Looking for a big, delicious, fresh heirloom tomato? Look no further than the prized Brandywine tomato!
The Brandywine Tomato is a large, red-pink heirloom tomato cultivar prized among tomato lovers for its delicious taste and consistency when eaten fresh. These big tomatoes grow on indeterminate vines with potato-leaved foliage that require support. Brandywine tomatoes are almost exclusively grown by home gardeners and small market farmers rather than by larger commercial growers.
Brandywine is consistently named as one of the best-tasting tomatoes available. Read on to learn all about Brandywine tomatoes!
The Brandywine tomato
The Brandywine Tomato is an old American heirloom tomato from Pennsylvania. This prized heritage variety is likely named after the Brandywine river and/or the Brandywine area in Chester County.
Brandywine tomatoes are large fruits with a pink peel and an oblate, flattened shape. The Brandywine Tomato is among the largest types of tomatoes, with some ripe fruits weighing 1-2 pounds.
Brandywine tomato plants are also very large, with vines growing to over 10 feet long if growing conditions permit. The plants are indeterminate, and keep growing until killed by frost or cut away. Most gardeners support their Brandywine plants with large tomato cages, cattle fencing, tall obelisks, or garden arches. Typical hardware-store tomato cages are much too small for Brandywine tomato plants.
The leaves of Brandywine plants are unlike the leaves of many other popular types of tomatoes. Brandywine tomato plants are “potato-leaved” (see photo above), meaning that the edges of their leaves are smooth (like the leaves of a potato plant).
Most other tomatoes have serrated leaves. The serrated leaves are the more dominant trait of the two, so potato-leaved varieties are rare. If you see a plant labeled as Brandywine that has serrated leaves – leave it at the store! It’s probably mislabeled. Sometimes your Brandywine’s leaves are turning yellow, but don’t worry! Here is a guide on why tomato leaves turn yellow and how to fix it.
Brandywine tomatoes typically ripen 70-90 days after the seedling plant is transplanted outdoors into a garden bed or other permanent growing location.
What do Brandywine tomatoes taste like?
In terms of taste, the Brandywine tomato is often considered the standard by which all other heirloom tomatoes are judged.
Brandywine is known for its intense, balanced flavor. These tomatoes have just the right amount of rich sweetness and succulent tartness. The tomato flavor is perfect for toast and sandwiches! Brandywine is one of a number of yummy pink-colored tomatoes, along with others like German Johnson, Pink Ponderosa, Mortgage Lifter, and Anna Russian (heart-shaped).
“An authentic Brandywine has an unmatched succulent texture that melts in your mouth. The flavor enlivens the taste buds, with all the favorable components of the best tomatoes – tartness, sweetness, fullness, and complexity – in perfect balance.”
Epic Tomatoes: How to Select and Grow the Best Varieties of All Time, by Craig LeHoullier
How to grow Brandywine tomatoes?
Growing Brandywine tomatoes is very similar to growing other types of heirloom tomatoes.
Getting your plants
Brandywine tomatoes can be grown at home from seed or can be purchased as potted seedling plants from a plant nursery.
If growing from seed, purchase your Brandywine tomato seeds in the winter and plant them indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost in your area (usually this means sowing seeds indoors sometime in February-March).
The easier option is to buy seedling Brandywine tomato plants. Whether you’re growing from seed or from purchased seedlings, don’t put them outdoors until the threat of frost has passed. Brandywine tomato plants are easily damaged at temperatures below 43°F (6°C).
Transplanting the seedlings
Once outdoors, plant your Brandywine tomato plants in nutrient-rich soil that drains water easily. These are large plants that should be spaced about 2 feet apart. They grow particularly well in raised garden beds and in large containers like wine barrel gardens. Put the Brandywine plants in a location where their leaves get direct sunlight for at least 6-8 hours per day. Also, ensure they are close to a water source so they will be watered consistently.
Brandywine tomato plants are indeterminate, meaning their vines keep growing longer and longer throughout the season. These larger vines require a significant trellis or cage structure to support them. Skip the small standard hardware store tomato cages and opt for a heavy-duty tomato cage, a sturdy vertical plant stake, a large garden obelisk, or even a metal garden arch. Use twine or plant ties to secure the vines to the support structure as they grow.
Heirloom tomato plants like Brandywine are heavy feeders and can benefit from high-quality organic fertilizer. Start with some homemade compost (or store-bought organic compost if you don’t have homemade). For an extra nutrient boost, try an organic tomato fertilizer, like one of these options:
- Dr. Earth Organic Tomato Fertilizer
- Jobe’s Organics Vegetable & Tomato Fertilizer Spikes
- Espoma Organic Garden-Tone Herb and Vegetable Food
Are Brandywine tomatoes hard to grow?
Brandywine tomatoes are not hard to grow, but they are also not the easiest plant to grow either. Brandywine is one of the more inconsistent producers, growing a batch of delicious fruits one year and a measly small few the next. Small, hybrid tomatoes like the Sungold tomato are generally much easier to grow. That said, there are a few steps you can take to make growing Brandywine tomatoes as simple as possible.
The first tip is to purchase a potted baby tomato plant instead of starting your Brandywine tomatoes from seeds. Tomato seedlings can be finicky and require supplemental lighting and occasional repotting. Let the plant nursery do that work for you and buy the baby plants instead!
Secondly, get your tomato planting area ready prior to planting the baby Brandywines. Plant them in a raised garden bed if possible, or perhaps a large whisky barrel garden. Use a nutrient-rich organic potting mix that allows water to drain out easily. Add a substantial trellis for the tomato plant’s vines. Brandywine tomato plants also benefit from consistent water from a drip irrigation system.
Here is a list of the easiest vegetables for beginners to grow in the vegetable garden.
Harvesting Brandywine tomatoes
Brandywine tomatoes (and other large varieties) can be left to ripen on the vine, but can also be harvested when they are not quite ripe. A truly pink Brandywine tomato on the vine can be picked at the peak of ripeness but should be eaten immediately. Slightly un-ripe Brandywine tomatoes that are not yet totally pink can also be harvested (which protects them from birds, deer, hail, et cetera). Leave your picked Brandywines to ripen on the kitchen counter at room temperature rather than putting them in the refrigerator (which can give them a mealy texture).
The Brandywine tomato: A superior slicer
Brandywine tomatoes are considered one of the best-tasting types of slicer tomatoes. Slicer tomatoes are large varieties bred to be eaten fresh soon after picking. Slicer tomatoes are perfect on tomato sandwiches or in bruschetta. The high sugar content of most slicers makes them better for eating fresh than for canning. Most slicers weigh at least six ounces, although a single Brandywine tomato can weigh a pound or more!
Are Brandywine tomatoes heirloom tomatoes?
Brandywine tomatoes are heirloom tomatoes. Old, open-pollinated tomato varieties like Brandywine are generally considered to be “heirloom tomatoes” if their seeds have been handed down for at least 50 years (or two generations).
The Brandywine tomato and other heirlooms are old varieties that have been handed down for generations. The Brandywine is not the only variety (cultivar) of heirloom tomatoes (there are hundreds of types of heirloom tomatoes!).
Like all heirlooms, Brandywine tomatoes are open-pollinated, meaning that seeds saved from the fruits will “breed true”. Additionally, Brandywine tomatoes are great for the top part of a grafted plant.
Other types of Brandywine tomato
While the large pink Brandywine tomatoes are generally considered the classic, original Brandywine, there are a number of related types of Brandywine tomatoes which likely share some genetic relation to the popular pink Brandywine fruits.
“The original Brandywine is pink; there are also red and yellow types. Brandy Boy is a hybrid that produces larger numbers of similar fruit.”
You Bet Your Garden Guide to Growing Great Tomatoes: How to Grow Great-Tasting Tomatoes in Any Backyard, Garden, or Container, by Mike McGrath
Red Brandywine is an heirloom cultivar of tomato with delicious red-colored fruits that are typically a bit smaller than pink Brandywine tomatoes. Red Brandywine tomatoes also ripen earlier in the season, making them a mid-season variety (as opposed to the late-season harvest for pink/regular Brandywine tomatoes).
Yellow Brandywine is another type of tomato with possible relation to the original pink Brandywine. Yellow Brandywine tomatoes have a yellow-orange peel and the same large, flattened/oblate shape. The flavor of Yellow Brandywine tomatoes is sometimes more tart than the pink original Brandywine.
Black Brandywine is a darker purple-red heirloom tomato with Brandywine heritage. Black Brandywine tomatoes are large and have the complex, sweet flavor typical of great purple-black-brown tomatoes.
Brandy Boy is a modern hybrid tomato (not an heirloom) bred to have similar fruits to the original, but to produce more fruits more reliably. Brandy Boy hybrid plants are less large and unruly than the heirloom originals, and also have improved resistance to disease (and earlier harvest). The Brandy Boy tomato received the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 2014
How tall do Brandywine tomato plants get?
Brandywine tomato plants are among the largest types of tomato plants to grow, with vines routinely reaching 8-10 feet long. A Brandywine plant can easily exceed 10 feet tall if the main stem is staked vertically and if growing conditions permit. Brandywine tomato plants are indeterminate, meaning that a single plant will continue to grow in height throughout the growing season (as opposed to reaching a terminal height like bush-type plants). They can get quite giant!
