True Black Brandywine Tomato

I started my 'True Black Brandwine' seed in January, and moved the plants to my heated greenhouse in mid-March. I picked the 1st 3 fruit yesterday, in mid-July. The description said 80 to 90 days, and my plant took an extra month to ripen its fruit (126 days). Also, the largest fruit so far was only 6 ounces, which is quite different than the plant's description which led me to believe this would be an extra large variety. However, I am giving it 4 stars, because the fruit was delicious and Perfect for BLT sandwiches. Also the plant is beautiful, over 6 feet tall with big potato leaves.

The plant has disease resistance and good growth but the skin is tough, so tough in fact you can peel it with you bear hands in one piece. And very acetic. The first one I eat was sweet but it made my mouth feel funny. But that might differ for you but try these out.

I started indoors under LED lights, in coir, and this tomato is among the most vigorous large tomatoes I've grown this year (out of 10 types). The form is like a really tall squash plant, chandelier/ bushy shape with many branches. It's fun/ easy to train onto a central support/ wooden stake. I'm enjoying letting it go wild for a bit and then trying to tie up multiple branches with twine. Planted the small (3-set of leaves) seedling in the ground in late May and have some small green fruit growing, near Chicago, IL (zone 5b), before July 4, which is earlier than my other brandwine-types. Haven't tasted the fruit yet but am impressed with the vigor of this thing! Also, the leaves on this plant are huge, like some are about the size of my adult-male hand, and it took up more room than I expected. This thing goes WIDE. Truly a beast.

I live on a small island off the coast of North Africa, and have never seen tomatoes grown here. The local market sells mainly large paste tomatoes, which seem to be preferred by the locals- but not by me. So it was in the nature of an experiment that I grew these. They were quick off the mark to become lush, sprawling plants, set fruit before any of my other three varieties (Large Barred Boar, White Tomesol, German Pink.), and when the fruits started coming, they came in a deluge. And what fruits! Large, juicy, flavorful, great served with homemade olive oil mayo on a bed of rocket. Not a trace of disease has showed up on the plants, even while some of the others have started to exhibit blight, so have to deem them blight-resistant. High heat didn't faze them. Little bit of cracking here and there, but minor. Big debt of thanks owed to William Woys Weaver!

True story. I don't like eating fresh tomatoes like on sandwiches and hamburgers and stuff. But I grow 'em like crazy. I love them in fresh salsa, I make sauce out of them, I can them, I freeze them, I ogle them in my garden, I give them to my kids (with 14 of them, kids that is, it requires a lot of tomato growing), and I love to experiment with different varieties. I'm sold on True Black Brandywine. My son and his wife, tomato tasting experts, say this is the best tomato in my garden this summer out of 8 or so varieites. They are productive, plump with many of them in the 1 lb.neighborhood, lovely in every way, meaty, wonderful to cut up, and absolutely perfect for my pico de gallo salsa. I will gladly grow these again because they are straight up tomato winners.