Brandy Boy

[TheMad_Poet]

Been wanting to try this one for some time. A neighbor gave me some Pink Girl f1 tomatoes and they were not bad. Not as tasty as Brandywine Cowlicks that I grow , but same type of flavor in a hybrid. For a long time I have had the assumption that, other than sungold, there are no really good hybrids, flavorwise. Brandy Boy having BW in its lineage, makes me wonder. So, I broke down and ordered some seed directly from Burpee, that way I know I got the real deal. Needed more sungold seed, so have that coming too. And added some Big Mamma pastes, that I have read good things about. I grew a hybrid some years ago, that I read good things about on T'ville. Not sure I remember the name, Jetstar, or something like that. Beautiful plants the were, but tastless!! I ate the first couple ripe ones and left the rest on the vine. They were in a garden way out back, so I just let them be. Into October I took a look and they had all fallen to the ground. But still beautiful looking round red globes. Picked one up a tasted it. Tasted the same as the one 2 months earlier. Talk about a shelf life. But even the raccoons and possums
let them be. LOL. So, hope I am not disappointed with Brandy Boys.

[Seven Bends]

I grew a hybrid some years ago, that I read good things about on T'ville. Not sure I remember the name, Jetstar, or something like that. Beautiful plants the were, but tastless!! I ate the first couple ripe ones and left the rest on the vine. They were in a garden way out back, so I just let them be. Into October I took a look and they had all fallen to the ground. But still beautiful looking round red globes. Picked one up a tasted it. Tasted the same as the one 2 months earlier. Talk about a shelf life. But even the raccoons and possums let them be. LOL. So, hope I am not disappointed with Brandy Boys.

That doesn't sound like Jet Star, except for the round red globe part. They shouldn't be tasteless, and they don't have extended shelf life. Is it possible you had a different hybrid? Some of the newer hybrids definitely have been bred for extended shelf life, firmer consistency, good shipping quality, etc., but Jet Star is fairly old and isn't one of them. Regardless, good luck with Brandy Boy; I hope it works out well for you.

[Mark_Thompson]

I love Brandy Boy. I’m not super picky about flavor, all homegrown is head and shoulders above the store here, but still. Huge fan.

[Acer Rubrum]

I grow Brandy Boy as a bedding plant, though I've never grown it out. They're always all sold by the end of plant season so I'd have to save one back to grow it. My customers seem to like them so I assume they're pretty good.

The plants are vigorous and potato leafed. I don't have any trouble with them.

I grew Big Mama as a bedding plant for a while, but the demand seemed to fall off after a few years. So I've just been sticking with Super Sauce as my hybrid paste. I did grow Super Sauce out. It doesn't have awesome fresh eating quality but for it's intended purpose of sauce, it's great. Also it's a small, manageable plant. So I ended up saving seed even though it's a hybrid. The F2 plants seemed the same as the F1, so I'll be growing F3 seeds this year. (Sorry about rambling off topic.)

[Shule]

Some others you might consider trying are the varieties in the Chef's Choice series, and the Heirloom Marriage series. I haven't tried them, but it's something to think about.

[TheMad_Poet]

That doesn't sound like Jet Star, except for the round red globe part. They shouldn't be tasteless, and they don't have extended shelf life. Is it possible you had a different hybrid? Some of the newer hybrids definitely have been bred for extended shelf life, firmer consistency, good shipping quality, etc., but Jet Star is fairly old and isn't one of them. Regardless, good luck with Brandy Boy; I hope it works out well for you.
[/quote]

Really not sure what variety it was, Jet Star just popped in my head. I don't keep records, not that organized. Before I discovered T'ville and I had grown mostly celebrities and early girl, etc. My first heirlooms were from a local nursery, and were not very good. That was back in the early 2000's. T'ville in 2011? and has been a grand trip down the garden path since then. My main faves are BW Cowlicks, Orange Banana, and Kimberley for an early. Black Cherry and good ole Sungold. Still searching for the perfect paste.

[TheMad_Poet]

I grow Brandy Boy as a bedding plant, though I've never grown it out. They're always all sold by the end of plant season so I'd have to save one back to grow it. My customers seem to like them so I assume they're pretty good.

The plants are vigorous and potato leafed. I don't have any trouble with them.

I grew Big Mama as a bedding plant for a while, but the demand seemed to fall off after a few years. So I've just been sticking with Super Sauce as my hybrid paste. I did grow Super Sauce out. It doesn't have awesome fresh eating quality but for it's intended purpose of sauce, it's great. Also it's a small, manageable plant. So I ended up saving seed even though it's a hybrid. The F2 plants seemed the same as the F1, so I'll be growing F3 seeds this year. (Sorry about rambling off topic.)

Super Sauce is one I'd like to try. Read a bunch of reviews that were a bit negative. Doesn't get that big one said. Others were not delighted w/ the flavor. I am not of the camp that slicers make good sauce. Once you cook them down, the flavor is too powerful. Flavor intensifies when cooked down. Pastes on the other hand intensify their weak flavor to just the right point when cooked down. I have made a lot of sauce, and Orange Banana makes a great one, BUT a lot of work. I split each one length wise and strip out the gel and seeds. Freeze and make sauce in the winter. I have tried leaving them whole but the flavor is unpleasantly strong that way. Have you sauced the Super Sauce? How is the flavor as a sauce?? Wish now I had ordered them also. Not off topic at all, I appreciate your comments.

[TheMad_Poet]

Some others you might consider trying are the varieties in the Chef's Choice series, and the Heirloom Marriage series. I haven't tried them, but it's something to think about.

Waiting for my MMMM package before I order anymore anything. BUT.... I do have Chef's Choice Pink in an online shopping cart, forget which one. I have read good things about them, but I have read good things about a lot of varieties that didn't impress me when I grew them. I have a better handle on scheduled fertilizing now the last few years and what a difference it has made in great flavor and production all season long. So anxious to re visit varieties that I have grown before as well as new ones.

[MissS]

@TheMad_Poet I see these Chef's Choice BiColor (6) (5/pk),Chef's Choice Pink (4) (5/pk), Chef's Choice Yellow (9) (5/pk) listed in the MMMM under the hybrids. They ask for a $1.00 per pack donation so that they can buy more seeds. Their hybrids are a great price because they buy the seed in bulk. So maybe get ahold of Tormato to see if they can be added to you pack.

[Acer Rubrum]

I did use Super Sauce for sauce and it tasted fine. Most red or pink types taste similar to me in sauce, unless one is particularly strong or mild. The Super Sauce was about average sauce taste to me. My mom can tell a lot more about taste from sauce. She doesn't eat tomatoes fresh so she waits until she's got it sauced to determine if she likes the flavor. I asked her but she said she didn't do a batch of just Super Sauce.

I saw Super Sauce at one of the brick and mortar stores I've been to lately. I think it was Menard's but it might have been Home Depot, or possibly Walmart. But you might be able to find it in your local area if you decide to look for it.

Here's the size mine got to. These are F2's, but I couldn't tell the difference between them and the F1's. For reference, that's my hand and I wear a medium in men's gloves.

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If you like Brandywine flavor, I'm working on a paste type that's a cross between Brandywine and Purple Russian. Some people are of the opinion that Purple Russian isn't actually a sauce type but I've used it for sauce and been happy with it. Anyway, this one I'm working on (which I'm calling Sioux Empire Paste) is a pink oblong with a distinct nose. It's at F7 for the summer of 2023. I'm fairly pleased with the taste, quality of sauce and earliness.

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My oldest son did some trials for paste types last year and he decided Gilbertie was the best with Abbittista as second runner up. He likes what I consider to be average tomato flavor in his sauces and ketchup. He's growing both those varieties this year. I couldn't find any pictures of Gilbertie, but I do have a some of the Abbittista.

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[TheMad_Poet]

I did use Super Sauce for sauce and it tasted fine. Most red or pink types taste similar to me in sauce, unless one is particularly strong or mild. The Super Sauce was about average sauce taste to me. My mom can tell a lot more about taste from sauce. She doesn't eat tomatoes fresh so she waits until she's got it sauced to determine if she likes the flavor. I asked her but she said she didn't do a batch of just Super Sauce.

I saw Super Sauce at one of the brick and mortar stores I've been to lately. I think it was Menard's but it might have been Home Depot, or possibly Walmart. But you might be able to find it in your local area if you decide to look for it.

Here's the size mine got to. These are F2's, but I couldn't tell the difference between them and the F1's. For reference, that's my hand and I wear a medium in men's gloves.



If you like Brandywine flavor, I'm working on a paste type that's a cross between Brandywine and Purple Russian. Some people are of the opinion that Purple Russian isn't actually a sauce type but I've used it for sauce and been happy with it. Anyway, this one I'm working on (which I'm calling Sioux Empire Paste) is a pink oblong with a distinct nose. It's at F7 for the summer of 2023. I'm fairly pleased with the taste, quality of sauce and earliness



My oldest son did some trials for paste types last year and he decided Gilbertie was the best with Abbittista as second runner up. He likes what I consider to be average tomato flavor in his sauces and ketchup. He's growing both those varieties this year. I couldn't find any pictures of Gilbertie, but I do have a some of the Abbittista.

Your pink pastes look great, may have to try some of those when they're ready. I got Abbitista in the swap, but not Gilberte, tho I have read about that one. Abb will be a definite grow this year. Just got my swap package a few days ago, so researching a lot to figure which ones to grow. Have you ever tried Amish Paste? I grew 1 plant last year, and made some quick sauce with it that I thought was excellent. Not sure how it would be in a whole batch, but sounds promising on flavor. Kind of stingy on production compared to others.

[Tormato]

I grow Brandy Boy as a bedding plant, though I've never grown it out. They're always all sold by the end of plant season so I'd have to save one back to grow it. My customers seem to like them so I assume they're pretty good.

The plants are vigorous and potato leafed. I don't have any trouble with them.

I grew Big Mama as a bedding plant for a while, but the demand seemed to fall off after a few years. So I've just been sticking with Super Sauce as my hybrid paste. I did grow Super Sauce out. It doesn't have awesome fresh eating quality but for it's intended purpose of sauce, it's great. Also it's a small, manageable plant. So I ended up saving seed even though it's a hybrid. The F2 plants seemed the same as the F1, so I'll be growing F3 seeds this year. (Sorry about rambling off topic.)

Super Sauce is one I'd like to try. Read a bunch of reviews that were a bit negative. Doesn't get that big one said. Others were not delighted w/ the flavor. I am not of the camp that slicers make good sauce. Once you cook them down, the flavor is too powerful. Flavor intensifies when cooked down. Pastes on the other hand intensify their weak flavor to just the right point when cooked down. I have made a lot of sauce, and Orange Banana makes a great one, BUT a lot of work. I split each one length wise and strip out the gel and seeds. Freeze and make sauce in the winter. I have tried leaving them whole but the flavor is unpleasantly strong that way. Have you sauced the Super Sauce? How is the flavor as a sauce?? Wish now I had ordered them also. Not off topic at all, I appreciate your comments.

Many of us tried Super Sauce many years ago when it was introduced. There were several negative reviews about production, and I was one of them. Some said dry flesh, mine were juicy. Some said small size, mine were quite large, and extremely dense, weighing much more than they looked. Some said lousy fresh flavor, mine were very good for a red. My biggest disappointment was a harvest of just three large tomatoes, in a year when everything else produced a good normal harvest. They ripened weeks apart, so no making sauce.

I think I called my one seedling the anorexic albatross. When it began flowering it was about 4 inches high, 8 inches wide, and had very few leaves. I should have saved a few seeds to grow out a few F2s.

[Acer Rubrum]

I did use Super Sauce for sauce and it tasted fine. Most red or pink types taste similar to me in sauce, unless one is particularly strong or mild. The Super Sauce was about average sauce taste to me. My mom can tell a lot more about taste from sauce. She doesn't eat tomatoes fresh so she waits until she's got it sauced to determine if she likes the flavor. I asked her but she said she didn't do a batch of just Super Sauce.

I saw Super Sauce at one of the brick and mortar stores I've been to lately. I think it was Menard's but it might have been Home Depot, or possibly Walmart. But you might be able to find it in your local area if you decide to look for it.

Here's the size mine got to. These are F2's, but I couldn't tell the difference between them and the F1's. For reference, that's my hand and I wear a medium in men's gloves.



If you like Brandywine flavor, I'm working on a paste type that's a cross between Brandywine and Purple Russian. Some people are of the opinion that Purple Russian isn't actually a sauce type but I've used it for sauce and been happy with it. Anyway, this one I'm working on (which I'm calling Sioux Empire Paste) is a pink oblong with a distinct nose. It's at F7 for the summer of 2023. I'm fairly pleased with the taste, quality of sauce and earliness



My oldest son did some trials for paste types last year and he decided Gilbertie was the best with Abbittista as second runner up. He likes what I consider to be average tomato flavor in his sauces and ketchup. He's growing both those varieties this year. I couldn't find any pictures of Gilbertie, but I do have a some of the Abbittista.

Your pink pastes look great, may have to try some of those when they're ready. I got Abbitista in the swap, but not Gilberte, tho I have read about that one. Abb will be a definite grow this year. Just got my swap package a few days ago, so researching a lot to figure which ones to grow. Have you ever tried Amish Paste? I grew 1 plant last year, and made some quick sauce with it that I thought was excellent. Not sure how it would be in a whole batch, but sounds promising on flavor. Kind of stingy on production compared to others.

I've grown Amish Paste on and off for years. It's kind of frustrating to me because there seem to be different strains depending on the seed source. Size and productivity differ. I wish we had the seeds from the ones my mom grew when I was younger. I remember them as being great, though that might have been because of my limited experience and the fact that my grandfather really liked them. None of the ones I've tried as an adult are significantly better than other paste types, though they typically taste fine. I'm giving up on Amish Paste again this year, but I'll likely circle back to it at some point.

I'll probably send the F8 seeds of Sioux Empire Paste into the swap next year, barring any unforeseen events.

[Acer Rubrum]

I grow Brandy Boy as a bedding plant, though I've never grown it out. They're always all sold by the end of plant season so I'd have to save one back to grow it. My customers seem to like them so I assume they're pretty good.

The plants are vigorous and potato leafed. I don't have any trouble with them.

I grew Big Mama as a bedding plant for a while, but the demand seemed to fall off after a few years. So I've just been sticking with Super Sauce as my hybrid paste. I did grow Super Sauce out. It doesn't have awesome fresh eating quality but for it's intended purpose of sauce, it's great. Also it's a small, manageable plant. So I ended up saving seed even though it's a hybrid. The F2 plants seemed the same as the F1, so I'll be growing F3 seeds this year. (Sorry about rambling off topic.)

Super Sauce is one I'd like to try. Read a bunch of reviews that were a bit negative. Doesn't get that big one said. Others were not delighted w/ the flavor. I am not of the camp that slicers make good sauce. Once you cook them down, the flavor is too powerful. Flavor intensifies when cooked down. Pastes on the other hand intensify their weak flavor to just the right point when cooked down. I have made a lot of sauce, and Orange Banana makes a great one, BUT a lot of work. I split each one length wise and strip out the gel and seeds. Freeze and make sauce in the winter. I have tried leaving them whole but the flavor is unpleasantly strong that way. Have you sauced the Super Sauce? How is the flavor as a sauce?? Wish now I had ordered them also. Not off topic at all, I appreciate your comments.

Many of us tried Super Sauce many years ago when it was introduced. There were several negative reviews about production, and I was one of them. Some said dry flesh, mine were juicy. Some said small size, mine were quite large, and extremely dense, weighing much more than they looked. Some said lousy fresh flavor, mine were very good for a red. My biggest disappointment was a harvest of just three large tomatoes, in a year when everything else produced a good normal harvest. They ripened weeks apart, so no making sauce.

I think I called my one seedling the anorexic albatross. When it began flowering it was about 4 inches high, 8 inches wide, and had very few leaves. I should have saved a few seeds to grow out a few F2s.

It's interesting that there was such variation when Super Sauce was first introduced. I grew it out for the first time the year before last and it did well. That's why I decided to see how the F2 plants would do last year.

[Tormato]

I grow Brandy Boy as a bedding plant, though I've never grown it out. They're always all sold by the end of plant season so I'd have to save one back to grow it. My customers seem to like them so I assume they're pretty good.

The plants are vigorous and potato leafed. I don't have any trouble with them.

I grew Big Mama as a bedding plant for a while, but the demand seemed to fall off after a few years. So I've just been sticking with Super Sauce as my hybrid paste. I did grow Super Sauce out. It doesn't have awesome fresh eating quality but for it's intended purpose of sauce, it's great. Also it's a small, manageable plant. So I ended up saving seed even though it's a hybrid. The F2 plants seemed the same as the F1, so I'll be growing F3 seeds this year. (Sorry about rambling off topic.)

Super Sauce is one I'd like to try. Read a bunch of reviews that were a bit negative. Doesn't get that big one said. Others were not delighted w/ the flavor. I am not of the camp that slicers make good sauce. Once you cook them down, the flavor is too powerful. Flavor intensifies when cooked down. Pastes on the other hand intensify their weak flavor to just the right point when cooked down. I have made a lot of sauce, and Orange Banana makes a great one, BUT a lot of work. I split each one length wise and strip out the gel and seeds. Freeze and make sauce in the winter. I have tried leaving them whole but the flavor is unpleasantly strong that way. Have you sauced the Super Sauce? How is the flavor as a sauce?? Wish now I had ordered them also. Not off topic at all, I appreciate your comments.

Many of us tried Super Sauce many years ago when it was introduced. There were several negative reviews about production, and I was one of them. Some said dry flesh, mine were juicy. Some said small size, mine were quite large, and extremely dense, weighing much more than they looked. Some said lousy fresh flavor, mine were very good for a red. My biggest disappointment was a harvest of just three large tomatoes, in a year when everything else produced a good normal harvest. They ripened weeks apart, so no making sauce.

I think I called my one seedling the anorexic albatross. When it began flowering it was about 4 inches high, 8 inches wide, and had very few leaves. I should have saved a few seeds to grow out a few F2s.

It's interesting that there was such variation when Super Sauce was first introduced. I grew it out for the first time the year before last and it did well. That's why I decided to see how the F2 plants would do last year.

Perhaps their earliest sourced seed had poor quality control and it wasn't all F1 successful crosses. One of the odd things, too, was that plant size/height was all over the place.

[Acer Rubrum]

I grow Brandy Boy as a bedding plant, though I've never grown it out. They're always all sold by the end of plant season so I'd have to save one back to grow it. My customers seem to like them so I assume they're pretty good.

The plants are vigorous and potato leafed. I don't have any trouble with them.

I grew Big Mama as a bedding plant for a while, but the demand seemed to fall off after a few years. So I've just been sticking with Super Sauce as my hybrid paste. I did grow Super Sauce out. It doesn't have awesome fresh eating quality but for it's intended purpose of sauce, it's great. Also it's a small, manageable plant. So I ended up saving seed even though it's a hybrid. The F2 plants seemed the same as the F1, so I'll be growing F3 seeds this year. (Sorry about rambling off topic.)

Super Sauce is one I'd like to try. Read a bunch of reviews that were a bit negative. Doesn't get that big one said. Others were not delighted w/ the flavor. I am not of the camp that slicers make good sauce. Once you cook them down, the flavor is too powerful. Flavor intensifies when cooked down. Pastes on the other hand intensify their weak flavor to just the right point when cooked down. I have made a lot of sauce, and Orange Banana makes a great one, BUT a lot of work. I split each one length wise and strip out the gel and seeds. Freeze and make sauce in the winter. I have tried leaving them whole but the flavor is unpleasantly strong that way. Have you sauced the Super Sauce? How is the flavor as a sauce?? Wish now I had ordered them also. Not off topic at all, I appreciate your comments.

Many of us tried Super Sauce many years ago when it was introduced. There were several negative reviews about production, and I was one of them. Some said dry flesh, mine were juicy. Some said small size, mine were quite large, and extremely dense, weighing much more than they looked. Some said lousy fresh flavor, mine were very good for a red. My biggest disappointment was a harvest of just three large tomatoes, in a year when everything else produced a good normal harvest. They ripened weeks apart, so no making sauce.

I think I called my one seedling the anorexic albatross. When it began flowering it was about 4 inches high, 8 inches wide, and had very few leaves. I should have saved a few seeds to grow out a few F2s.

It's interesting that there was such variation when Super Sauce was first introduced. I grew it out for the first time the year before last and it did well. That's why I decided to see how the F2 plants would do last year.

Perhaps their earliest sourced seed had poor quality control and it wasn't all F1 successful crosses. One of the odd things, too, was that plant size/height was all over the place.

See, this makes me wonder if it's really a hybrid. It almost sounds like the variety wasn't quite stable at first. That plus the fact that it seemed to breed true last year is curious.

Both my F1 plant and all three F2 plants were short and bushy, so it seems more stable now. At least in my experience.

[Yak54]

Been wanting to try this one for some time. A neighbor gave me some Pink Girl f1 tomatoes and they were not bad. Not as tasty as Brandywine Cowlicks that I grow , but same type of flavor in a hybrid. For a long time I have had the assumption that, other than sungold, there are no really good hybrids, flavorwise. Brandy Boy having BW in its lineage, makes me wonder. So, I broke down and ordered some seed directly from Burpee, that way I know I got the real deal. Needed more sungold seed, so have that coming too. And added some Big Mamma pastes, that I have read good things about. I grew a hybrid some years ago, that I read good things about on T'ville. Not sure I remember the name, Jetstar, or something like that. Beautiful plants the were, but tastless!! I ate the first couple ripe ones and left the rest on the vine. They were in a garden way out back, so I just let them be. Into October I took a look and they had all fallen to the ground. But still beautiful looking round red globes. Picked one up a tasted it. Tasted the same as the one 2 months earlier. Talk about a shelf life. But even the raccoons and possums
let them be. LOL. So, hope I am not disappointed with Brandy Boys.

In 40+ years the only hybrid that I've grown more than a couple of times is MOMOTARO which to my taste buds is the best tasting non-cherry hybrid along with its sister ODORIKO. Not quite the equal of Cowlicks for taste but very good and quite productive as well. The Japanese breeders have produced some great tasting tomatoes and as you mentioned SUNGOLD being another fine example.

Dan

[habitat-gardener]

I liked Brandy Boy the couple years I grew it. I was lured by an especially robust plant at the nursery. It turned into a huge plant that produced very large tomatoes. I didn't like it better than the heirlooms/OPs I grew that year, but still, I recall it as a good tomato I'd grow again.

Last year, at least half of my 60+ plants produced little or nothing. It turned out there were nematodes! So a couple hybrids saved the season: this was the second year for Purple Boy F1, and I liked it enough to grow it again this year. Benevento F1 was great, and it's a repeat this year. (The best non hybrid was Polaris, and everything else that produced significantly was a small variety.) As a hedge against nematodes, this year I'm trying a bunch of other hybrids (as well as a bed of OPs).

Momotaro F1 is also on the list this year. I've grown it before and liked it.

[MarkAndre]

I grew Brandy Boy once in Fort Worth, Texas and it was a fantastic tomato in terms of production and flavor in that year. Would rate it as just slightly less delicious than Brandywine, Sudduth’s strain, slightly more productive. I haven’t grown it since then only because I tend to search out new-to-me varieties every year.

[Cranraspberry]

Reviving an older thread. We really loved the taste and production of Brandy Boy this year, however it was one of the first to succumb to fusarium - was dead by late August. Has anyone compared BB with Chef’s Choice Pink? That one appears to have fusarium resistance.