Crop type: Tomatoes
Solanum lycopersicum ‘Brandy Boy’ AGM
Common name: Tomato ‘Brandy Boy’
Crop slug: tomatoes
This Allotment Pro editorial draft summarises the cited RHS cultivar profile.RHS cultivar profile
1 - Overview
‘Brandy Boy’ is a beefsteak tomato producing large deep pinkish-red fruits up to 12cm in diameter. The thin-skinned tomatoes combine a sweet and tangy flavour with the broad fleshy form expected of a beefsteak. The cultivar holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 1.5–2.5 metres
- Ultimate spread
- 0.5–1 metre
- Time to ultimate size
- 1 year
Its bushy climbing cordon needs tall, sturdy support for the large fruits.
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Clay, loam or sand
- Moisture
- Moist but well drained
- Soil pH
- Acid, neutral or alkaline
Consistent moisture reduces splitting and rot in the large fruits.
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Full sun
- Aspect
- South- or west-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- Hardiness
- H1c — grows outside in frost-free summer conditions above approximately 5–10°C
Use a warm greenhouse or sheltered outdoor position after frost.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
| Season | Flowers | Foliage | Fruit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | Yellow | Green | — |
| Summer | Yellow | Green | Deep pinkish-red beefsteaks |
The broad 12cm pink-red fruit is its main identifying feature.
6 - Botanical details
- Family
- Solanaceae
- Native to Great Britain and Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Semi-evergreen on the profile; grown as an annual
- Habit
- Bushy and climbing
- Name status
- Accepted
- Award
- RHS Award of Garden Merit
Genus
Solanum includes crops and ornamentals bearing five-lobed flowers followed by fleshy fruit.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Raise in warmth, move outside or to unheated glass after frost, support the cordon and keep the root zone evenly moist. Feed every 10–14 days.
Propagation
Propagate by seed indoors.
Suggested locations
- Patios and containers
Pruning
Remove side-shoots and stop the leader after seven trusses under cover or four outdoors.
Pests
Glasshouse whitefly and tomato moth may attack.
Diseases
The profile lists rare honey fungus, potato and tomato blight, leaf mould, tomato viruses, magnesium deficiency and blossom-end rot.