The Brandywine is an indeterminate, heirloom tomato known for large, flavorful fruit. The plant’s leaves are smooth and oval with pointed tips like potato leaves, rather then serrated like most tomatoes.
Do Brandywine tomato leaves look different?
Characteristics of Brandywine Tomatoes
It has what is known as “potato leaves” (which sounds like something one tomato might say to another as an insult!), but really just means that the leaves look more like smooth-edged potato leaves than the more usual serrated-edge tomato leaf.
Why are Brandywine tomato leaves different?
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, and so potato-leaved varieties are rare.
What does a Brandywine tomato look like?
The Brandywine tomato is an heirloom cultivar of tomato, with large potato-leaved foliage and large pink beefsteak-shaped fruit.
Are Brandywine tomatoes bush or vine?
Since these massive vines can reach six to nine feet tall in ideal growing conditions, it is a good idea to use cages or trellises to support them as they grow. You can train the stems to grow up the stakes and prune them to narrow their spread.
Are all Brandywine tomatoes potato leaf?
Brandywine is a large fruited (most fruit in the one pound range), potato leaf, pink heirloom tomato that has taken on legendary status due to its potentially superb flavor.
Should you prune Brandywine tomatoes?
Because of the amount of foliage, Brandywine tomatoes need to be pruned to prevent them from getting leggy. In addition, you should grow Brandywines on stakes because of their propensity to grow tall and droop. This large cultivar can yield individual fruit that weighs up to 1.5 lbs.
How do I identify a tomato plant by its leaves?
Plants with regular tomato leaves are what we are all familiar with; multi-lobed, serrated and sometimes almost toothed branching off of the stem. Potato leaved plants have broader, smoother single leaves branching off of the stem, missing the multiple lobes and serrations.
Why are my Brandywine tomatoes so small?
The most common cause for small tomatoes is stressed plants. When plants are experiencing stressing circumstances, such as extreme drought or heat, insect infestation, or disease, they oftentimes stop sending their energy into flower or fruit production.
How often do you water a Brandywine tomato?
The plants need one to two inches (2.5 to 5 cm.) of rain per week, so water as needed. Insufficient water or watering that isn’t consistent can lead to cracking of the fruits. With good Pink Brandywine care, you should get a modest harvest as much as 30 days after other varieties of tomato.
Do Brandywine tomatoes climb?
Like most tomatoes, Brandywines will also require staking, trellising, tomato cages or large hoops to hold the plants upright (they can get as tall as 8 feet in some varieties).
Are Brandywine tomatoes good eating?
But most experts will agree that Brandywine tomato is one of the best with a great tomatoey flavor. The original Brandywine is a large, meaty, pink tomato with coarse, heavy potato-like foliage. Individual fruit weight is up to a pound. A single slice is large enough to cover a hamburger bun.
How tall does a Brandywine tomato plant get?
So, how big do Brandywine tomatoes get? Brandywine tomato plants will grow to a height of 7 to 9 feet (2.1 to 2.7 meters) tall and produce large fruit that weighs 9 to 16 ounces (256 to 454 grams).
What are Brandywine tomatoes best for?
They can be used in salads, featuring cubed or diced Red Brandywine tomatoes with ingredients such as fresh corn, watermelon, red onions, and vinaigrette. As a beefsteak type, they are also great for slicing and adding to sandwiches like BLTs.
Are Brandywine tomatoes self pollinating?
As with every type of tomato, Brandywines are self-pollinating, although this natural process is often interrupted during periods of high humidity.
Which tomatoes have a potato leaf?
Examples of potato leaf tomatoes include the Brandywine, Prudens Purple, Brandy Boy, Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom, Stupice, Japanese Black Trifele, and others. The potato leaf trait is recessive.
How do I know what type of tomato plant I have?
Check the leaves of our plant.
Determinate tomatoes commonly have leaves that are closer together on the stem, making them look bushier. Indeterminate varieties have leaves that are spaced out more and look more like vines.
How do you take care of a Brandywine tomato?
How to Care for Brandywine Tomato Plants
- 1: Water at the soil level.
- 2: Plant in slightly acidic, well-draining soil.
- 3: Make sure they get full sun.
- 4: Mulch around plants.
- 5: Prevent Disease and Pests.
- 6: Use a sturdy trellis.
- 7: Practice ‘nitrogen starving’
- 8: Remove suckers periodically.
How do you fertilize Brandywine tomatoes?
Fertilize the Brandywine tomatoes with a nitrogen fertilizer once the first fruits have set. Apply a 21-0-0 slow-release fertilizer at a rate of 1 tablespoon per plant. Dig a 2-inch trench on either side of the tomato, spacing each trench 3 inches away from the plant. Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon in each trench.
How do you trim tomato plants to produce more fruit?
To speed ripening late in the season, remove the growing tip of each main stem about four weeks before the first expected fall frost. Called “topping,” this type of pruning causes the plant to stop flowering and setting new fruit, and instead directs all sugars to the remaining fruit.
What do first true leaves look like?
The true leaves unfurl above the cotyledons on the seedling, and look like a smaller version of the plant’s adult foliage. They are more decoratively shaped than seed leaves and often hairier, and all of the later leaves will match them in appearance.