Marriage Big Brandy

JaxRmrJmr · March 7, 2019

I found these at my local nursery today. An heirloom cross of Big Dwarf (New Big Dwarf?) and Brandywine. Has anyone grown this? Does it grow more like dwarf or like the vining Brandywine?

I have a space that I want to plant this year that i will only be able to use stakes to support the plant, so I trying out some shorter, stockier plants. I have a good supply of 5' wooden stakes so I want the plants to be 3-4' tall. I am not interested in cherries. I am more interested in paste or slicers. I was going to go with 5 New Big Dwarfs and 5 Better Bush. Now I picked up the two aforementioned Big Brandy's. Any thoughts?

ddsack · March 9, 2019

I have no experience with Big Brandy F1, but Tomato Growers Supply describes it as RL indeterminate. Territorial calls it semi-determinate. Since they don't call it a dwarf or bush plant it's probably a normally sized plant.
If yours has the crinkly thick rugose leaves of a dwarf, I was expect it to stay shorter and more compact. If they are normal leaves, it will likely get fairly tall, though probably not as huge as a Brandywine.

Sounds like a nice cross, I'll be interested to know how you like it.

ddsack · March 9, 2019

Interesting, on a couple of the websites it's call a Hybrid, but no one says F1. The others just give it the trademark name of "Heirloom Marriage" but do not actually call it hybrid. Makes you wonder if it may be close to stable.

Barb_FL · March 9, 2019

I grew it one year; it wasn't short and did not have rugose leaves. My seeds came from TGS.

I did get a lot of tomatoes (unlike Brandywine where I all I had were big beautiful plants).

On New Big Dwarf, I've grown twice and my plants were not short either. They were over 5' tall. I did get a lot of tomatoes

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Why not grow Stump of the World? I know my plants never got taller than 5'. Tons of tomatoes and much better uniformity.

Also, Dana's Dusky Rose (dark tomato) does not grow to be a giant.

Finally, if you would grow a hybrid, I grew Mountain Fresh Plus this year (determinate) but still going, and this is a short plant.

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Also growing Bendigo Blush (dwarf project cherry) and this stayed really short. But really long to ripen. It has had premium sun exposure and the longest to ripen of any plant this year.

JaxRmrJmr · March 11, 2019

Thanks for the replies and suggestions.

March 7, 2019	#1
JaxRmrJmr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Jax, FL - 9A Posts: 172	Marriage Big Brandy I found these at my local nursery today. An heirloom cross of Big Dwarf (New Big Dwarf?) and Brandywine. Has anyone grown this? Does it grow more like dwarf or like the vining Brandywine? I have a space that I want to plant this year that i will only be able to use stakes to support the plant, so I trying out some shorter, stockier plants. I have a good supply of 5' wooden stakes so I want the plants to be 3-4' tall. I am not interested in cherries. I am more interested in paste or slicers. I was going to go with 5 New Big Dwarfs and 5 Better Bush. Now I picked up the two aforementioned Big Brandy's. Any thoughts?

March 9, 2019	#2
ddsack Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Northern Minnesota - zone 3 Posts: 3,231	I have no experience with Big Brandy F1, but Tomato Growers Supply describes it as RL indeterminate. Territorial calls it semi-determinate. Since they don't call it a dwarf or bush plant it's probably a normally sized plant. If yours has the crinkly thick rugose leaves of a dwarf, I was expect it to stay shorter and more compact. If they are normal leaves, it will likely get fairly tall, though probably not as huge as a Brandywine. Sounds like a nice cross, I'll be interested to know how you like it. __________________ Dee **************

March 9, 2019	#3
ddsack Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Northern Minnesota - zone 3 Posts: 3,231	Interesting, on a couple of the websites it's call a Hybrid, but no one says F1. The others just give it the trademark name of "Heirloom Marriage" but do not actually call it hybrid. Makes you wonder if it may be close to stable. __________________ Dee **************

March 9, 2019	#4
Barb_FL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Indialantic, Florida Posts: 2,000	I grew it one year; it wasn't short and did not have rugose leaves. My seeds came from TGS. I did get a lot of tomatoes (unlike Brandywine where I all I had were big beautiful plants). On New Big Dwarf, I've grown twice and my plants were not short either. They were over 5' tall. I did get a lot of tomatoes --- Why not grow Stump of the World? I know my plants never got taller than 5'. Tons of tomatoes and much better uniformity. Also, Dana's Dusky Rose (dark tomato) does not grow to be a giant. Finally, if you would grow a hybrid, I grew Mountain Fresh Plus this year (determinate) but still going, and this is a short plant. --- Also growing Bendigo Blush (dwarf project cherry) and this stayed really short. But really long to ripen. It has had premium sun exposure and the longest to ripen of any plant this year.

March 11, 2019	#5
JaxRmrJmr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Jax, FL - 9A Posts: 172	Thanks for the replies and suggestions.