Brandywine is also a type of tomato. You won't see Brandywine Tomatoes in the grocery store, though, as they are what is known as a heirloom plant. Heirloom plants are those that are not only able to produce viable seeds, but are directly traced to specific types of plants that our forefathers grew.

I know of 5 different varieties of Brandywine tomatoes. The most common are the Pink Brandywinethat has dark pink large fruits, Yellow Brandywine with large yellow fruits, and Black Brandywine with duhhhh..almost black fruits. All the varieties grow on a plant that looks more like a potato plant than the typical tomato plant. The thing that sets Brandywine tomatoes apart from all other tomatoes, however, is the intense taste that comes with all the varieties of Brandywines. A Brandywine tomato gives that crisp tangy sweet taste that some of us remember. These tomatoes are NOTHING like grocery store tomatoes, which have been bred to have tough skins and thick pulp so they can be harvested and shipped easier.

Brandywine tomatoes are not huge producers. The fruits average about 1 pound in size. Brandywine plants aren't the easiest plants to grow successfully, as they have less disease and insect resistance bred into them than some of the hybrid types. They are worth the effort though.

I'll end with a couple of odd tomato growing tips I've picked up over the years. When transplanting your tomato plants, drop two Tums antacid tablets in each hole. The calcium in the tablets helps prevent bottom end rot. Another thing that I've used successfully with tomatoes is to bury a plastic milk jug with the top cut off and filled with horse manure between tomato plants. Poke holes in the bottom. When watering, the water will flow through the manure and make manure tea which will run out the holes in the bottom of the jug and reach the tomato roots directly.

The River Brandywine formed the eastern boundary of The Shire, in Middle-earth. It rose in Lake Evendim or Nenuial and flowed south. The Old Forest was on the eastern side of it, just outside the Shire. The Buckland, the area where the Brandybuck family lived, was part of the Shire on the far side of the river.

Tolkien no doubt got the name from the famous Brandywine battle in America, but he made out it was an alteration of the Elvish name Baranduin, which means "golden-brown river".

Brandy the drink is short for "brandywine", which comes from the Dutch for "burnt wine".

Bran"dy*wine` (?), n.

Brandy.

[Obs.]

Wiseman.

 

© Webster 1913.

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