Tomato Brandywine Red
Brandywine, which dates back to 1885, is the heirloom tomato standard. One taste and youll be enchanted by its superb flavor and luscious shade of red-pink. The large, beefsteak-shaped fruits grow on unusually upright, potato-leaved plants. The fruits set one or two per cluster and ripen late-and are worth the wait. Brandywine’s qualities really shine when it develops an incredible fine, sweet flavor.
- If planting in a pot, use no smaller than a 5 gallon pot.
- Plant height 36″ – 42″
- Stake or Trellis
- Heavy feeder; needs calcium
- Companion: Basil, Thyme, Marigold
- regularly to avoid overloading plants.
- At the end of the season, when you know there will be a frost, pick all the almost-ripe tomatoes you can, and ripen them in brown bags or spread on newspapers at room temperature. Many cultivars will store for months. Store only sound fruit, at 50-60°F. Do NOT refrigerate and try to avoid having the fruit touch each other.
- The foliage of tomatoes is toxic and should not be eaten.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Zone | 4 – 9 |
| Planting Season | Spring |
| Plant Depth | .25 |
| Fertilizer Type | 4-6-8 |
| Light Requirements | Full Sun |
| Fragrant | n |
| Edible Parts | Fruit |
| Size Shipped | 1 pkt |
| Foliage Color | Green |
| Fruit Color | Deep Red |
| Germination | 7 to 21 |
| Maturity | 90 to 100 |
| Spacing | 2 ft. |
| Determinate/Indeterminate | Indeterminate |
| Hybrid/Open Pollinated | Open Pollinated |
| Genus | Solanum |
| Species | lycopersicum |
| Subspecies | Red Brandywine |
| Common Name | Tomato, Brandywine Red |
- Sow tomato seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost in spring using a seed starting kit
- Sow seeds ¼ inch deep in seed-starting formula
- Keep the soil moist at 75 degrees F
- Seedlings emerge in 7-14 days
- As soon as seedlings emerge, provide plenty of light on a sunny windowsill or grow seedlings 3-4 inches beneath fluorescent plant lights turned on 16 hours per day, off for 8 hours at night. Raise the lights as the plants grow taller. Incandescent bulbs will not work for this process because they will get too hot. Most plants require a dark period to grow, do not leave lights on for 24 hours.
- Seedlings do not need much fertilizer, feed when they are 3-4 weeks old using a starter solution (half strength of a complete indoor houseplant food) according to manufacturer’s directions.
- If you are growing in small cells, you may need to transplant the seedlings to 3 or 4 inch pots when seedlings have at least 3 pairs of leaves before transplanting to the garden so they have enough room to develop strong roots
- Before planting in the garden, seedling plants need to be “hardened off”. Accustom young plants to outdoor conditions by moving them to a sheltered place outside for a week. Be sure to protect them from wind and hot sun at first. If frost threatens at night, cover or bring containers indoors, then take them out again in the morning. This hardening off process toughens the plant’s cell structure and reduces transplant shock and scalding.
References
