"Joe Williamson" wrote in message
news
I am getting back into gardening after a long hiatus, and I was never
an
expert at it in the first place.

I have three varieties of tomatoes down in a small garden. I read in
William Woys Weaver's book on heirloom vegetables that Brandywines
should
be isolated from other varieties by at least 50 feet, in other that
they
"breed true."

They are not that far, not even close. I am wondering if I can expect
whatever I find on the Brandywine plants to be crosses with the other
varieties in the garden. I have Rutgers and some cherry tomatoes.
The
cherries look as if they'll set flowers and produce first.

Does anybody know what will happen in this situation?

This year, nothing will happen. That is, you won't notice anything.
All of the tomatoes will set fruit normally.

Next year, if you decide to save seeds and plant them, you'll get some
Brandywines, and you will get some Brandywine mixes. If you can
reliably tell the difference between the pure Brandywine vines and the
mixes, just save seed from the pure vines. Next year, you will have
some pure vines and some mixes.

On the other hand, if you have a small garden, saving seeds won't save
you much money. It will be nice as a hobby, and you can actually
develop your own sub-variety that is perfectly suited to the conditions
of your garden, but you won't save more than a buck or two.


Ray