Well, the season has been crazy for me. I got the Brandywine S from Amish seeds, plant is tall and doing okay but is not potato leaved.:)

For the contest I was growing the Big Beef but I run out of seedlings for the community garden so I gave them the BB.

The only one that I know for sure is the right one is the Dwarf for the contest, I grew it before but I did not remember. Now I know why, it is the only one that does not look good in my garden but at least it is given tomatoes. The first that was going to ripen had some small bites and was not a caterpillar, so I threw it out and now about 3 are going to ripen soon....

The first Brandywine S to ripen? it is kind of late since I got a lot of varieties ripening for at least a month....

Hudson, you are going to beat us all, your tomatoes are the prettiest! lol

Silvia

I hear ya Silvia ! I am about ready to abandon Hybrids and save my own seeds from Heirlooms! I didn't have the same problems as you but I ordered Super Sweet 100 and wasted 5 months of GH space to a crop out! Now I have to pull it and start over. The Rapunzel I ordered doesn't like my GH and therefore production and taste sucks!

I have been searching for that great tasting Heirloom tomato that has great production - so we can save seeds and control to a large degree that what we plant is what we get. Heirlooms have great taste but great production has been a problem form us. Finally - this year - Brandywine Sudduth and Brandywine OTV appear to like our GH and are rewarding us with taste and production! I see myself moving towards Heirlooms which five years ago - I thought would never happen (because of the production issue).

Your Brandywine S (?) looks great. The regular leaf is puzzling and may indicate that you were shipped Brandywine Red - RL seeds? I don't think Sudduth Strain is available in a RL?

Good morning Hudson

I guess I am not the only one with surprises in the garden.:) I think that you and your methods of growing will do great with heirlooms in the greenhouse. Have you tried any of the oxhearts? if not you should at least trial one of them next season, they are very tasty and productive for me, they are also the earliest to ripen in my garden.

And I cut the BS this morning and just like you said it does look red, very tasty too!

Silvia

Hi Silvia - No - I have not tried Oxhearts. Do they hold up with cold temps? I ordered Big Raspberry Hybrid from a seed supplier last year and got a crop out Oxheart leaf and vine - it did not do well with colder temps here in Wyoming so I pulled it early. I have not given them a true test and am not sure where to start if I did. Which Oxheart do you like the best?

Your Red Brandywine looks tasty!

Hi Hudson, you have a valid reason about being cautious planting tomatoes in your zone. I really don't have any experience in zone 3, but I had gardens in NY and Mass and they did fine there. For me, most of the oxhearts perform well and I am not an expert but I planted before German Red Strawberry, Monoka's Hat, Kosovo and others that I would have to look in my seed supply. This season I planted a South American oxheart from Tatiana's. If you pull past threads that talked about oxhearts, you will find a lot of recommendations from people that successfully grow them in colder zones but then again is a matter of preference and taste and we all think different.:)

Silvia

Thanks for the info on the Oxhearts Silvia. I want to do some reading on the varieties you recommend.

Brandywine Sudduth made a seed saver out of me!! The taste of Brandywine Sudduth and Brandywine OTV was so good I want to replicate it every year!! I hope I have cloned the exact plants we have this year! I'm not giving up on our Brandy Boys -mind you - in fact I saved F2 seeds this year.

That was way easier than I had thought - assuming they germinate next year that is!!

I see that "Lacto Fermentation" is at work. It is almost done when you see a layer of that white goo on top. That is how pickles used to be made: Just salt and water.

Sey

The best germinating seeds we plant are those we save ourselves, so we're committed food bank junkies. In the past we haven't been too discriminating on which plants we save seeds from; now on we're going to choose the healthiest and most productive. On the other hand, Hudson's approach of rooting cuttings for his "second season" is real cloning in action - hope they keep the magic going!

Great to see some ripe Brandywine Suddoth tomatoes. Still a long wait here as just planted out last Monday. Plants have adjusted well and putting out new growth.

I will probably grow BW Sudduth next year based on Hudson's reviews. Every year I take one of his favorites. This year I am growing New Big Dwarf.

sey

Sey - I hope you have better luck with New Big Dwarf and Brandywine Sudduth than you did with Brandy Boy! Brandywine Sudduth may respond similar to Brandy Boy in your Climate? Sudduth has done well for us though!

WOW! I'm amazed people in colder climates already have ripe Brandywine S's. Mine are still little green globs from plants that sprouted Feb 10. And I'm in sunny California!

Hudson, you may have had the first ripe BS but I may get you in production. My BS plants are full of blossoms with a dozen or more green globs (scientific vegetable term) already formed. :)

We probably ought to have divisions in this contest -- like greenhouse, tunnel and unenhanced nature. Oh yeah, and another one for Hudson.

Yup, although I usually need someone that inspires. That would be Hudson...

I think you are right Alan - your plant looks very productive!! There is another thing that your plants will have that mine were a bit deprived - SUN !! I bet your BS tomatoes will also be larger than mine! Can't wait to see how they perform in Sunny California!

Ohiofem, Randall, Sey, mnwsgal, whgille - You are all too kind, thanks for your comments! Greenhouse really should be a separate category if enough GH gardeners would participate!

I will try the bw ss for next year myself

I saw in the contest categories that there was a "Most blossoms on one truss". I'd like to enter these two. It's a Brandywine Sudduth. The first one has 13 and the second one has 17. Don't know if that's a lot or not.

My BW SS is pretty productive, but NOTHING is anywhere close to being ripe.

Here is my BW update.

I was pleasantly surprised that my BW got lots of flowers, doing much better than last year that I got my seeding from Home Depot. I bought my seed pack from our local garden center (Stein's), it just says Brandywine Pink, did not say anything else, but I assume it might be one of the productive variety.

Also, my BWs set fruits almost the same time as my Big Beefs and Parker's Improved Whopper, which are supposed to be shorter DTM. The largest set of fruits are similar size too.

Alan - nice Brandywine Sudduth! I think you will win the most blossoms on a truss!! Can you get a count? Those are very productive BW-S ! It appears that a high percent of blossoms are setting fruit too!

Julia - your plants look great! Are they Sudduth? Unless the pkg identifies it as Suddith it is hard to know - but whatever it is - the plants look great!

Hudson,

I did not know if it is Sudduth or not. The package did not say. This is my second year of growing tomatoes, I can only compare to myself from last year. They got many flowers going, a lot more than last year.

Just for comparison sake - you may want to try a package of seeds next year that are labeled Brandywine Sudduth - then you know you have the Sudduth strain. I have grown Brandywine Pink and Brandywine Sudduth. The Sudduth strain was much more productive and little taste difference when compared to Brandywine Pink. The Sudduth strain out performs Brandywine Pink for us - it may also in your garden. Your Brandywine Pink plants look great - as did mine. FYI

Hudson- the best truss I had on one of my BWS was 20 blossoms but I lost 5 to blossom drop so my best truss to date is 17. I just did a count and there are 46 formed fruit on that plant with lots more blossoms opening every day. This BWS is getting huge and crowding out the Chocolate Stripes it's planted next to. But still not one sign of ripening, even with the great California sunshine we've been getting.

Nice Photos Alan! Your plants look awesome! We don't worry about blossom drop for the number of blossoms per truss. So someone needs to have more than 20 blossoms per truss to knock you out of that category! Most ripe tomatoes produced on a single truss takes into consideration blossom drop.

My Brandywine Suddath is very productive. I have always grown Pink Brandywine and it was never very productive. I was lucky to get 3 or 4 tomatoes all season. The Suddath strain is really pumping out the tomatoes.

Here is my biggest one to date. Just over 1 pound.

I had the exact experience as you did Yolos! Brandywine Pink had a good taste but production was very low - only 3 to 4 per plant. Sudduth made growing heirloom tomatoes a viable option for us! The best heirloom tomato for taste and production that we have grown to date!

My biggest yet. 1 pound 9+ oz. = 25.7 oz

Congratulations Yolos - you are the leader in the largest Brandywine Sudduth Tomato! 25.7 oz !!

Finally!! My BWS are just starting to get color

A smaller BWS behind the main plant in a self-watering container.

Lots of fruits on the main plant.

Picked my first Brandywine Sudduth's yesterday and though I haven't tasted it yet I am impressed with the plant and the tomatoes on it.

I also picked my first BWS today. Fruits are all finally starting to ripen. Can't wait to try it tonight.

Alan - they look great! Loaded too! I know you will like the taste but please give us a report!

I also picked my first Brandywines today. I don't think I'll have anything worthy of placing in the contest. There may be a few good sized fruits on the vines yet, but I doubt they will be in the running for anything. I therefore sentence them to go under the knife. Off with their slices!

The 2 fused fruits on the center are the Brandywines. The first Cherokee Purples also came in today. The 3 on the left are Rose, and all the medium sized fruits are Bellstar. The ones in the blue dish are Sweet Olive and White Cherry. Yep, tomato harvest season has started.

Those look yummy. I picked my first tomato today but it wasn't a B Sudduth. Deer had been through during the night/morning and eaten all the tiny tomatoes and most of the blossoms on Sudduth. There are some new blossoms at the top and I've been using a toothbrush hoping for more tomatoes.

We've had rain often enough that deer and rabbit repellants aren't working. Think I will try netting over the tops. The bottom halves were caged with chicken wire this spring.

(Edited to add: I was mistaken on the identity of the tomatoes eaten,
not Sudduth.) Picked two from Sudduth that were just blushing a few days ago. Will take a photo tomorrow. Added netting to prevent deer from eating tomatoes and blooms on all my plants.)

I'd like to enter this under the category of "Most tomatoes on one truss". This truss has 10 full size fruits and they're all ripening. I picked one from this truss this morning and it was a 1 pound 1 ounce beauty.

Entry noted Alan! What a beautiful Truss loaded with large fruit! They are beauties!

Correction, it wasn't Suddoth that was eaten, rather Azychoka. Last night I put netting around all the tomato plants and noted that Suddoth has a blushing tomato near the bottom.

Not quite as heavy as Yolos' above, but this is my largest so far...

I'm not sure there will be anything heavier still out on the vines, but It's producing just fine. I'll definitely be including the Suddoth strain in future grows.

Here is my first ripe Suddoth picked this Monday, July 25. Not as large as other people's. Also picked a 1.23 lb. Stump of the World. We have had several large rainfalls the last two weeks resulting in split tomatoes.

I forgot there was a category for 'prettiest'. Once they are on the table with the other varieties, I can't tell them apart from the 'Rose'. They are identical in looks. Taste is similar, but Rose is slightly sweeter.

Anyway, here's one for 'unusual'...

It's just ugly to me lol.

I have one that's close to turning and it also has a pretty irregular shape.

John A

How are you all doing, contestants ?

I was in farmers market this past Thursday and sa a vendor selling Brandywine Sudduth strain. I was pleasntly surprise and bought one, to taste and maybe to save seeds from. As you can see in the picture there were a lot big ones but I bought one that was almost 10 oz.

Today I sliced it and tasted. Wow ! what a great tasting tomato. Now the seeds are fermenting. Next year I will grow it.

Thanks to Hudson for introducing and promoting this variety

Sey

Thanks Sey - glad you like the taste! Growers seem to like to connect this strain to the Amish (just reading the label in the photo) rather than to Doris Sudduth Hill (maybe Doris was Amish?) that had been in their family for 80 years?

My first BSS. 1 lb., 0.6 oz. Had a slice on a sandwich today. Taste was excellent.

hi Hudson, That's a nice sudduth fruit you've got. How would you compare sudduth with brandy boy in terms of taste, yield, earliness and ease of growing? And how would you compare the shelf life of both?

KK - there is a greenhouse hydroponics grower in Alaska that has grown both. He is currently growing Sudduth because they produce well for him and he claims there is a better local market for Sudduth. I like Sudduth and plan to continue growing the strain. I find them very similar in taste, earliness, shelf life and ease of growing. I do not grow hydroponically but Brandy Boy has a much better yield for us (maybe 1/3 better yield). The Alaska hydroponics grower claims they are similar in yield. I really suggest you grow them both to see which one does better for you in your climate!!

I grow both in Connecticut and Florida (in the winter). Each year will be different, depending on the weather. This year Sudduth had a little better yield. Both are very tasty and similar. I think Brandy Boy is a little more disease resistant.

John A

I still have some Sudduth tomatoes that were picked green and now ripening.

The plant ripened tomatoes were delicious but yield was lower and later than Stump of the World and Brandy Boy which are similiar tasting so will not grow Sudduth again.