Burpee Red Brandywine

[erlyberd]

Not a problem. Just doing my part in sharing the wealth of the non-greed!

[BigdaddyJ]

IMO Burpee and anything Brandywine should never be used in the same sentence LOL.

It was many years ago and I hope the problem is fixed but I ordered the "Landis Valley" Red Brandywine from TGS and they weren't. The seed was mixed-up. Tiny tomatoes nothing near Red Brandywine's 6 to 12 ounce fruit. Now that was a rare mistake from TGS which I consider a top notch vendor. Craig here was kind enough to send me the real deal RB and THAT was a great tomato...

[camochef]

I've grown Red Brandywine in the past and had both regular leaf and potato leaf. All original seed came from Victory seed or Heirloom seed. Both produced really well and the tomatoes were tasty.
For those that are unfamiliar, red brandywine is nothing like the other Brandywines at all. They are smaller and more globular in shape than the Pink Brandywines...irreguardless if they're simply pink Brandywine, Brandywine-Sudduth's, Brandywine-Glicks or Cowlick's Brandywine or Yellow Brandywine or even Black Brandywine, True Black Brandywine or Brandywine-OTV.
They are however much more prolific and have a somewhat earlier days to maturity. They are well worth growing and eating, but given a preference, I'd much rather have one of the pinks, Especially, Brandywine-Glicks, Cowlick's (either the normal P.L. or the rarer R.L.), or Brandywine-Sudduth's These, along with Brandywine-Stumps do much better for me most years and I find their thin skin and almost non-existant core along with their fantastic taste to be the tomato to compare most others too.
Yes I'm a Brandywine fanatic and have grown most known varieties over the years including the known crosses like Liz Birt, Dora, Gary O'sena and Bear Creek as well as the lesser known crosses and those with Brandywine traits and unknown backgrounds.
Others that compare fairly well, like Ed's Millenium, Earl's Faux, and some of my more recent favorites like Barlow Jap and even the red tomato Tarasenko6. I love Brandywines...but this is the area that they seem to thrive in. Enjoy yours!
Camo

[erlyberd]

Are we going to have to take this down to some DNA sampling for gosh sakes or what?

It really makes you wonder how many stunt doubles have been thrown in to the mix!

So Camochef, Which BW in your opinion gives the most production, best taste and produces the earliest in your climate?

It sounds like your going to tell me BW Red and I'm about to scream! LOL

If so I'd like to find some real seed then because the 164 days seed date to harvest is not to my liking! LOL Could this just be inferior seed stock? I'm puzzled.

[camochef]

Originally Posted by erlyberd

Are we going to have to take this down to some DNA sampling for gosh sakes or what?

It really makes you wonder how many stunt doubles have been thrown in to the mix!

So Camochef, Which BW in your opinion gives the most production, best taste and produces the earliest in your climate?

It sounds like your going to tell me BW Red and I'm about to scream! LOL

If so I'd like to find some real seed then because the 164 days seed date to harvest is not to my liking! LOL Could this just be inferior seed stock? I'm puzzled.

erlyberd,
I'm going to be accused of being biased here. For the past 5-6 years up until 2010 season, Cowlick's Brandywine has lead the way in most production, best taste and earliest to ripen of the slicers.
This year Brandywine-Glicks not only out-produced them but they were much larger in size, and only a couple days behind in ripening. Brandywine-Stumps was neck and neck with BW-Glicks, and Brandywine-Sudduths was about 1 week behind but also produced very large tomatoes.
I also had 1 plant of the somewhat rare, Cowlick's BW-R.L. which was much more impressive this year than the original P.L. Cowlicks that I sent all over the world.
I no longer grow Red Brandywine, having replaced it with Tarasenko6, Gigantesque, Preacher Joe and Box-car Willie as my leading reds.
I quit growing Yellow Brandywines last year also as I reduced my gardens from hundreds to a more manageable number which still proved to be too many.
I'm also quite fond of the Brandywine crosses of Keith's, particularly Liz Birt, although I gave it's sister Bear Creek the #1 spot in my reviews this past year. The other two sisters, Dora and Gary O'Sena were quite excellent also.
There are a few alternative varieties that rank very high on my list for the past couple years also. Barlow Jap and Tarasenko6 (red), as well as Earl's Faux, Mrs. Benson, Ed's Millenium, and Sandul Moldovan.
Amazon Chocolate and Dana's Dusky Rose while nothing like a Brandywine are also two that I rank highly for a couple years now.
The first year I grew Red Brandywine, I started seeds very late in June after having alrady tasted ripe Cowlick's. Although everyone told me it was too late in the season to get any tomatoes from my plants, I was picking ripe tomatoes by the second or third week of Sept and they continued to produce up until a killing frost on Nov 1 (the latest frost I'd ever seen here). I don't know where 164 days from seed to harvest figure came from.
Last year, Barlow Jap was my earliest slicer to ripen, but many other varieties followed within days.
Good Luck with the coming season. Enjoy!
Camo

[Timbotide]

Erlyberd, PM sent.


Tim