Friday, December 26, 2008

The Ramapo Tomato

The New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) is the farm extension agency here in New Jersey and they’ve recently started offering Ramapo tomato seeds.

A hybrid is the child of two different varieties which is bred to take the best attributes from both the parents, but also means that the seeds cannot be saved and reused for future plantings. If no one is breeding these plants, the variety will gradually disappear. Sometimes the reason for not breeding the plant is that while the flavor may be superior, the ability to travel long distances is lacking and a more durable, but less tasty variety wins out.

The Ramapo tomato is a hybrid tomato which is supposed to be rich in tomato flavor, was once quite popular, but was no longer available for exactly that reason.

link has the details on how to order the seeds and some interesting articles on the Ramapo tomato and tomatoes in general.

New Jersey has a long history with the tomato. It is in the top 10 tomato producing states, is home to Campbells Soup and has two varieties of tomato, Jersey and Rutgers, named for it. I've already ordered a couple of packets of Ramapo seeds and it is interesting to be bringing back something associated with this history.

The Ramapo tomato:

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