tomato brandywine

[daffydill]

Im growing tomato brandywine for the first time this year and i think ive read somewhere that they need regular pruneing or they will just grow wild,can anyone give me any tips regarding their habits etc please
thanks

[Jardiniere]

cant give any tips because i have tried to grow these for two years running and both times out of around a dozen only one plant has survived. I think i bought them because they are one of Sarah Raven's favourites. In the first year the one that survived did provide me with around 4 very nice tomatoes....large and pale pink.The second year the plant grew for a while but then gave up the ghost.
Sorry..............

[ginger ninger]

I grew the "Yellow Brandy Wine" a few years ago daffydill. I had to support the trusses when the fruits started to grow BIG. I didn't prune mine as such, I nipped the top out when it got tall and just removed a few leaves when they got a little wild. Watch out for blight they seem to be rather prone to this. Other than that I didn't have many problems with them.

[daffydill]

thanks for the replies, ill be treating them with tender loving care it looks like just to be sure

[King Carrot]

I grew them for a couple of years here in a polygreenhouse in Co Kerry. They did really well in 2004 & 2005 but in the following poor summers they struggled to produce ripe fruit in any quantity so I reluctantly gave up and grew Rose de Berne instead last year.

I side shooted them and ran them up string but as the stalks with the fruit trusses on got heavier and heavier they would bend at an acute angle towards the ground. I would deffo use a "tomato cage" around them for support if I grew them again. They also benefit from alot of room and ventilation - I grew them at 3ft apart but they would do alot better at 4 - 5 ft apart in the row.

One of my favorite tomatoes ever, but I suspect not suited to the cooler wetter summer in my neck of the woods, if you're in sunny Cork they should do well!

Good luck with them

[smallblueplanet]

... so I reluctantly gave up and grew Rose de Berne instead last year.

OT - how did these grow/taste? Tried a plant a few years ago in the unheated greenhouse and it was a bit nothing. But I wonder if it was because the plant was 'forced' under lights as RdeB always seems to have good reviews.

[valmarg]

daffydill, if you go on the web and look at American sites for growing Brandywine, as OH did, I think you will find that they allow the plants to grow unrestrained. They grow them in cages, and don't prune. We have been doing this for several years and have had very good crops.

valmarg

[King Carrot]

OT - how did these grow/taste? Tried a plant a few years ago in the unheated greenhouse and it was a bit nothing. But I wonder if it was because the plant was 'forced' under lights as RdeB always seems to have good reviews.

Really happy with them - favorite tasting big tomato from last season and a permanent fixture from now on, I've plenty of seed if you want some. I saved the seed from a plant that appeared to halt the spread of botrytis so here's hoping for the future

[King Carrot]

daffydill, if you go on the web and look at American sites for growing Brandywine, as OH did, I think you will find that they allow the plants to grow unrestrained. They grow them in cages, and don't prune. We have been doing this for several years and have had very good crops.
valmarg

Indoors or outdoors and at what spacing - just out of curiosity and for the future when I know I'll try again

[smallblueplanet]

Really happy with them - favorite tasting big tomato from last season and a permanent fixture from now on, I've plenty of seed if you want some. I saved the seed from a plant that appeared to halt the spread of botrytis so here's hoping for the future

Thanks for the offer. We've already narrowed down this years varieties to 12 (), but I might try asking again next year, be interesting to see how they do.

[DavidJP]

Indoors or outdoors and at what spacing - just out of curiosity and for the future when I know I'll try again

They're mostly grown outdoors in cages in the US and allowed to grow unchecked. In the hotter parts of the US this helps shade the plant and fruits and protect from sunscald. Usually you'll end up with more smaller fruit.

[King Carrot]

They're mostly grown outdoors in cages in the US and allowed to grow unchecked. In the hotter parts of the US this helps shade the plant and fruits and protect from sunscald. Usually you'll end up with more smaller fruit.

I've seen photos of fields Brandywines spaced at around 10ft apart and with the look of very, very large bushes. If they get a lot of sun, dryness and warmth, enough water and root space they are very happy plants. I can't successfully grow any tomato plant outside where I am because of the cool damp conditions and the "gales" that seem to be getting a regular part of summer. For the humidity here at times during July and August, along with my smaller growing spaces inside, I have found I need very good ventilation and airspace around each plant – this is impossible without pruning every side shoot and spacing as much as I can, even then botrytis and blight are a very common occurrence. As well as increasing the airflow, removing the sideshoots does tend to make the plant concentrate all its energy in to the fruit on the main stem making them larger, which I am happy with

[valmarg]

Indoors or outdoors and at what spacing - just out of curiosity and for the future when I know I'll try again

We grow ours in the greenhouse in 10" pots about 18" apart, tied to a cane.

I must admit I really love the flavour of Brandywine, but if you want an easier to grow beefsteak tomato, I recommend Mountain Pride. I get my seeds from Moles Seeds and the minimum packet is 50 seeds, so if anyone would like to try them I could spare a few.

valmarg

[King Carrot]

We grow ours in the greenhouse in 10" pots about 18" apart, tied to a cane.

I must admit I really love the flavour of Brandywine, but if you want an easier to grow beefsteak tomato, I recommend Mountain Pride. I get my seeds from Moles Seeds and the minimum packet is 50 seeds, so if anyone would like to try them I could spare a few.

valmarg

How tall and bushy do they get? Mine were grown in the soil under plastic and turned into absolute monsters even with pruning and stopping at 4 trusses. I wonder if the pot "controls" their growth and makes them concentrate on the fruit.