Tomato 'Brandywine'
The quintessential American, large beefsteak. Fruit is pinkish rather than red and is juicy and meaty, beating supermarket hybrids hands down. A late cropper that loves a long, warm summer. Fruits in 11 weeks from transplant, yielding 8.5kg per plant and 350g fruit.
Sow seed 6-8 weeks before you want to plant out your tomatoes. Never plant tomatoes in the same bed two years running as you risk infection from a build up of pests and diseases. Tomatoes need an open, sunny position, with plenty of air circulation to thrive. Tomatoes are best in a bed which has been heavily manured for a previous crop such as broccoli. A soil that is too rich in nutrients will produce prolific, but soft, sappy growth which is prone to disease. Long, leggy toato seedlings can be planted very deeply or even on their sides, as the stem is able to grow roots when covered with soil, and a large, healthy root system will develop.