Brandy Boy Hybrid

I understand that the Brandywine heirloom tomato doesn’t have much luck growing here in hot, humid South Carolina. Does anyone have any experience with the Burpee’s “Brandy Boy Hybrid” tomato or comments on this? It’s advertised as being derived from the Brandywine heirloom.

Paul

There have been lots and lots of reports at other sites where I post, starting two years ago when Burpee made the variety avialable at their website after the catalog had come out.

Those who appreciate the taste of Brandywine itself say you aren't going to find it with this variety. On that everyone agrees.

And opinions are very mixed as to how folks like it. in general. Very mixed.

Those who prefer to grow hybrids and don't realize that there is little hybrid vigor with hybrid tomatoes since they don't show inbreeding depression, say they like it, for the most part.

Those who prefer the real thing seem not to think that much of it.

It is supposedly a cross between Brandywine and some of us think Better Boy.

As to getting fruits to set for the real Brandywine (sudduth is the best strain) in SC, you can do it as others do, and that's by timing your plant outs so that you get fruit set when the temps are still moderate. And also beating the plants with a broom. LOL

That means setting out plants in maybe mid to late Feb for you, and primarily the long season varieties. You can do another crop in the Fall but those should be the shorter season varieties.

Brandywine and other large pink potato leaved varieties seem to have problems setting fruits in the deep south, but as I said, if it's that one you want to grow, you can.

There are other Brandywine varieties that do quite well in the south.

Not that you asked, LOL, but here's my take on converting OP heirlooms to hybrids as Burpee has already done with Red Brandywine; that's the one they now call Buck's County Red.

I simply cannot understand why someone would want to convert an heirloom to a hybrid unless I were George Ball, who owns Burpee and believes that hybrids will solve world hunger and that they are superior to OP's.

I do not agree with that philosophy and never will.

The added supposed disease tolerances are not of that much use anyway, since foliage diseases are the most common tomatoes ones in the world and no varieties have tolernace to those, save two that Dr, Randy Gardner introduceded which are not of much use to a backyard gardener.

having said what I've said, the only way for you to know if you like Brandy Boy is to grow it using your cultural methods, your soil and your weather, and then deciding if it works well for you.

But you can have the real thing if that's what you really want . Others even a bit south of you can grow Brandywine successfully. One major supplier of heirloom seeds is right on the SC/GA border and Cindy grows them and all the many other hundreds of varieties she grows every year. That's Tanager Song Farm that she runs and has a website re same. But source of seed is not that important, re where the seed source was grown. Tomato Growers Supply in Ft Myers FL also does some trials and they have no problems. As I said, the key is timing of plant outs.

Carolyn

Thanks Carolyn: I'm new at this heirloom tomato growing. I think I'll go with a couple of the sudduth Brandywine as you suggested. I am a little concerned about frost at the late Feb.dste'
I'll have to get the seeds started asap. Do you know where I can get the seeds quickly?

paulelaine

I have no problem growing the Pink Brandywine in the Augusta Ga area. It is not a heavy yielding cultivar, nor the best tasting on my palette. It is vigorous and grows where many of the pink beefsteaks will not. Example I have been unable to keep Caspian Pink, Omar's Lebanese etc alive long enough to get a single tomato. Best of the Pinks for vigor , taste and productivity in middle Ga. Giant Belgium, Mortgage Lifter, and Pruden's Purple.

Probably the quickest place for you to get your Brandywine (Sudduth) seed is to go to Tomatogrowers.com online and get them there.

But if you're new at growing heirlooms it would really be nice to see you het something that is a sure fire winner first time out. In general, the smaller the fruit size the better they grow in the deep south, but as I've told you above and so has Dill, some of the large ones do work.

When you[re at Tomato Growers give a look at varieties such as Eva Purple Ball, Box Car Willie, Flamme ( Jaune Flamme) and the like to see if any of those might appeal to yu b/c they seem to do well for almost everyone.

There's only about 2,000 more varieties available commercially and another few thousand for SSE members, so you've got to start somewhere. LOL

And take a look at the ones Dill mentioned, as well.

Carolyn

Carolyn;

Tried Box Car Willie 3 successive years (Chuck Wyatt's seeds) in both early and late plantings. Never got a tomato, that cultivar is a nematode attractant apparently.

Dill,

You're about the first person who has ever said that re Box Car Willie. I suggested it since I have yet to hear folks who have had less than wonderful success with it, and that includes the CA and FL folks who know they have nematode problems.

I can't vouch for any seeds you might have gotten from Chuck, even though I was the original source for many of his varieties, but can't speak for BCW unless I look it up in the SSE Yearbooks to see where he did get that one from.

If you never even got one tomato then you really don't know if you had BCW other than assuming that's what you had as bought by name. Right?

Carolyn

Right