What Are the Living Conditions for a Brandywine Tomato Plant?

Heirloom Varieties

• Heirloom tomatoes have generally stood the test of time. Handed down from generation to generation, these tomatoes grow true to genetic type year after year. They are known for their good flavor, a balance of rich, tomato sweetness and tart acid, according to Carol O’Meara, master gardener for Colorado State University Extension. Of the many heirloom varieties, the Brandywine has a reputation for reliable growth and good production.

Brandywine Tomato

• The Brandywine tomato offers a large size, up to 1-1/2 pounds per tomato, with a variety of colors and rich flavor. Leaves are oval and smooth like those of the potato, instead of the usual pointed-edge shape of tomato leaves. The oldest types are still considered to have the best flavor. The flesh melts in your mouth, with a good sweet-acid balance. These tomatoes require the same basic care and growing conditions of other tomatoes, but with careful attention to supporting the long, indeterminate vines.

Planting Brandywines

• Just as with other tomatoes, heirlooms need well-draining soil rich in organic matter. Work compost into the top 6 to 9 inches of garden soil to get transplanted tomatoes off to a good start, notes horticulturalist Larry Bass of North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension Service. Heirlooms need 1-1/2 to 2 feet between plants, and 3 to 4 feet between rows. New plants benefit from a starter fertilization of 1 lb. of 8-8-8 fertilizer in 10 gallons of water.

Maintaining Brandywines

• Either cage or stake plants to protect developing fruit. Staking plants will produce larger tomatoes but fewer of them. Careful training of indeterminate varieties such as Brandywine will keep fruit from developing soil-borne diseases. Sidedressing the plants with 8-8-8 or 10-10-10 fertilizer when fruit begins to develop provides the nutrients the developing fruit requires. Irrigate plants to a depth of 6 to 8 inches every week.

Brandywine Problems

• Brandywine tomatoes may ripen unevenly, with green color around the shoulders where the fruit attaches to the stem. Catfacing, a scarring and malformation caused by poor pollination and other conditions, may be unsightly but does not affect flavor. Cracking can occur when plants experience alternating dry periods and wet periods. Aphids, small insects that suck plant juices, may infest plants. Dislodge them with a spray of water from a high-pressure hose. Blossom end rot creates blackening at the stem end of tomatoes, indicating a calcium deficiency. Control leaf spots and blight with an all-purpose fungicide.