal growing conditions. Still, both Cowlick's and Earl's Faux are worth trying! Both are good tomatoes.

AMI,
I'm glad you liked the Cowlicks, hope they continue to do well for you!
Camo

[carolyn137]

Camo, good to see you posting.

I don't see HOW you can rate so many tomato varieties. I couldn't, even when I was growing twice the number you said you grew this season.

Sure, I'd taste all the new ones, which were the majority each year, then pick them and smush them up for fermentation, but no way could I rate them down to the #30 level as you mentioned above.

Each year I'd have some new favorites, always, and grow those again to see if it was a fluke or for real, but in any one season I don't think I found more than 10 out of maybe 200 varieties grown that were my faves.

And yes, I taste them fresh with no salt of any color or origin, no Zatarains, no nothing.

I don't think any of us here in the general NE region had a good season, I know I didn't.

[camochef]

Carolyn,
Good Afternoon,
I guess keeping accurite journals helps to rank them as well as repeated tastes over and over. It's not that difficult when everything is producing well. but when it gets to be this time of the year, and many varieties are gone for the season, then it becomes difficult. I just tasted my first Daniels last night. It was very good, but almost all the competition is long gone, and to be honest my memory isn't as good as my taste buds... so no ranking except to place it at the end of the better tasting tomatoes and in front of those that were unimpresive.
As far as salts or zatarains, they do help to enhance some tastes. Many tomatoes taste bland until their flavors are released or enhanced, but I always taste them plain first. Golden Queen, which I didn't taste until Sept 15th, has got to be the best tasting tomato with Creole seasoning, which I should make a new catagory. It literally explodes with flavor when a little Zatarains is sprinkled on each slice!
I think this was the worst year I've ever seen as far as growing tomatoes goes. Although my peppers did great! This is also the last year I'm planting hundreds of tomatoes, it's gotten to be too much. Then the hail, winds and diseases this year just wore me out, (took all the fun out of getting a crop). Next year... if I'm still around, I'm going fishing instead!
I've always selected the best of the best every year so ranking them has been fairly easy for me. This was the first year that a good percentage of my favorites didn't come up to par as they were planted early, all the "new to me" varieties were planted much later and really did much better! The two standouts of favorites were Amazon Chocolate and Sandul Moldovan, they both do well in cool and wet conditions or in hot and dry conditions.
Hoping next year does better for you and others, and that the weather patterns of the past two years don't continue. Stay Safe!
Camo

[amideutch]

Camo, could you list your top 30 for us. I too grew Amazon Chocolate this year and it did very well considering the wet July we had. But Black from Tula PL was my black standout for taste and production with Rogers Best Black not far behind. I still have Cowlicks ripening on the vine! Ami

[ContainerTed]

I'll echo Carolyn, Camo. Good to see you posting again.

Ted

[KLorentz]

Double Ditto from me Camo good to see you!


Kevin

[KLorentz]

Yep they are one of the best maters out there Having a hard time though ranking my five maters though.


Kevin

[camochef]

Ami,
I grew Black from Tula, 2008 season. I found it to have a very sweet taste, much to sweet for my tastes. It produced really well, but wasn't to my liking. It might have been a different story this year with such a change in weather but I didn't try it this season as I had too many to try. Most varieties are given a second of even a third chance before being eliminated from my "favorites" BFT didn't get that chance.
I'm not familiar with Rogers Best Black, although I have searched out blacks for a couple years now.


Ted and Kevin,
Thanks! I couldn't let a posting about Cowlick's go by without getting a word or two in on them . Even though they dropped down on my listings, they're still my favorite tomato overall!
Camo

[RJ_Hythloday]

Originally Posted by camochef

I grew Black from Tula, 2008 season. I found it to have a very sweet taste, much to sweet for my tastes.

Most varieties are given a second of even a third chance before being eliminated from my "favorites" BFT didn't get that chance.

This is my first year growing BFT and I find it very acidic. It's my favorite of 14 varieties grown this year. I have an unknown choc/black? and morado that are also very acidic which I have learned I really like especially on a BLT or other slicer situation.

I think you should give it another shot.

[guruofgardens]

SO nice to see you posting again, Camo. We are here for the tomatoes and for helping people with their gardens. You are appreciated.

[pete]

Getting my beds composted for some cowlicks next year, I can't wait!!!
Hope for some better weather than this year. Camo, you are well respected to have so many welcome your posts!!