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Re: tasteless Brandywines and corn success

Bob Carter said,
>I've tried brandywines and found them quite poor in
>flavour and texture.  I'm still wondering what all the foofafa over them is all
>about!  Our summers might be a bit on the cool, wet and short side for this
>variety to develop it's full taste.

This summer, my BW's are fantastic.  It's been hot and exceedingly dry (but
naturally I'm watering my beds like a big dog).  The taste and fruit size
are all there, though of course this open-pollinated heirloom does not
produce as many fruit per vine as modern hybrids.  Regular BW (red)
definitely has more flavor than Pink BW.

BUT, the summer of '96 here was unusually cool and very wet, with rain every
third day or so all summer long.  My BW's last summer were a plain flat-out
disaster.  Growing at a community plot, 7 bushes never got bigger than a
tall wastebasket, 2 (total) tomatoes of no flavor distinction at all.

I suspect Bob has put his finger on one reason why BW doesn't perform alike
for all of us.

>  I wonder if there's any early cultivars of
>brandywine that are better suited to northern or otherwise cool climates?

Haven't heard about any.  BW was developed in Amish country (central
Pennsylvania) a *long* time ago.  It's somewhat cooler and less humid there
than here in the greater D.C. area but I believe only one USDA zone cooler
(lower numbered).

--Janet Wintermute
USDA zone 7
------------------------------------------------------------------
Janet Wintermute             jwintermute@ids2.idsonline.com

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