Brandywine vs Mortgage Lifter
Two legendary pink beefsteaks with very different origin stories.
| Brandywine | Mortgage Lifter | |
|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Heirloom | Heirloom |
| Growth habit | Indeterminate | Indeterminate |
| Days to maturity | 80-100 | 80-85 |
| Fruit color | pink | pink |
| Fruit size class | beefsteak | beefsteak |
| Typical weight | 12-24 oz | 16-32 oz |
| Primary uses | slicing | slicing |
| Introduced | 1889 | - |
| Documented resistances | 0 | 0 |
| Saves true from seed | Yes | Yes |
Disease resistance
Brandywine
No documented resistance, typical of older open-pollinated varieties.
Mortgage Lifter
No documented resistance, typical of older open-pollinated varieties.
Traits
Both: Heirloom, Open-Pollinated, Indeterminate, Pink, Beefsteak, Late Season, Slicing
Only Brandywine
Nothing unique in the recorded traits.
Only Mortgage Lifter
Nothing unique in the recorded traits.
Origins
Brandywine
The most famous American heirloom tomato: a pink beefsteak associated with Amish growers and first commercialized by Johnson & Stokes of Philadelphia in 1889. Its potato-leaf vines and rich, intense flavor made it the benchmark against which heirloom taste is still measured.
Mortgage Lifter
Developed in the 1930s-40s by M.C. 'Radiator Charlie' Byles of Logan, West Virginia, who crossed his four biggest tomatoes for six years, then sold plants for a dollar apiece and paid off his mortgage, the origin story is documented in recorded family interviews. Huge meaty pink fruit.
More: all comparisons · every tomato variety · filter the full database
Sources & References
Evidence: 5 sources, including 1 independent reference.
- Seed Savers Exchange catalog & variety histories · Seed Savers Exchange, Community Collection
- Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog · Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co., Seed Catalog
- Tomato Growers Supply catalog · Tomato Growers Supply Company, Seed Catalog
- Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners · Cornell University Cooperative Extension, University or Government
- Victory Seeds variety histories · Victory Seed Company, Seed Catalog