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Penelope Periwinkle · 25-08-2006, 03:57 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible

On 24 Aug 2006 14:57:43 -0700, wrote:

Why are our Brandywines taking so long? Why is there such a fruit size
difference between Stupice and Brandywines?

They're different varieties, that's why. Brandywines have been
selected to produce fewer but larger tomatoes, and it takes longer
for them to grow. Stupice have been selected to produce lots of
tomatoes quickly in cooler temperatures, thus the size of the tomatoes
is smaller.

This fall, get some gardening catalogues or peruse the web for
heirloom tomatoes. Read up on the different varieties, find out which
ones do well in your area. Most catalog descriptions tell you how
large the fruit is, and an approximate number of days from
transplanting to ripe fruit. Think about what you want to do with the
tomato; some are better for eating fresh, some make better tomato
paste, and some are recommended for canning. Do you want large,
slicing tomatoes, tomatoes for salad, ect. And then try not to get
carried away by all the luscious sounding tomatoes, and order ten
times more than you could ever plant!

I grow a mix. I like Stupice for my early tomatoes. In my zone 8 yard,
I can sometimes get ripe tomatoes the first week of May with Stupice.
But I like large slicing tomatoes, too, so I grow a few Brandywines. I
tried a new tomato this year, Tropic, and I was very pleased with its
performance. I also gave Ozark Pinks a try, and they did ok. I bought
a tomato that started with a "z" at the Spring Flower Festival from a
man with an heirloom tomato booth that did well, but I lost the
blasted tag! I hope he comes back next year.

Penelope

--
"Maybe you'd like to ask the Wizard for a heart."
"ElissaAnn"