I'm losing too many heirlooms this year and Brandy boy looks like a good option for next year along with my cherries.

*****

pb, what are you losing your heirlooms to that you think Brandy Boy might be a better option?

Just curious.

Carolyn

My Brandy Boys did great as far a yield and taste. they taste a little more acid than brandywine S S. I will be planting them again next year along with brandywine ss.

Hi Dr. Carolyn,

Mostly the frustration of pulling some of my best tasting plants has me buying into all the burpee propaganda of the benefits of their hybrids. Brandy boys seem to have some decent write-ups so I think I'll give them a try.

I think she meant what is wrong with your heirlooms, WHY are you pulling them?
Carla in Sac

****

Thanks Carla, that's exactly what I mean.

If it's foliage diseases that are affecting your OP plants then going to hybrids isn't going to do a thing b'c no variety, be it OP or hybrid has significant tolerance to foliage diseases.

Carolyn

I am not a big Burpee fan but Brandyboy is excellent. It tastes almost as good as my Sudduth Brandywine's and produces a tad better. (note: I get very good production with each) I have not noticed that one has better disease resistance than the other.

I am wondering if BrandyBoy really is a hybrid? It would be interesting to grow it out.

I'm also a big supporter of Brandy Boy (and reject most anything Burpee). I've grown it annually for 5 years now. But as Carolyn said, it will be affected by just as much by any problem you are having. So what IS the problem?

Dave

I am wondering if BrandyBoy really is a hybrid? It would be interesting to grow it out.

*****

You aren't the only one doing that wondering and the same wondering is done with Buck's County Red, nee Red Brandywine Hybrid. LOL

Several folks have grown out saved F2 seed of Brandy Boy and the results have been mixed as to their conclusions.

If you think about it it's interesting to speculate on how a pink fruited PL might be constructed. The Brandywine pink PL part we know about from the name, I guess. That is, some folks have surmised that the other parent might be Big BOY or Better BOY, but both are red and RL and red is genetically dominant to pink as is RL to PL, and of course there's no way of knowing if it's just two parents involved or more complex than that.

Carolyn

Thank you Carolyn. Mixed results so probably not an OP. BBoy does grow very similar to BWine next to each other in my garden every year. It sure makes you wonder...:)

On Buck's County, if my memory serves, Burpee actually called Buck's County Red by the name Red Brandywine Hybrid first. Then a subsequent year it was changed to it's still current BCR. I could go back to old catalogs but am too lazy to shuffle boxes around. I have no idea why I save so many old garden catalogs. I'll probably never look at them again. Oh well...:)

Carolyn posted:
and the same wondering is done with Buck's County Red, nee Red Brandywine Hybrid. LOL

Big D posted:

On Buck's County, if my memory serves, Burpee actually called Buck's County Red by the name Red Brandywine Hybrid first. Then a subsequent year it was changed to it's still current BCR. I could go back to old catalogs but am too lazy to shuffle boxes around. I have no idea why I save so many old garden catalogs. I'll probably never look at them again. Oh well...:)

****

As I posted above you're absolutely correct but they didn't change the name the second year and so when Buck's County Red came along folks thought it was a new variety until they fessed up and said that it was a new name for Buck's County Red. Sigh/

I bought both plants and seeds the first year Burpee offered Red Brandywine Hybrid, ( Buck's County) and compared plants from their seeds, their plants and my own Red Brandywine and saw absolutely no difference at all.

I had saved F2 seeds from the hybrid plants but they got misplaced and I never grew them out as I had intended to.

Carolyn

For what its worth i started 6 brandy boys from burpee seed 5 are pink 1 is red. The red has a little less acid taste but they are planted in different raised beds. all potato leaf

"For what its worth i started 6 brandy boys from burpee seed 5 are pink 1 is red. The red has a little less acid taste but they are planted in different raised beds. all potato leaf"

Had the same thing only the red was the only one that got the prime space and the pinks got a shady test spot that did not work out very well to give quality fruits.

I thought the red was pretty good tasting not as large of fruits on average, a few 8-10 and allot of 4-6 oz. I did save seeds from 3 of the fruits so have probably 100-150 seeds. not sure if I will start them next spring and see if I get the same thing or if something else shows up.

I have Brandy Boy and Brandywine planted next to each other. This year the conditions were perfect for fungal diseases. Both plants got Early Blight. Both plants were treated with Daconil. Both plants responded so similarly that I can't tell a difference. The long and short of it is know what your problem is, because switching to Brandy Boy may not adress the issue you're having with heirlooms.

Brandy Boy's production is good, but not such that I would put it in with the heavy producers.

I haven't tabulated the exact results of the tomato tasting at work, but I can say that Brandy Boy has fared fairly well. One individual really liked it and gave it a 10, I gave the same tomato a 7.5.

Good luck.

Randy

Last year Brandy Boy was the most disease affected plant in my garden. The tomatoes we did get tasted OK but were all cat-faced. I doubt that I will grow it agian. Try Crnkovic Yugoslavian. The plant is large and mine has been the least affected by disease this year. Other plants around it have shut down but it is still going strong. For me the taste, production and disease tolerance are all superior to Brandy Boy.

Tomatovator:
"Try Crnkovic Yugoslavian. The plant is large and mine has been the least affected by disease this year. Other plants around it have shut down but it is still going strong. For me the taste, production and disease tolerance are all superior to Brandy Boy."
Can you point me to any info on it. Can't find any thing in a search.
I have just had most of my plants wiped out and would like to try next year anything that could resist a bit.
Kenny

Kenny: I'm not the tomatovator (like that name!) but you can click on the link below that will take you to tomatofest, where they list Crnkovic Ygoslavian.

PJ

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Info

I got my seeds from Tomato Growers Supply (tomatogrowers.com) but I first learned of the variety in Carolyn's book. I've liked several that she lists in the book and I have tried.

Kenny: I'm not the tomatovator (like that name!) but you can click on the link below that will take you to tomatofest, where they list Crnkovic Ygoslavian.

****

At this point I don't think I'd get seeds for that variety from Tomatofest. Earlier this year someone pointed to the fact that Gary was equating Crnkovic Yugoslavian and Yasha Yugoslavian in his blub.

While seeds for both I originally got from Yasha Crnkovic, a former colleage, they are quite different. For starters Yasha Yugoslavian is a heart and Crnkovic Yugoslavian is not.

So I don't think he really knows which one he's selling and I offered to send him seeds of both and he graciously accepted, and he was to grow them out this season.

Sandhill Preservation also lists Crnkovic Yugoslavian and I'm the source of seeds to them. And TGS also lists it and at this point I can't remember if I'm the seed source there, but I think so, b'c over the years I've sent many to Linda at TGS. She keeps the lists, I don't. LOL

Carolyn

Thanks every body. I will get out my note book and make entries. I am new to this, but have been bitten big. I had the best garden I have ever had this year until two weeks ago when it rained 6 to 8 inches in a week. Every thing is gone, I swear next year it will get sprayed every Sunday morning for grass hoppers and blight. Is there such a thing as bllght resistance? I am a retired wheat farmer and they even bred wheat that was aphid resistant. I had 7 or 8 varities and now I have stalks with sun burned, hopper bitten fruit. Did I say they, the hoppers,liked the Cherokee purple best?
Kenny

Carolyn:

Thank you for the information on the history of Crnkovic Yugoslavian seeds. As one fairly new to OP tomatoes, it can be confusing with some of the varieties as to exactly what you are getting.

I thought tomatofest had good information about the tomatoes they sell, but obviously there can be problems.

PJ