Most of our 'regular' tomatoes ('Bucks County' & 'Brandy Boy') are much
larger than other years - like, 6" across. Some have big bulging
'shoulders', as well. They're kind of unappetizing, to look at. The
cherry tomatoes are normal, as are the beets and basil. We fertilized
with 5-10-5, 1#/100 sq ft, tilled in; other years, we've used just
turkey manure.

Any thoughts on why this would happen?

TIA,
George

To George from George in metro Denver.
I planted Bucks County, Big Beef, and a couple of Park's Whopper. The
Bucks County are smaller than in previous years, about 3 inches average,
and many with blossom end rot, but the plants are loaded with tomatoes.
The Big Beefs and Whoppers are producing huge quantities of huge
tomatoes. In fact, it's the best crop I've had in thirty years, in
spite of the BER.

The main reason for my post is to get your opinion of Bucks County vs
Brandy Boy. I didn't hear of Brandy Boy until too late for this season.
Bucks County has been my favorite since I started planting them. How do
they compare in flavor, size, yield, etc?

George

On Sun, 27 Aug 2006 22:05:36 -0600, (George)
wrote:

...

The main reason for my post is to get your opinion of Bucks County vs
Brandy Boy. I didn't hear of Brandy Boy until too late for this season.
Bucks County has been my favorite since I started planting them. How do
they compare in flavor, size, yield, etc?

Short story: I don't know.

Long story (kind of pathetic): We start the plants indoors. When we
start, we carefully keep track of which is which. Later, we move them
outside to harden off, and to larger pots. Finally, we put them in the
ground. By that time - every year - we don't know which is which. And,
every year, we swear we're going to do better next time.

In general, WRT flavor, we don't (IMO) get very good flavor from any
tomatoes. This may have to do with the soil, which is somewhat
alkyline, or the location (Syracuse NY), which is less sunny than some
places.

Sorry, not much help.

G

My Bucks County taste much like Brandywine, as it is a Brandywine
hybrid. They are spherical, not irregularly shaped like Brandywine,
usually up to 4+ inches in diameter, but not this year. I have plants
loaded with 2 to 3 inchers. We get first frost anytime after Labor day.
I'd like to hear from anyone who has experienced Brandy Boy.

My personal and entirely unscientific experience with Brandy Boy is that
they do not outperform Brandywine in any respect. I was captivated by
the prospect of the production of Better Boy commingled with the flavor
or Brandywine and was disappointed in both for two years in a row. My
individual Brandywines and Better Boys produced more, and more
flavorfully than any Brandy Boy. That said, I am not a professional or
scientific gardener. Just a backyard amateur in Zone 5A north of NYC.

This year, BTW, the Carmellos have outproduced everything in terms of
flavor and quantity. Luck of the draw, as far as I am concerned.

J.

George wrote:
My Bucks County taste much like Brandywine, as it is a Brandywine
hybrid. They are spherical, not irregularly shaped like Brandywine,
usually up to 4+ inches in diameter, but not this year. I have plants
loaded with 2 to 3 inchers. We get first frost anytime after Labor day.
I'd like to hear from anyone who has experienced Brandy Boy.