Customer Reviews

Black Brandywine Tomato 30 Seeds - Heirloom

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoyed this heirloom variety. Before the storm killed everything i had a chance to get three off one vibrant plant. They are very meaty, not like your average variety of hybrid tomato which, straight out of the garden is juicy, but less water and more meaty flavor. I have seeds to plant next year and a greenhouse going up to keep in the plants for all year growning. If you love the fresh garden flavor and meaty tomatos i highly recommend the "black" group of heirloom tomatos.

Oh and a suggestion. If you plan to add to a garden heirloom varieties, do your research before hand. I find that alot of reviews tend to be negative, not sure why anyone else doesnt have a good germination but it could be the soil or other conditions not thought of including shipping incidents. I do some research before buying a new seed pack but i can tell you, Hirt's is better than the seeds i bought from Livingston seed co. Their seeds didnt even get a 45 percent germination and i can buy those local.

This was the first "black" variety of tomato that I grew, and in general I was pleased with it. The fruits tend to grow to about 350-400 grams in weight and are nice and juicy. In terms of colour, if I recall correctly they don't become as dark as depicted in the photograph, being a deep reddish-purple and an underlying dark green on the upper part of the fruit. The shape also tends to be somewhat more irregular, but usually you can get three or four thick slices regardless. As much as I enjoyed growing this tomato, there was nothing exceptional in terms of taste that made it worth growing in the years that followed.

I have grown BW Black for several years as a curiosity, but I plant only two or three of them among 50 tomato plants in my garden. Only a few suppliers have have the seed.

The results are always prolific and very good to excellent, but they vary quite a lot in size and appearance from one year to the next (I've gotten seed from different sources). There have been big beefsteaks down to to small round fruit (golf ball size). The really big ones were somewhat similar to Cherokee Purple. I think the seed suppliers aren't too careful with this particular cultivar -- the seed seems not carefully protected from hybridization with other cultivars. Also note that online photos and descriptions vary quite a bit from one supplier to the next.

My suggestion is to give it a try. The mystery is fun, too, but don't fill your garden full of these. If you like what you get save seeds from a ripe tomato and dry them on a paper towel. Save your own seeds for next year instead of buying more seed. That way you'll likely get the same or very similar results in the next year.