The "Jersey Tomato"

The term "Jersey tomato" was first coined sometime in the 1930s to 1970s. It did not denote any one specific breed, but rather became a label applied generically to a host of varieties developed by professional plant breeders and grown by Jersey tomato farmers. Over the years these tomatoes became known far and wide for their superb tangy, sweet-tart flavor. People often journeyed great distances from surrounding states to purchase them. For all the virtues they possessed, what proved to be a fatal flaw was that they were too fragile for commercial production practices such as mechanical harvesting and long-distance shipping, which became dominant by the late 1970s. Commercial growers looked for firmer, higher yielding varieties and by the '80s and '90s the classic "Jersey tomato" was virtually gone from the scene in terms of general availability. The public noticed.

Extension staff at the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (Rutgers NJAES) were always, and continue to be, at the forefront of research, development, and education pertaining to tomato production within the Garden State. Many of the classic "Jersey" varieties were developed there, with the 'Rutgers' tomato in 1934 by Professor Lyman Schermerhorn, and 'Ramapo' in 1968 by Dr. Bernard Pollack being perhaps two of the best known. In the years following the passing of these and other "old" varieties, NJAES became acutely aware of the public's desire to bring back the "Jersey tomato." In the late 1990s and early 2000s, NJAES embarked on a program dedicated to this goal. They began conducting research and test trials at their Extension farms while gaining public input via taste testing events. Initially, it was difficult for them to find a seed company willing to take on small-batch production of a hybrid tomato seed. Doing so would require the cross-pollination of two parent varieties. But in 2007 they succeeded, and in 2008 the "Rediscover the Jersey Tomato Project" was officially launched. Its goal was to make Ramapo F1 tomato seed available to the public after it had been off the market for a number of years.

Avid home and community tomato gardeners often choose heirloom tomato varieties because of the varied shapes, sizes, colors, textures, and flavors they have to choose from. Heirloom varieties do have their drawbacks. They are not prolific fruit producers, some may be more prone to disease than others, and surface blemishes and cracking can cause problems. As a Master Gardener, I learned of the "Rediscover the Jersey Tomato Project." Since the old classic "Jersey tomato" was at the heart of it, I decided to give them a try. I ordered Ramapo F1 Hybrid seeds directly from Rutgers NJAES. From the outset, this tomato has great production, disease resistance, has a virtually blemish-free appearance. Most importantly, it tastes like the Jersey tomato of old. It is a hands-down winner and has been the dominant variety in my garden ever since.

Rutgers NJAES literature describes their Ramapo F1 Hybrid tomato as "Mid to late season; resistant to cracking and verticillium and fusarium wilt. Semi-determinate plants approximately 80 days to maturity. Medium-large sized fruit. Feedback from a gardener survey indicates Ramapo grows well in a variety of US regions." In 2009 it was named a "Test Garden Favorite" by Organic Gardening Magazine.

The "Rediscover the Jersey Tomato Project" has continued on and now offers three other classic "Jersey tomato" varieties. In addition to the Ramapo, there are the Moreton, KC-146, and the recently introduced Rutgers 250. The Rutgers 250 is a reinvention of the original 'Rutgers' tomato and was named in recognition of Rutgers University's 250^th anniversary. It should be noted; as pointed out in their literature, "these tomato varieties were developed through non-transgenic (non-GMO) breeding." Rutgers NJAES  relates that "Dr. Pollock used two commercial cultivars for breeding the Ramapo F1 tomato: KCA—from Campbell's breeding program, and Abbie—derived from a university breeding program cultivar and named for his daughter."

You can get started with the Ramapo tomato by ordering seed directly from Rutgers NJAES. Rutgers has entered into an arrangement with Rohrer Seed in Pennsylvania, which sells the seeds to commercial growers. This allows Ramapo tomato plants to be marketed to the public in the spring. They are now available at some garden centers and farmers markets in the southeast region of Pennsylvania.