No. 008 · heirloom
Brandywine
Brandywine is an indeterminate heirloom beefsteak with pink fruit. It ripens in about 90 days.
Potato-leaf foliage
Flavor
The reference point many growers use for full, rich tomato flavor with a balancing acidity. A potato-leaf heirloom prized for taste rather than productivity. Attributed description, not a measured claim.
Origin
An old pink beefsteak documented in the W. Atlee Burpee catalog as early as 1886, with older references noted. The popular belief in an Amish origin has no documented support.
What it does well
- Benchmark heirloom flavor
- Large sandwich-sized fruit
- Potato-leaf foliage that growers find handsome
Where it frustrates
- Very late, 80 to 100 days, which is marginal for short seasons
- Low yield
- Green shoulders and cracking
Growing it
- Indeterminate vine. It keeps growing and setting fruit right up to frost, so plan on a tall stake or cage and regular pruning through the season.
- Late to ripen, past 80 days, so it wants a long warm season or a head start indoors.
- Can be a demanding grow, most rewarding once you have a few seasons behind you.
- Wants real summer warmth and is slow to set when nights stay cool.
- Prone to cracking and splitting after wet spells.
Disease resistance
An heirloom, sold without formal disease-resistance codes.
Why no hardiness zone?
Tomatoes are warm-season annuals, so variety choice comes down to days to maturity and your local frost dates.
Like Brandywine, but...
Sold out, or after a change? The closest alternatives, and how they differ.
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Where to buy seed
Related reading
Common questions
- Is Brandywine determinate or indeterminate?
- Brandywine is an indeterminate variety. Indeterminate vine. It keeps growing and setting fruit right up to frost, so plan on a tall stake or cage and regular pruning through the season.
- How long does Brandywine take to ripen?
- Brandywine ripens in about 90 days from transplant. Late to ripen, past 80 days, so it wants a long warm season or a head start indoors.
- Is Brandywine an heirloom or a hybrid?
- Brandywine is an heirloom, an open-pollinated variety with a documented history, so seed saved from it comes back true to type.
- What can I grow instead of Brandywine?
- A close swap is Cherokee Purple, but earlier and more forgiving.
Sources
- Brandywine (tomato) · Wikipedia
- Tomato, Brandywine · University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension
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