Brandywines for Commercial Production
 

I'll be growing several varieties of Brandywine this year and would like to get some input and opinions about which are most suited for commercial production. I grow them every year but they typically look so deformed, people want the other, prettier hybrid varieties.

So, which Brandywines have the smoothest, most uniform appearance, for the purpose of selling at a farmer's market? I live in Mississippi and one year I grew Sudduth specifically and remember how surprised I was at how well they did in the MS heat, and how uniform they looked. I'll be planting a lot of those this season, but since I joined Tomatoville in early 2006 there have been a lot of new variations of BW that are now available and I haven't tried them all, and for all I know some may be turning out to be real winners in the farmer's markets.

Thanks in advance!
DS

[B][FONT=Garamond][SIZE=3]OTV Brandywine might be worth trialing this year. [/SIZE][/FONT][/B]

Can only speak about Sudduth. Very little deformity and monster production. Even if it were ugly I would grow it every year.

I've read on here before that Brandy boy has become a stabilized. It may be worth a shot.

I grew Cowlick's, Sudduth's, and Glick's, as well as other twists on those. Sudduth's and Cowlick's do best, but hybrids of them produce better market quality tomatoes. I sell a bunch at farmers markets, and grow in a near perfect GH environment.

AKMark. Which Brandywine hybrids are you referring to?

I've had good luck with Sudduth, and will be planting some in full sun and some in cooler, more shady places for late summer production. The pictures and reviews of see of OTV have encouraged me to put them on the list, too. I heard the same thing about BrandyBoy, and will have some of those, too.

Thanks. This basically verified what I suspected, and I appreciate your input.
DS

I haven't had much luck with Brandywines as a market tomato. The best heirloom pinks I have had that were good market producers are Crnkovic Yugoslav and Anna Maria's Heart.

[url]http://t.tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Crnkovic_Yugoslavian[/url]
[url]http://t.tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Anna_Maria%27s_Heart[/url]

Down here, "Brandywine" is the magic name. No one would have a clue, or any interest, if I said, "Crnkovic Yugoslav" or "Anna Maria's Heart."

I didn't grow many BW's last year, and the ones I did were just the ""pinks" from our local chain stores. Those can really look beat up.

I'll try the Sudduth, OTV, and Brandy Boy for sure. If they don't look too weird, they'll sell like hotcakes in Alaska in the winter.

Thanks for all the input!
DS

Crnkovic has fairly high shelf life. Production is unbeatable and it's highly crack resistant. If there ever was a pink for commercial production, this is the one. Shape is ok, not too catfaced but certainly not regular looking either.

What's the average weight in your experience?

About 300g.

While I only grow a home garden, I was very impressed by Crnkovic. Good sized tomatoes (8-12oz) with very good flavor, late mid-season, plants are quite productive and foliage was one of the healthier ones in the garden.

You could call it Yugoslavian Brandywine. No one would know the difference. Customers will tend to make up their own names, anyway. I sold a lot of Mat-Su Express, and almost everyone called it 'that Alaskan tomato.'

Obviously on here, we care about getting the names right, but I have hardly ever had a customer that cares that much about knowing the precisely correct name.

[QUOTE=TomatoDon;681977]AKMark. Which Brandywine hybrids are you referring to?

I've had good luck with Sudduth, and will be planting some in full sun and some in cooler, more shady places for late summer production. The pictures and reviews of see of OTV have encouraged me to put them on the list, too. I heard the same thing about BrandyBoy, and will have some of those, too.

Thanks. This basically verified what I suspected, and I appreciate your input.
DS[/QUOTE]

I would use Brandy Boy for a larger beefsteak type, or Mat-Su Express for an earlier mid size type.
I will also suggest Cornkovic Yugoslavian over Brandywine. They have an incredible taste, and are a better market tomato, shape, handling, etc. I did a cross of it too, we will see where that project goes.
Good luck

I agree with all who said they they liked Crnkovic Yugoslavian.

And why not.;)

[url]http://t.tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Crnkovic_Yugoslavian[/url]

Carolyn

[QUOTE=TomatoDon;682004]
I'll try the Sudduth, OTV, and Brandy Boy for sure. If they don't look too weird, they'll sell like hotcakes in Alaska in the winter.
DS[/QUOTE]

I'd go with Big Beef over Brandy Boy any day.

With so many people giving good reviews of Crnkovic Yugoslav I've decided to try it. Rhines, I'll have plenty of Big Beef, too.

As to names, I'm not the ultra purist that many of you are, but I like to at least try to get it right. But I've given up. I could say "heirloom" "legacy" "heritage" "old Amish" or "Brandywine" and it all means about the same thing to the people I see buying at the farmer's markets. You can assume you are on the right track when your banker is raising and selling lots of tomatoes, and he said in the Memphis markets if you have a sign that says "Brandywine" that you're going to sell out of practically everything else, too. The name just draws a crowd.

Also, it gets a little frustrating trying to explain all of this to the customers. There are four things they want: 1. Better Boy 2. Beefsteak 3. Heirloom 4. Brandywine. It gets a little frustrating trying to explain to them what they are trying to say. In their minds, that's how tomatoes are labeled -- Better Boys, Beefsteaks, Heirlooms, and Brandywines. So they can call the Crnkovic Yugoslav anything they want to after i say, "it's another one of the heirlooms from the old country."

There are several of us in and around our little community doing this, and last year we sold tomatoes about as fast as we could pick them. I had over 500 plants, and the demand far out-lasted the supply. This year I'll have some real plans to have late tomatoes.

Two things I didn't expect in commercial growing was how many people want green tomatoes for frying. It doesn't matter what the variety is for that, and that's why I plant the prolific Better Boy among others.

The other thing that surprised me even more is how many people like to buy in bulk for canning and making salsa and tomato juice. The "canners" would always buy at least 30 pounds, and usually 60-90 pounds every time they bought. And they came back week after week. One morning I heard a knock on the door and some woman had driven 70 miles to get about 100 pounds, and she was on my front porch before 7 am. Another family drove 90 pounds for about 100 pounds. I never dreamed that so many people were this dedicated when it came to canning and processing tomatoes for the winter. This gave me a good market for the lesser grades with minor blemishes because that doesn't matter to the "canners" and it doesn't matter to restaurants either since the customers never see the actual tomato before it is sliced and diced for their consumption on burgers or anything else.

Our biggest area grower is about 30 miles away and he grows anywhere from 30,000 - 40,000 plants a year and he has a big, fast-moving operation. He also rakes in tons of cash money every year, too. I'm no where near that but I'm hoping to plant at least 1,000 this year, with about 20 varieties, and planted about every 2-3 weeks through the season so I'll always have some new ones coming in, even into September and October. In my climate, lots of tomatoes are still produced and sold well into October.

Thanks again for all the input.
DS

[QUOTE=TomatoDon;682184]With so many people giving good reviews of Crnkovic Yugoslav I've decided to try it. Rhines, I'll have plenty of Big Beef, too.

As to names, I'm not the ultra purist that many of you are, but I like to at least try to get it right. But I've given up. I could say "heirloom" "legacy" "heritage" "old Amish" or "Brandywine" and it all means about the same thing to the people I see buying at the farmer's markets. You can assume you are on the right track when your banker is raising and selling lots of tomatoes, and he said in the Memphis markets if you have a sign that says "Brandywine" that you're going to sell out of practically everything else, too. The name just draws a crowd.

Also, it gets a little frustrating trying to explain all of this to the customers. There are four things they want: 1. Better Boy 2. Beefsteak 3. Heirloom 4. Brandywine. It gets a little frustrating trying to explain to them what they are trying to say. In their minds, that's how tomatoes are labeled -- Better Boys, Beefsteaks, Heirlooms, and Brandywines. So they can call the Crnkovic Yugoslav anything they want to after i say, "it's another one of the heirlooms from the old country."

There are several of us in and around our little community doing this, and last year we sold tomatoes about as fast as we could pick them. I had over 500 plants, and the demand far out-lasted the supply. This year I'll have some real plans to have late tomatoes.

Two things I didn't expect in commercial growing was how many people want green tomatoes for frying. It doesn't matter what the variety is for that, and that's why I plant the prolific Better Boy among others.

The other thing that surprised me even more is how many people like to buy in bulk for canning and making salsa and tomato juice. The "canners" would always buy at least 30 pounds, and usually 60-90 pounds every time they bought. And they came back week after week. One morning I heard a knock on the door and some woman had driven 70 miles to get about 100 pounds, and she was on my front porch before 7 am. Another family drove 90 pounds for about 100 pounds. I never dreamed that so many people were this dedicated when it came to canning and processing tomatoes for the winter. This gave me a good market for the lesser grades with minor blemishes because that doesn't matter to the "canners" and it doesn't matter to restaurants either since the customers never see the actual tomato before it is sliced and diced for their consumption on burgers or anything else.

Our biggest area grower is about 30 miles away and he grows anywhere from 30,000 - 40,000 plants a year and he has a big, fast-moving operation. He also rakes in tons of cash money every year, too. I'm no where near that but I'm hoping to plant at least 1,000 this year, with about 20 varieties, and planted about every 2-3 weeks through the season so I'll always have some new ones coming in, even into September and October. In my climate, lots of tomatoes are still produced and sold well into October.

Thanks again for all the input.
DS[/QUOTE]


I used to sell both fruits and plants to a local nursery.What I did was to make master sheets of all the varieties I might have available for that season,give what each one was like as grown by me,as to indet, det,paste, beefsteak,whatever, and all the history I knew about each one.

Then copied off many copies by Xerox and stapled the pages together. And it came to pass in later years that you could buy stakes for the plants, with a picture of each variety at the top,and they would custom make for you ones that they didn't carry. And there are several places that still do that.

It was my responsibility to weigh the trays that had fruits,and also check every few days to remove the ones that started rotting, etc.

Our Farm was very near a very very classy area,so there would be mainly women who came to buy either fruits and/orplants, and bring their gardeners along as well. This was at the place where I delivered that stuff,not to our farm

And it wasn't unusual to be contacted,yes, I put my phone # on the top sheet, to be contacted by someone who said she was giving a dinner party and she wanted as many red and pink colored fruits of all sizes,but especially cherries.

My maternal grandparents lived not that far away and they would have women coming with their gardeners, actually the place I was referring to above, but especially to buy bedding plants.

And as Aunt Pearl always said,the customer is always right, since I'd fume at those who would strip the fresh eating corn and put it back,or those who would do dasterly deeds to the peaches,pears,plums, etc.

Carolyn

Can't believe here on TV I am reading a thread about how to sell one tomato while calling it something else because the people buying them will never know the difference, and if you just lie about it you will make more money. If anyone did that with seeds and told you they were Brandywine because they would sell better, and they figured you wouldn't know the difference, I can just imagine the ruckus that would ensue. Just an observation.

I only grow Sudduth, and rarely have malformed tomatoes. I stopped looking for another one.

[QUOTE=SueCT;682276]Can't believe here on TV I am reading a thread about how to sell one tomato while calling it something else because the people buying them will never know the difference, and if you just lie about it you will make more money. If anyone did that with seeds and told you they were Brandywine because they would sell better, and they figured you wouldn't know the difference, I can just imagine the ruckus that would ensue. Just an observation.

I only grow Sudduth, and rarely have malformed tomatoes. I stopped looking for another one.[/QUOTE]

I agree with you completely on your comments above re it's all about money and the customers don't care what it is called..

While some places ( seed vendors mainly) have changed the names of well known varieties, yes that's a problem, and an ethical/moral problem IMO.

But to do it deliberately when a person knows they are doing it to up sales,no, that does not work for me at all.

Carolyn

People don't want the truth when it is a difficult one. No one like foreign words they can't pronounce or spell. And quite honestly, I'd guess 95% or more of the people I sell plants to could not care less what the name of the variety is, much less if it has been abbreviated or changed. No one ever remembers the name of what they grew last year. I get a description at best when they ask for it again. Sometimes tomatoes with a story get remembered better, but it is rare that a name is remembered, and certainly never a complex or difficult name. They are forgotten the instant they are heard. You can put tags in the pots, but they usually blow away in the first storm if they make it into the garden.

Instead of trying to make them buy a tomato with a difficult name, grow the ones they look for and a few new ones they can try, and don't give them the name if you think its a problem. But don't sell someone who has always wanted to try the Brandywine they have heard so much about, a fake tomato. It maybe good, but if someone wants to know what a particular tomato tastes like, I think its great, and i hope they start to really the see differences that exist between tomatoes, and appreciate them. I don't care if it is 1:1000 customers. If it really doesn't matter, why do it? If they really don't care what the name is, don't name them. Or just say "heirloom". There are a lot of things you can say that are actually true.

[QUOTE=SueCT;682303]Instead of trying to make them buy a tomato with a difficult name, grow the ones they look for and a few new ones they can try, and don't give them the name if you think its a problem. But don't sell someone who has always wanted to try the Brandywine they have heard so much about, a fake tomato. It maybe good, but if someone wants to know what a particular tomato tastes like, I think its great, and i hope they start to really the see differences that exist between tomatoes, and appreciate them. I don't care if it is 1:1000 customers. If it really doesn't matter, why do it? If they really don't care what the name is, don't name them. Or just say "heirloom". There are a lot of things you can say that are actually true.[/QUOTE]

As I think I mentioned in at least one other thread if not 20 other threads.... I have really bad CRS. I can't remember a person's name so forget about remembering a tomato's name. In general, I think people shop by appearance of the fruits and also if a vendor has treated them well in the past, they might say, "hey there is that guy/gal who sold us those awesome 'whatchamacallits' last year, let's see what they have this year".

I am thankful that I keep notes, because the mind is a terrible thing....:))

For SueCT who said, "Can't believe here on TV I am reading a thread about how to sell one tomato while calling it something else because the people buying them will never know the difference, and if you just lie about it you will make more money. If anyone did that with seeds and told you they were Brandywine because they would sell better, and they figured you wouldn't know the difference, I can just imagine the ruckus that would ensue. Just an observation."

First, I'd like to know who you are calling a liar.

Second, this isn't a thread about selling one variety of tomato while intentionally mis-labeling it for something else, as you claim. It's a thread asking about "Brandywines For Commercial Production," exactly as the topic says.

Don

If I misinterpreted any post here I apologize. The statement I interpreted that way was regarding Crnkovic Yugosla "You could just call it Yugoslavian Brandywine" Secondarily was that your request was for more versions of Brandywine, then stating you were going to try Crnkovic Yugosla, and "As to names, I'm not the ultra purist that many of you are, but I like to at least try to get it right. But I've given up. I could say "heirloom" "legacy" "heritage" "old Amish" or "Brandywine" and it all means about the same thing to the people I see buying at the farmer's markets. You can assume you are on the right track when your banker is raising and selling lots of tomatoes, and he said in the Memphis markets if you have a sign that says "Brandywine" that you're going to sell out of practically everything else, too. The name just draws a crowd."

If you don't plan to market Crnkovic Yugosla as Brandywine, then I misinterpreted your saying that you are looking for a new version of Brandywine, you are going to try Crnkovic Yugosla, and you at least tried to get it right regarding the names but have given up trying...and if you have a sign that says Brandywine, you are going of sell out of everything. It was not primarily your statement but I did get the impression that you had given up using correct names for your tomatoes and were agreeing with Cole Rabbie that you could just call it a Brandywine because no one would know the difference.

In front of your pink tomato selection, you simply write "better than Brandywine" then you have a name that heirloom people know that will draw attention to another choice. LOL Even selling tomatoes brings issues.

Some people ask names, most just want a good tasting tomato, heirloom or hybrid. If they buy a few, they do want them to last for a little while too.

We have found, that interactions with customers are all different. Talk to them, sell your product, and listen to them also. If you grow good tomatoes they will trust you, you will see them return, and with a friend too.

SueCT, honestly, and with all due respect...I don't see how you could have gotten more wrong with your reading, and then more wrong and confusing with your comments about this thread than you already have. I was one of the first one's to sign up here when it opened in 2006 and have been participating for 12 years, but I've never been involved in a thread like this before.

It's time to drop this and move on before it gets any worse. As far as I'm concerned, this thread is now officially closed.

Before you closed the thread, I have 3 suggestions for well formed pink fruit with fabulous production and fantastic taste. Pink Pioneer, McKinley, McMurray #10. All are basically blemish free. I like Mark's idea of a sign saying better than Brandywine. Then if they ask, you tell them what it is.

Sometimes I feel just like this lady:

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3jLr2zIqHQ&feature=youtu.be[/url]

[QUOTE=ginger2778;682540]I have 3 suggestions for well formed pink fruit with fabulous production and fantastic taste. Pink Pioneer, McKinley, McMurray #10.[/QUOTE]

When I read nice comments on a variety I can hardly resist temptation to give it a try. When I googled the varieties you quote I fell on the following site with crazy prices [URL]https://www.heirloomtomatoplants.com/Heirloom_tomatoes-ah.html[/URL] . I found other sellers that were just a bit more reasonable, all selling the best tomatoes on the planet. Some suggestions would be welcome !