Growing Things: Brandywine tomatoes and gooseberry pests

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Q: I would like to thank you for all your help and inspiration over the years. For example, after reading a column where you talked about heirloom tomatoes I decided to find out more about these tomatoes. I was pleased to find an heirloom variety at a local greenhouse this past summer. It was Brandywine and I loved the taste and size. I would like to grow more varieties but I am having some problem getting information on the varieties of heirloom tomatoes themselves. Do you have any references that you might recommend?

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A: Thank you for your kind words. I’m glad to hear you have discovered Brandywine tomatoes. It is one of my favourite tomatoes as well. Sometimes I feel that plant breeders were too hasty in looking for the perfectly shaped tomato and lost the flavour of some tomatoes along the way. Brandywine is a very good example. The tomatoes are not the most perfectly formed and may have lots of crinkles and wrinkles but the taste is amazing.

One of the best references I can recommend is a book entitled ‘100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden’. The author is Carolyn J. Male. Carolyn does a great job of reminding readers that grocery store tomatoes are not tomatoes at all when compared to the tastes of some heirloom varieties. She is also not afraid to criticize some varieties. I like the balance between the pros and cons in this book and Carolyn is well qualified to write on the topic since she has grown more than 1000 varieties of heirloom tomatoes over the past 14 years.

Q: The leaves of our gooseberry bushes are ravished several times a year by the larva of a fly that lays their eggs on the underside of the leaves. We have been using an insecticide soap which works extremely well. However, it is pricey.  We are not able to afford to keep all of our bushes sprayed. Do you know of an insecticide soap concentrate, that we would perhaps, buy in bulk and mix on our own, in the hope of reducing the cost.

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A: You can make your own insecticidal soap with things found in your home. It is best to use a true soap as opposed to a detergent as soaps are biodegradable. Murphy’s Oil Soap and Ivory Liquid Soap are 2 good choices. Use 2 tablespoons of soap/4 L of water. Add a few drops of cooking oil to increase the adhesive properties.

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Learn more by emailing your questions to filipskigerald@gmail.com, reading past columns or my book Just Ask Jerry. You can also follow me on Twitter @justaskjerry01.

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