Temperature -- too high or too low -- can do that.

Thanks, I live in Salem, OR and I guess there have been some really hot days and a few pretty cool nights here in the valley, but I guess I thought that SOME fruit would have set over the last month, lol. Oh well, at least there will be lots of toms from our CSA this year :)

Brandywine is known for poor fruit set. I guess the best thing to do is wait it out and when less extreme weather comes, hopefully your brandywines will set some fruit. I haven't heard of the other variety before.

This is so weird, I was going to post this same question, as I noticed the identical problem on my Brandywine plants today. It was described perfectly. I live in Portland and the nights were chilly last week and the days not as warm as we would have liked. My plants have fruit so maybe they'll grow more flowers and produce some tomatows.

If it is of any consolation, IÂve had the same problem on the same variety while other varieties are fruiting. However, I have noticed a couple of baby toms just this week and a couple more blossoms that look like they will fruit. I do see exactly what you are seeing with the blooms and on one cluster 6 blossoms dropped while one has now fruited in the group. I live in Maryland and the weather here has been pretty consistent and within good fruiting ranges. Other than that my brandywine is probably the best looking of my eight great looking plants. It has been constantly covered with huge blossoms but till now, zero fruit. We still have lots of growing season left here in the Peoples Republic and I hope my patience pays off. I will defiantly reevaluate if I plant brandywine again next season.

I'm sharing your pain here in the Rocky Mountains. Big beautiful blossoms loaded with the promise of fat Brandywines, which I find on the ground in the morning. Some are starting to fruit now, so not all is lost. Not just Brandywines, either, but several other varieties too (Giant Belgium, Dorothy's Green, Big Raspberry, etc.)

It has been hot and wet here - I'm wondering if the rain/moisture can contribute to the poor pollination problem. Not really cold at night, so that doesn't seem to be part of the problem...

Has anyone thought to help airflow by pruning a little more aggressively (particularly lower on the stems) when hot conditions begin to decimate ones blossoms? It seems logical that more airflow/breezes might cool things down, aid plant movement, drying of pollen, etc.

I know the subject of pruning is a hot one (pardon the pun), and I don't want to highjack this thread - I'm just wondering if anyone has used this approach with any success. I'm a little new to this, so any experience or advice is appreciated.

I had a week or two of cold evenings after I planted in the middle of the first week of June, then we were hit with really hot humid weather for almost a week, and no surprise we had substantial blossom drop. Plants seemed to react by putting out massive numbers of flowers, after which the weather calmed down. Now it seems that many plants have possibly excessive pollenization, with some plants now having 20-25 tomatoes growing in just a 6 to 12 inch range of the plant (plants 5-6 feet tall, for several there is not much fruit except for that top foot, which is covered now). One year I would like to have stable normal weather, with bunches of fruits all the way up the plant, maturing steadily over the summer.

i have 3 or 4 brandywine sudduth's, they were hit hard by blossom drop, but last night I counted 20 small tomatoes on one of the plants (each of the others appear to have 5 or 10). Hopefully weather continues to cooperate.

Has anyone thought to help airflow by pruning a little more aggressively (particularly lower on the stems) when hot conditions begin to decimate ones blossoms? It seems logical that more airflow/breezes might cool things down, aid plant movement, drying of pollen, etc.

No one's addressed this yet, so I'll add my vague memories: I think I remember reading that people have successfully combatted high temperatures by adding a row cover canopy to shade plants, or misting them with water.

Try this thread:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg062000266779.html

One technique some of us desert dwellers use is to plant out densely. All the foliage helps keep the plants cooler, so I don't think increased airflow by pruning is all that helpful in hot weather. It would actually decrease the natural shade that the foliage provides. Misting and cover shading, yes to both.