Brandywine tomato

Sun

Full sun; aim for at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily.

Water

Water deeply and regularly, keeping the root zone evenly moist but not waterlogged; avoid repeated drying out followed by heavy watering.

Soil

Fertile, well-drained soil enriched with compost; slightly acidic to neutral, ideally pH 6.0-6.8.

Height

6-8 ft (1.8-2.4 m), sometimes taller with a long growing season

Spread

2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m) when supported

Flowers

Small yellow flowers from late spring or summer until cold weather.

Foliage

Broad, green, potato-leaf foliage with smoother margins than most tomato varieties.

Growth

Fast in warm weather

Care needed

High

• Pollinators
• Low allergen
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Hard

Toughness

Needs looking after

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   0.8 ft (0.25 m)

2. After 1 year

   7 ft (2.1 m)

   full size

Full size in one season.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Growth rate

Fast

• Plant out after frost risk has passed, once nights are consistently above about 10°C.
• Install a strong cage, stake or cord support at planting; tie stems loosely as they grow.
• Water the soil rather than the foliage, preferably in the morning.
• Mulch after the soil warms, keeping mulch clear of the main stem.
• Feed with a tomato fertiliser according to its label once fruit begins to set; avoid excess nitrogen.
• Space supported plants 2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m) apart and use a container of at least 15-20 US gallons (57-76 litres) if growing in a pot.

Pruning. For stake or cord training, keep one or two main stems and remove unwanted sideshoots while small; caged plants need less pruning. Remove lower leaves touching the soil, and pinch out growing tips about a month before the expected end of the season to favour existing fruit.

Pick from summer into autumn, commonly about 80-100 days after transplanting, though cool weather can delay ripening. Fruit is ready when it develops a full pink colour and yields slightly to gentle pressure; shoulders may retain some green. Snip heavy fruit from the vine rather than pulling, and bring partly coloured fruit indoors before frost.

Late winter

Sow indoors 6-8 weeks before your expected last frost, providing warmth and strong light.

Spring

Pot seedlings on as needed, then harden them off gradually for 7-10 days.

Late spring

Plant into warm soil after frost risk has passed and install supports immediately.

Early summer

Mulch, tie in new growth and begin regular feeding once fruit starts to set.

Summer

Maintain even watering, harvest ripe fruit and inspect leaves for disease.

Late summer

Where autumn is cool, stop new shoot growth about a month before cropping is likely to end.

Autumn

Pick remaining usable fruit before frost and remove spent plants; do not home-compost blight-infected material.

• Train up sturdy supports as a productive vertical feature in a potager.
• Plant in sunny raised beds with low herbs around the edges, leaving airflow around the vines.
• Grow in a large patio container where the fruit is easy to check and harvest.
• Use in an edible border with basil and calendula for contrasting foliage and flowers.

Garden styles it suits: Potager (kitchen garden), Cottage garden, Farmhouse, Edible landscape, Homestead and Family-friendly.

Plant it with: Basil, Chives, Parsley, Lettuce, Calendula and Sweet alyssum.

Wildlife: Flowers provide pollen for bumblebees and other buzz-pollinating bees. Birds and small mammals may eat ripe fruit; use securely fitted wildlife-safe netting if protection is needed.

• Blossom-end rot: dark, sunken patches develop beneath fruit when calcium supply to the fruit is disrupted, commonly by uneven watering. Maintain steady moisture and avoid adding calcium unless a soil test shows a deficiency.
• Fruit cracking: large fruit can split after rain or irregular watering. Mulch, keep moisture steady and pick ripe fruit promptly.
• Early or late blight: leaf spots, browning or rapidly blackening growth can destroy plants. Keep foliage dry, improve airflow, remove affected material and use locally approved controls where appropriate.
• Caterpillars, including tomato hornworms in North America: inspect for chewed leaves, droppings and damaged fruit. Hand-pick caterpillars or use a locally approved Bacillus thuringiensis product while larvae are small.

Leaves, stems and unripe green fruit contain glycoalkaloids and can poison cats, dogs, horses and people if enough is eaten. Effects commonly include digestive upset, with more serious effects possible after substantial ingestion. Ripe tomato flesh is not known to be toxic when eaten in normal food amounts; keep pets and livestock from chewing the plants.

• Yellow Brandywine tomato (Solanum lycopersicum 'Yellow Brandywine')

  Also commonly has potato-leaf foliage, but its ripe fruit is yellow to golden rather than pink.

• Cherokee Purple tomato (Solanum lycopersicum 'Cherokee Purple')

  Usually has regular, more divided tomato leaves and dusky purple-red fruit with greenish shoulders, rather than Brandywine's broad potato leaves and pink fruit.

The botanical epithet lycopersicum comes from Greek words meaning 'wolf peach'.

Propagation. Grow from seed sown indoors in warmth, ideally around 21-27°C. Brandywine is open-pollinated, so seed can be saved from fully ripe, healthy fruit, fermented briefly, cleaned and dried; occasional cross-pollination means saved seedlings may not all remain true to type.

Accepted botanical name

Solanum lycopersicum

In the US and Canada

Introduced in Alaska, Hawaii, the lower 48 states, Pacific Basin, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands.

Native range

Peru.

Measured

Soil pH 7 to 7.5. Average height 19 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.