Brandywine

[brooksville]

Checked the patch today and found a rotten BW. I thought I was gonna get our 2nd ripe fruit. The 2 that have fruit have a few new fruits, the 3rd still has not set the first fruit. The only vine in the whole garden that is holding out!

At least there are a few tiny toms one the other 2 BW plants. The fruit set may be at a standstill with these awfully high temps though.

The stink bugs are killing me though. Has anybody ever used diatomaceous earth along with kaolin clay to at least prevent the stings?

[Cole_Robbie]

I had stink bugs badly last year. I don't have any this year. I was going to try a trap made from a light over a pan of soapy water.

[b54red]

In my first bed which was set out on April 2nd I have so far picked from the three Brandywine tomato plants 9, 13 and 14. The one Cowlick's was the one with 14 but they did run just a bit smaller. The Sudduth's with 9 ran a bit larger so I guess size of the fruit is somewhat determined by the number of fruits on the plant. I don't know how many more I will get from them before they just give it up in the heat or keep on making. There are still quite a few green ones on them right now but I'm not expecting any more large tomatoes this late into our hot summer but I actually prefer the ones that are between 10 oz and a pound because they are such nice slicers. The largest tomato I got off of them so far was a Sudduth's that was a pound and three quarters.

Bill

[pauldavid]

Originally Posted by b54red

In my first bed which was set out on April 2nd I have so far picked from the three Brandywine tomato plants 9, 13 and 14. The one Cowlick's was the one with 14 but they did run just a bit smaller. The Sudduth's with 9 ran a bit larger so I guess size of the fruit is somewhat determined by the number of fruits on the plant. I don't know how many more I will get from them before they just give it up in the heat or keep on making. There are still quite a few green ones on them right now but I'm not expecting any more large tomatoes this late into our hot summer but I actually prefer the ones that are between 10 oz and a pound because they are such nice slicers. The largest tomato I got off of them so far was a Sudduth's that was a pound and three quarters.

Bill

Thats great to hear Bill, your growing methods are very sound. I hope everyone that thinks Brandywine doesn't produce well in the South reads your posts.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by brooksville

Checked the patch today and found a rotten BW. I thought I was gonna get our 2nd ripe fruit. The 2 that have fruit have a few new fruits, the 3rd still has not set the first fruit. The only vine in the whole garden that is holding out!

At least there are a few tiny toms one the other 2 BW plants. The fruit set may be at a standstill with these awfully high temps though.

The stink bugs are killing me though. Has anybody ever used diatomaceous earth along with kaolin clay to at least prevent the stings?

I've not used clay but the DE definitely helps, along with hand picking as many as possible.
With 75 plants and a 1 1/2 hour commute to work each direction, hand picking doesn't happen enough but I saw a big decrease after I got some DE on them. I will probably be dusting again today, since we just had rain. I also had very good luck with DE when I was in AZ on squash bugs, which are in the same family as stink bugs.
I'll probably try clay next year since we seem to have a lot of stink bugs here. This is my first year here so lots of discovering to do.

[brooksville]

Originally Posted by Tracydr

I've not used clay but the DE definitely helps, along with hand picking as many as possible.
With 75 plants and a 1 1/2 hour commute to work each direction, hand picking doesn't happen enough but I saw a big decrease after I got some DE on them. I will probably be dusting again today, since we just had rain. I also had very good luck with DE when I was in AZ on squash bugs, which are in the same family as stink bugs.
I'll probably try clay next year since we seem to have a lot of stink bugs here. This is my first year here so lots of discovering to do.

Awesome!!. I have been out of commission for a few weeks. I had some bone spurs removed off of my big toe. I am about 80% now. In that time period I backed off the spraying, so now I am fighting SB and worm damage. I can handle the worms with spinosad, but the SB's are really killing my spirit. I am starting my hunt for DE today as I would like to save as many of the new fruits as possible. BW really started picking up in terms of flavor, so has SOTW. Very impressed.

Bill I am jealous of your production. Although, and correct me if I am wrong, a lot of your increase is because you graft, no. And TTF.

[zipcode]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I have another thing I have to look for.
Shelf life.
I have to have a tomato that keeps well so I can pick it and take it to work with me in Alaska.
Bradywine doesn't fit into any of these slots.

Worth

Probably Crnkovic is the answer to all the questions. It is pink, it can get big (probably not huge though), it has definitely more shelf life than any pink I know, doesn't have a problem with pollination, great production for me. Taste is balanced, not very sweet.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by brooksville

Awesome!!. I have been out of commission for a few weeks. I had some bone spurs removed off of my big toe. I am about 80% now. In that time period I backed off the spraying, so now I am fighting SB and worm damage. I can handle the worms with spinosad, but the SB's are really killing my spirit. I am starting my hunt for DE today as I would like to save as many of the new fruits as possible. BW really started picking up in terms of flavor, so has SOTW. Very impressed.

Bill I am jealous of your production. Although, and correct me if I am wrong, a lot of your increase is because you graft, no. And TTF.

I don't think the grafting has actually increased production on any variety except for giving them some protection from the fusarium which is rife in my garden soil. The fact that the plants now live much longer due to that is what has increased my production. It is still amazing to me when I now go out in the garden and don't see most of my tomatoes dying of fusarium this far into the season. For 35 years mid June to early July was the point at which well over half my plants were already sick or dead from fusarium.

The Texas Tomato Food has had a major impact on fruit set and has increased the health and vigor of my plants. Until I started using TTF my fruit set was usually less than half what it has been since I started weekly feedings with TTF.


Bill

[remy]

So many posts that I really could not read through all of them. I'm posting what I wrote about Brandywine on my site.
"Ok, I’m going to be honest. I’m not a fan of Brandywine. (Sorry Brandywine lovers, please don’t send me hate mail.) This tomato is one of the most famous heirloom tomatoes for its wonderful flavor. It’s dirty little secret is it is a bad producer for many people including me. This tomato gives heirlooms a bad rap when it comes to production. (Many heirlooms pump out tomatoes!) I’ve grown it 2 times before, and both times it was very stingy with the tomatoes. I remember the one plant from about 1996 with only 1 tomato on it so very clearly still. So I made space for one this year (2011.) Third times a charm, right? It made tomatoes more than the other years, but still there weren’t many, and this year was an amazing tomato year for me. So I had about 4 or 5 good big tomatoes, and now that it is the end of the season and the weather is turning, I got, oh, about 8 little ones. I don’t think I’ll be growing it again. Of course somewhere else it could do terrific."
Stump of the World is so so much better for me.
Remy

[b54red]

Originally Posted by remy

So many posts that I really could not read through all of them. I'm posting what I wrote about Brandywine on my site.
"Ok, I’m going to be honest. I’m not a fan of Brandywine. (Sorry Brandywine lovers, please don’t send me hate mail.) This tomato is one of the most famous heirloom tomatoes for its wonderful flavor. It’s dirty little secret is it is a bad producer for many people including me. This tomato gives heirlooms a bad rap when it comes to production. (Many heirlooms pump out tomatoes!) I’ve grown it 2 times before, and both times it was very stingy with the tomatoes. I remember the one plant from about 1996 with only 1 tomato on it so very clearly still. So I made space for one this year (2011.) Third times a charm, right? It made tomatoes more than the other years, but still there weren’t many, and this year was an amazing tomato year for me. So I had about 4 or 5 good big tomatoes, and now that it is the end of the season and the weather is turning, I got, oh, about 8 little ones. I don’t think I’ll be growing it again. Of course somewhere else it could do terrific."
Stump of the World is so so much better for me.
Remy

Remy if I had heard this the first year I grew Stump I would have wholeheartedly agreed with you because the first year I grew Stump I got around 35 tomatoes off of it and some were really big. The taste was comparable but in the next 5 years it never did anything while Sudduth's and Cowlick's have been steady moderate producers. The tomatoes that I found to be far more productive every year in the pink beefsteak category were Limbaugh's Legacy and Pruden's Purple. Pruden's produces earlier and in far greater numbers with smaller fruit than Brandywines while Limbaugh's continues to put on large fruit long after the Brandywines give up production in the summer heat.

Maybe I need to get some new Stump of the World seed because I really liked it the first year but it has been incredibly stingy since then.

Bill

[remy]

Originally Posted by b54red

Remy if I had heard this the first year I grew Stump I would have wholeheartedly agreed with you because the first year I grew Stump I got around 35 tomatoes off of it and some were really big. The taste was comparable but in the next 5 years it never did anything while Sudduth's and Cowlick's have been steady moderate producers. The tomatoes that I found to be far more productive every year in the pink beefsteak category were Limbaugh's Legacy and Pruden's Purple. Pruden's produces earlier and in far greater numbers with smaller fruit than Brandywines while Limbaugh's continues to put on large fruit long after the Brandywines give up production in the summer heat.

Maybe I need to get some new Stump of the World seed because I really liked it the first year but it has been incredibly stingy since then.

Bill

Bill, I find that interesting as I agree Prudens is earlier, but it always has given me good size tomatoes. Stump is consistently a good producer here like your first year.
I'm growing the Limbaugh's for the first time this year. The plants are big and healthy so hopefully I get lots of tomatoes!
Remy

[brooksville]

This year Brandywine(Cowlicks and Sudduth) are both performing really well. I guess last year was an off year for our tomato patch. SOTW and GB are also performing well. The pinks also have a wonderful taste compared to last year. We scratched hearts this year, but after giving BW a second chance with good results we may have to include hearts again.

The BW fruit set has been great too. 9-10 fruits per plant and a few tiny greenies are starting to form too. Really excited.
How is everybody else doing this year?

[b54red]

So far this year my Brandywine Sudduth's and Cowlick's have been my taste leaders and most of the plants of both varieties are producing well. I am starting to have a mass invasion of small stink bugs especially on my bell peppers but I know they will get on my tomatoes. I guess it is time to use the DE, permethrin, and very soapy water spray and see if I can put a whoa on their giddy-up. The bees have mostly left the garden and the ladybugs and other beneficials seem to have disappeared with the intense heat of the past two weeks. We topped out at just under 103 the other day with a heat index over 110 and I got a bunch of sun scalded bell peppers and even some tomatoes scalded. I would love to see a good rain to break this heat cycle for a few days.

Bill

Bill