Brandyboy desegregation?

[johno]

Is anybody 'de-hybridizing' Brandy Boy?

[jcm05]

I don't think anyone here is, but it has been tried if I recall.

[PVP]

Johno,

As you know from being a member of Homegrown Goodness forums, Alan Bishop had begun stabilizing Brandy Boy over a period of years. I think it was in 2006 or 2007, or both, that I sent him several examples of Brandy Boy F2, F3 and F4 seeds.

Some of the seeds I got from a fellow in Connecticut and I got others from growers I cannot now remember. I also grew Brandy Boy F1 and saved my own F2 seeds.

Here is a picture of a Brandy Boy F2. Excellent tomato.
Sorry, Johno. Photobucket.com sux so bad that I cannot retrieve pictures in this lifetime apparently.

So ...

The F2s I grew from my own seeds were beautiful, large, deep pink, juicy beefsteaks but a bit sour. I like some sweet over top of the tomato flavor. These did not have that Cherokee Purple type sweet over top of the tart flavor.

The next year, I grew several plants from my seed and from John's seed he sent me. Some of the plants made lumpy, ugly tomatoes and some made the smooth, slightly ruffled tomatoes like the F2 from the year before.

Unfortunately, all the Brandy Boy F3s got some sort of leaf wilt that infected several other plants at that end of the bed. The other varieties that also succumbed to the leaf wilt were Vinson Watts and Marianna's Conflict and one or two others. I never grew any of them again.

I may still have some Brandy Boy F1, F2, F3, F4 and possibly other seeds. You're welcome to any I have. They are all older seeds from 2005 - 2007. You might also ask Alan about seed availability for whatever he ended up growing out.

Bill

[johno]

Thanks, Bill. I had forgot that Alan was working with it, too. I've been looking for F1s in my catalogs and on the shelves with no luck (but I did find Big Boy). If you had a few F1s to spare, that'd be appreciated. But I mostly wondered what lines were coming of it, and if they resembled the F1. Also wondered about the F1 itself since I've never grown it... Anybody know the parentage - which Brandywine and the other parent? Or have good guesses?

[greyghost]

Just read this thread-I have Brandy Boy seeds purchased last
year off the rack. Also have Brandy Boy F6 seeds someone
sent me. You're welcome to them. BB has been my favorite
tomato since it first appeared in the Burpee catalog. I probably
won't grow it in the future-I'm finding so many heirlooms that I
love. Last year, I grew BB and about 40 heirlooms (1st year
for heirlooms) and I thought the heirlooms were better tasting.
It was a difficult year, every variety had a watered-down taste
but I really thought the taste of my 3 favorite hybrids, BB,
Steak Sandwich and Big Beef didn't quite compare. I had originally ordered the BBoy and it was omitted from the order.
Found seeds at a hardware store so plants were started a
couple of weeks after the rest. I'll always wonder if started at the same time, if the Brandy Boy would have produced first.
A very big disappointment I've had with BB, is about half the fruits
I've gotten were well shaped while the other half were quite
misshapened. Even shaking the plants a couple times a day,
I got some grotesque fruits. Anyway, made the decision not to grow it again (my daughter and brother-in-law loved it as well
but are more than happy with Camo's Cowlick as a replacement).

[PVP]

Darlene, do you have any observations regarding your various generations of Brandy Boy?

My F2s were very consistent in size and shape with no deformed or lumpy tomatoes at all.

However, in some of the following generations I got very lumpy and distorted fruit from plant to plant. Some plants continued to produce smooth fruit while others got very contorted.

What's been going on with yours from year to year. Or are you mostly growing the F1 hybrid each year?

Bill

[greyghost]

Bill, I've always grown the F1 purchased directly from Burpee.

The F6 I have were sent to me by someone this past fall so
I haven't grown them yet. The only F2 experience I had was
a volunteer growing in the garden fence. It was heavily browsed
by deer so I only had 1 fruit and it was normal looking one.

As much as I've liked Brandy Boy in the past, I probably won't grow it again, at least in the near future. Have a lot of varieties
to try first. Plus, I know I can easily find seed if anyone wants
what I now have. I will miss it's great production! Plus, it was
always the first large tomato to produce. Darlene