Brandywines not setting fruit

[Steve Foss]

Hey all:

I've got two Brandywine Pink tomato plants in the Global Bucket System (each to their own bucket), and am having a hard time getting them to set fruit. Both plants are mature. One has three fruits and one four. That's it. They flower well but don't set fruit, and many of the small flower stalks seem to kink and drop somewhat, which kills the blossom.

I wonder if this heirloom variety is known for having weak flower stalks. It's not always windy where we have the buckets, but it's been a windy summer in general, and they take their share of gusts every few days.

The Large Red Cherry tomato plant in the bucket next to them is producing all kinds of fruit. Any chance the cherry is self pollinating and the Brandywine requires insect pollination?

Any thoughts on this?

[Nainoa]

Hey all:

I've got two Brandywine Pink tomato plants in the Global Bucket System (each to their own bucket), and am having a hard time getting them to set fruit. Both plants are mature. One has three fruits and one four. That's it. They flower well but don't set fruit, and many of the small flower stalks seem to kink and drop somewhat, which kills the blossom.

I wonder if this heirloom variety is known for having weak flower stalks. It's not always windy where we have the buckets, but it's been a windy summer in general, and they take their share of gusts every few days.

The Large Red Cherry tomato plant in the bucket next to them is producing all kinds of fruit. Any chance the cherry is self pollinating and the Brandywine requires insect pollination?

Any thoughts on this?

I've been growing Brandywines for years...

A couple of things to note about them... They are a late producing tomato. The latest of all my heirloom varieties... And of all my varieties they have the most intolerance to cold soil. But because they set larg fruit they tend to have the strongest blossom stalks.

A couple years back we had a very cool summer in my area and I took to watering the plants with hot (From the tap) water.

Cherry tomatoes, tend to have a much greater tolerance for cool soil temps and produce much more easily.

As of my last pick (Plus the Cherries I've given away to friends to get their kids eating veggies) I've harvested around 15 pounds of Cherry tomatoes... To only 5-6 pounds of Brandywines.

My guess is that your global bucket system is the culprit.

Curious... What color is the bucket?

If it's white, I'd guess that it's keeping the sun from heating things up... Try painting the buckets black with spray paint and make sure the soil area itself gets sun exposure.

[Steve Foss]

Yes, white they are. I'll be spray painting them black next spring if I do Brandywines again. Plus, they are in an area with good breezes, so that cools them off quite a bit at night, I'm betting. The soil surface does get direct sunlight.

We may just end up putting them inside the front porch the rest of the summer and all next summer as well. Full windows facing east, south and west, so that porch gets quite hot on a sunny summer day and retains that heat well into the night. That porch is one of the reasons we settled on the GBS in the first place, since it extends the growing season by at least a month and a half.

Thanks for the help!

[Nainoa]

Yes, white they are. I'll be spray painting them black next spring if I do Brandywines again. Plus, they are in an area with good breezes, so that cools them off quite a bit at night, I'm betting. The soil surface does get direct sunlight.

We may just end up putting them inside the front porch the rest of the summer and all next summer as well. Full windows facing east, south and west, so that porch gets quite hot on a sunny summer day and retains that heat well into the night. That porch is one of the reasons we settled on the GBS in the first place, since it extends the growing season by at least a month and a half.

Thanks for the help!

Yeah Brandywine really is a ridiculously delicious slicer tomato. If you paint that bucket black and you hit the plant with a fertilzer that's high in soluable pot ash with a little warmth and the right kind of food she'll set fruit and ripen still this summer/early fall.

As the days are really starting to shorten it accelerates the willingness of tomatoes to set fruit and ripen... Because of course in their world they are setting themselves up for the next generation.

Once you bring the plants indoors away from insects and wind, you'll have to pollinate them by tapping on the stem.

You can also pollinate with the TENDER use of a Q-tip... Just make sure you're tender about it because even the slightest damage to the workings of the blossom can cause it to drop the blossom.

*When I hand pollinate it's not uncommon for me to see a 25-30% blossom loss.

[Steve Foss]

I've got the right fertilizer right there in the garden shed and was planning on dosing them in about a week. I included rotted manure in the soil mix when I started the buckets, and top dressed with MiracleGro tomato food about a month ago.

I think I'll shoot the paint on the buckets tomorrow, add the fertilizer, and leave them out a few more weeks. Better to let wind and bugs pollinate, although I could easily run a fan in the porch to get the breeze moving. Once I've got a bunch more fruits, then I'll pull them into the porch for the rest of September and part of October.

I haven't had a fresh Brandywine slicer since my childhood on the Wisconsin dairy farm, where Grandma had a 1-acre veggie garden, an apple orchard and tons of perennial beds. She grew Brandywines, so they are a sentimental and tasty favorite from my youth.

I wonder if they'll be as amazing as I remember them. Probably not, considering how much we build up our old childhood memories in our minds as we age. But I'm still expecting excellence! Pick 'em ripe, let 'em sit in the fridge for a day, then pull them, slice them, salt-and-pepper them and dig in. Mmmmmmm!

[Nainoa]

I've got the right fertilizer right there in the garden shed and was planning on dosing them in about a week. I included rotted manure in the soil mix when I started the buckets, and top dressed with MiracleGro tomato food about a month ago.

I think I'll shoot the paint on the buckets tomorrow, add the fertilizer, and leave them out a few more weeks. Better to let wind and bugs pollinate, although I could easily run a fan in the porch to get the breeze moving. Once I've got a bunch more fruits, then I'll pull them into the porch for the rest of September and part of October.

I haven't had a fresh Brandywine slicer since my childhood on the Wisconsin dairy farm, where Grandma had a 1-acre veggie garden, an apple orchard and tons of perennial beds. She grew Brandywines, so they are a sentimental and tasty favorite from my youth.

I wonder if they'll be as amazing as I remember them. Probably not, considering how much we build up our old childhood memories in our minds as we age. But I'm still expecting excellence! Pick 'em ripe, let 'em sit in the fridge for a day, then pull them, slice them, salt-and-pepper them and dig in. Mmmmmmm!

Well I find that in the course of a passionate life that we always come full circle again. That we return in our mature years to connect with the joys of childhood again.

I mean I have power access and skills in the kitchen. I can turn a lot of fancy well refined dishes.

Do you know what I love to cook these days.

Chicken Noodle Soup... Made from a real chicken slow cooked for 12 hours.

Meat Loaf, made from beef I grind myself and bread crumbs I toast myself set along side potatoes I grew myself.

Marinara sauce (Basic Red) made from San Marzano tomatoes I grew myself.

In the cookbook I'm writing these days one of my opening chapters talks about how "Cooking and growing your own vegetables isn't about glory for the chef, it's about telling a story. It's about saying, this is who I am, this is how I feel or this is what you mean to me. When you tell your story through the simple flavors of the things you love, everyone understands what you mean."

[Nainoa]

Curiously, I've had 2 cross pollinations happen this year...

Funny how when you try to make these things happen they fail... But when you just let it happen it turns out beautifully.

One was a Glacier tomato that crossed with some yellow tomato somewhere on the wind last year... So now it's a small slicer, but it has all the flavor and qualities of a yellow tomato which is typically low on acid and thus sweeter.

I've decided to name it "Pony Boy" because it always "Stays Golden."

The other one is the imfamous Black Brandywine.

Both Black tomatoes and Brandywine tomatoes are known for their cross pollination. (So it's no surprise, it's probably one of the more common cross pollinations in Heirloom tomatoes) Funny that I've had blacks and brandywines growing next to each other for 4 years... But last year for some reason they crossed into one of my Brandywines.

Absolutely crazy delicious tomato... BUT it has all the strengths and weaknesses... Cracks easily, slow ripening time and the plant catches the blight at the blink of an eye.

Don't know if I should try to refine it by keeping the seeds or not.

I've got just enough success in seed keeping to improve a breed to give me confidence that I can do it... And I've got just enough confidence to waste a whole lot of time, space and energy screwing it up!

[Steve Foss]

I thank you again for your assistance with the Brandywine question, and know you'll be paying attention in the future so you can offer your expertise when other questions arise on this forum.

[Nainoa]

I thank you again for your assistance with the Brandywine question, and know you'll be paying attention in the future so you can offer your expertise when other questions arise on this forum.

I tend to come and go based on how busy I get with work...

In fact I just started working on a tourism promotion for your area!

[flipper]

Steve, I have two pink Brandywine plants in my garden. Brandywines are kind of known for their low yield but, as you know, they are hard to beat for flavor. The blossom drop you are experiencing is more of a failure to polinate than it is a weakness in the flower's stem. After reading this thread I went out and counted the fruit on my plants. They each have close to 30 tomatoes on them in varying degrees of maturity. But these plants are 7 feet tall so that is not really a lot of fruit. I think it helps to get a good head start, I planted my seeds inside in early March.

One variety you might want to try out is a hybrid plant called Brandyboy. It yields a lot better than the Brandywine and retains most of the fantastic taste.

[Steve Foss]

Flipper, I'll look up that variety. I'm not actually too bothered by the low yeild. We don't eat a ton of tomatoes, so if I get a dozen or two of the wonderful Brandywines for slicers, I'm happy.

However, all the taste of a Brandywine with better yield? I'll take that, too!

If pollination is an issue, I can move them in back in full sun next to the squash and cuke vines. We've got lots of bees buzzing around back there.

[flipper]

Actually tomatoes don't require insects to pollinate. They have what is called a perfect flower. Shaking the plants, as previously mentioned, can help. What can happen with these Brandywines is they are fussy about temperature and humidity. Too hot or too cool at night and they don't seem to set fruit. Too much humidity and the pollen clumps and no fruit. They are kind of fussy that way.

[Steve Foss]

Ahhh, interesting. It has been a summer of extremes up here, with lots of weather systems moving through and dropping rain, punctuated by some very hot and humid days.

Could be I just picked the wrong summer to plant the Brandywines. Anyway, they're moved back with the rest of the veggies now. Better place for them anyway.

[flipper]

Here is my youngest son (6'4") standing between my two Brandywine plants.

[Steve Foss]

Showoff!

[Big-Al]

So Flipper how are you supporting those? I see the fence posts but what do you have tied between the posts? Last year I tried everything I could imagine but my plants were so loaded that it took everything down. This year I have just kept the plant pruned to keep it down to a manageable 5 to 6 feet.

[flipper]

I take a section of old woven wire fencing and wire it together in a circle about 3 feet in diameter. It is supported by three steel fenceposts. The top of the woven wire is at about 6 feet and the bottom is about 3 feet. There is a smaller cage inside for when the plants are smaller.

Pruning the plants aint a bad idea though, I just like to let them grow.

[Big-Al]

I think I will have to give that a try next year.

[luckycrank]

I also have two brandywhines growning one in a global bucket and one in garden

I only have one fruit on the global bucket plant and the garden plant has about 6-8 fruits nad very large about the size of the largest grapefruit I ve ever seen

I have never grown them in the past and was wondering is there anything you can do to keep them from splitting? is this some sort of watering issue ?

[Nainoa]

Splitting is generally associated with inconsistent watering... And since the larger the tomato the more water, the more sensitive and likely it is to split.

Nothing wrong with a tomato that splits, so long as you catch it within a day of splitting so bugs don't get into it. In fact there are some tomato afficinados who claim that split tomatoes taste better!

[luckycrank]

WELL I SLICED IT OPPEN AND ATE AROUND THE SLITS. UNBELEIVABLE !

HOPE THE REST TURN OUT

[Nainoa]

Yeah Brandywine is a truly magical slicer...

I'm at that point in the season where my tomatoes are just getting in over my head...

Canning 20 pounds of San Marzano every day... Hogging down Brandywine, Black Krim and Cherry tomatoes till I'm bursting at the gills!

Tomorrow I get to make 25 pounds of Cinnamon-Plum Jam!

[Steve Foss]

My two Brandywine Pink plants just set about 20 new fruits over the last three days. I think it was the shot of fertilizer that did the trick. Now it's a race to the first frost. Good deal we can pull these in the sun porch anytime, particularly as the days and nights get cooler but short of frost.

[flipper]

Glad to hear it Steve. The idea of being able to move them in to your sun porch is appealing.