Ramapo is back and available!!

greggf · January 3, 2008

The old NJ hybrid is back and is available. Go to:

http://www.njfarmfresh.rutgers.edu/p...ason8-6-07.pdf

I can't copy the text, so I'll type it out:

"After a long search to produce 'Ramapo' seeds, Rutgers is arranging for the first set of commercially produced 'Ramapo' seeds available for the 2008 growing season. Jersey tomato lovers - get out your saltshakers - good times are ahead! If you would like to be placed on a waiting list for 'Ramapo' seeds for Spring 2008, email
njfarmfresh@njaes.rutgers.edu "

Wow..............

=gregg=

greggf · January 3, 2008

A quick search just showed that this is old news - troad posted about this a couple three months ago.

How many here are planning on getting the seed, I wonder?

barkeater · January 3, 2008

You know I put my request in right away. I got a nice e-mail back right away confirming I'm on the list.

The limited supply last year wasn't passed out until March, but I don't know if the schedule will be the same with this year's commercial batch.

troad · January 3, 2008

Barkeater,
When did you get the email from Rutgers? I sent them an email when I first found the above mentioned website but never heard anything in return. Hopefully I'm still in the hunt for some Ramapo F1 etc.

Douglas14 · January 4, 2008

I sent an email as well, and didn't hear back either. Wondering if I should resend?

troad · January 4, 2008

Douglas,
I resent with a notation that it was a second request. I probably should have waited for Barkeaters response. If I understand him correctly,he received seeds last year. Maybe that is why he received an email and we did not. There was nothing that I saw indicating a preference for New Jersey residents. Maybe they are waiting for their last years customers to get first shot? Will post here if I get any response from Rutgers.

barkeater · January 4, 2008

I didn't get my seeds from Rutgers last year but from someone who got a 100, and traded me some for other varieties I had.

I made my request last August when I first became aware of the offer. The request was actually more of a letter, as I discussed growing up with Ramapo in NJ, being a tomato farmer, and helping dehybridize it the past few years here in VT.

So maybe by shamelessly begging for some is why I got a response.;-)

troad · January 4, 2008

Received an email response from Rutgers this morning. Their response was that they did not have time to answer all requests but I am on the waiting list. Seeds should be available early March. No name on the email but some kind soul took pity on me I guess. Will post if any more news received.

cecilsgarden1958 · January 4, 2008

How about a description for us that have never seen but only heard of Ramapo!

Small, medium, large...early, mid, late??
Determinate, semi, indeterminite??
Tart, sweet, old fashioned, tomatoey??

CECIL

Douglas14 · January 5, 2008

Good question Cecil. One thing I've wondered about, is how the name came about. It doesn't seem like a good marketing name.

**carolyn137** · January 5, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Douglas14

Good question Cecil. One thing I've wondered about, is how the name came about. It doesn't seem like a good marketing name.

The name Ramapo refers to a mountain range that extends from NYS into NJ.

Ramapo is ind, RL with fruits of about maybe 8-12 oz, depending on the season, very reliable, high yield and excellent taste, as many of the earliest varieties did have, not just from Rutgers but also the early ones from Harris such as Jet Star and Supersonic.

Ruth_10 · January 5, 2008

And do remember there is the dehybridized Ramapo around. Carolyn did the original dehybridization out to F3. Barkeater noted reduced yield for the dehybridized Ramapo as compared to the F1, but says he needs to do a side-by-side comparison.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...ghlight=Ramapo

I grew Ramapo from F5 seeds in 2007, so the seeds I saved would be F6. Production was very good and the taste was excellent as well. I intend to bring this one back in 2008.

Douglas_OW · January 10, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruth_10

And do remember there is the dehybridized Ramapo around. Carolyn did the original dehybridization out to F3. Barkeater noted reduced yield for the dehybridized Ramapo as compared to the F1, but says he needs to do a side-by-side comparison.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...ghlight=Ramapo

I grew Ramapo from F5 seeds in 2007, so the seeds I saved would be F6. Production was very good and the taste was excellent as well. I intend to bring this one back in 2008.

I didn't get any response from Rutgers when I first requested to be put on the waiting list. I did get an answer after I emailed them a second time.
Here is some info that I got from the folks at Rutgers:
Jack Rabin <rabin@aesop.rutgers.edu> to me, Cindy, John, Peter
show details
8/24/07
From: Jim
Subject: Ramapo Tomato
I recently read an article about Rutger's efforts in createing better market
tomatoes. Ramapo was mentioned as a good, but no longer commercially
available, variety. Can you tell me what Ramapo's parent varieties are? And
is Rutgers planning any comparisons to open pollenated strains of Ramapo,
such as those being distributed by Seed Savers' Exchange, and others?
Thanks, Jim

*****************************
Dear Jim:
I will copy for you below the email I sent to one of the readers of the
Phila. Inquirer article.

Yes, the purpose and goals of the current field trials our scientists are
conducting is comparing garden/commercial hybrids against each other, and
also one of our breeders is comparing performance of hybrids with various
open pollinated tomato lines. By definiation, open pollinated lines of
Ramapo do not exist. The parent lines of Ramapo are ordinary tomatoes which
are not exceptional in any way, and seed is not available. It is the F1
hybrid seed of their combination which has the characteristics people prize.

******************************
On 8/15/07 9:48 AM, "Marder, Dianna" <dmarder@phillynews.com> wrote:
jack, can you help this reader? Dianna Marder The Philadelphia Inquirer
Read with great interest your article on The Jersey Tomato which appeared in
today¹s Inquirer. As an avid hobbyist grower of heirloom tomatoes, could you
tell me how I might get the ³list of the all-stars² developed by the Rutgers
researchers in their evaluation of heirlooms, which you referenced in your
article. Your assistance here will be greatly appreciated.
Thank You. Regards, Rich

Dianna:
Rich can find the Rutgers NJAES ³All-Star Heirloom Tomato Variety List² from
our field research evaluations posted on the web.
Go here: http://njfarmfresh.rutgers.edu/archive.html
And click on the link for August 14, 2006. Technically, some of the
varieties like Ramapo and Lemon Boy are not heirlooms. But, it¹s quality and
flavor that matter, not how a tomato is categorized.

I will post the Ramapo seed source for this reader also:
Thanks for reading Dianna's article in the Phila. Inquirer. Rutgers NJAES
gets many requests from passionate tomato lovers for Rutgers Ramapo F1
Hybrid Tomato.

You are requesting Ramapo just at the right time and place at Rutgers New
Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station history because for the first time in
20 years we have contracted with a specialized organic hybrid seed
production farm to make Rutgers Ramapo seed for us, which we will have ready
for sale to the public about February 2008. It has taken time to find a
production farm capable of managing each parent and making the painstaking
careful hand pollinations at a cost we can afford.

Please email Cindy Rovins in the address above and request to get on her
Ramapo seed list for gardening season 2008.

The Ramapo story is interesting, and parallels Dianna's story. It was bred
by retired Rutgers Professor of Horticulture Bernie Pollack (now 87) during
the 1960s and 1970s. Upon its release people noted Ramapo had wonderful
flavor - it was a winner - along with good reliable horticultural traits
like disease resistance, freedom from cracking in mid-Atlantic States' hot
humid summers, a vigorous plant, good yield, etc. Ramapo's weakness for
commercial farmers was a medium to late maturity in the summer (earliness
and greatness don't usually go together).
Sakata Seed Company of Japan stopped making Ramapo seed commercially years
ago. We used remaining sources, and made some of our own here at Rutgers.

Ramapo is NOT a beefstake tomato, it is a traditional medium globe shape,
but has flavor profile when ripe equal to the beefstake and heirloom
tomatoes you recall.
Yes, the tomato genetics changed. Professor Randy Gardener, tomato breeder
at North Carolina State Univ., believes that genetic selection for firmness
is inversely correlated with fruit flavor.

Please contact Cindy and get on her mail list.

We welcome you back a Ramapo grower!

Jack Rabin, Associate Director - Farm Programs
Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station

barkeater · January 11, 2008

Very interesting correspondence. I am surprised Jack Rabin does not consider Ramapo a beefsteak based on its "medium" size. I weighed all mine and they were consistently in the 10-12 oz. range.

But size does not make a beefsteak, IMO. Its whether the tomato is multilocular or not, which Ramapo is.

Slice a multilocular tomato and it gives the appearance of a well marbled steak. Hence the term "beefsteak".

Interestingly, when I grew it last summer it was fairly early for me compared to many others, but still in the 80 day range, ripening around the 3rd week of August, just like it did down in NJ. Cold tolerant, maybe?

January 3, 2008	#1
greggf Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Boonville, NY Posts: 419	Ramapo is back and available!! The old NJ hybrid is back and is available. Go to: http://www.njfarmfresh.rutgers.edu/p...ason8-6-07.pdf I can't copy the text, so I'll type it out: "After a long search to produce 'Ramapo' seeds, Rutgers is arranging for the first set of commercially produced 'Ramapo' seeds available for the 2008 growing season. Jersey tomato lovers - get out your saltshakers - good times are ahead! If you would like to be placed on a waiting list for 'Ramapo' seeds for Spring 2008, email njfarmfresh@njaes.rutgers.edu " Wow.............. =gregg=

January 3, 2008	#4
troad Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Des Moines, WA. Posts: 358	Barkeater, When did you get the email from Rutgers? I sent them an email when I first found the above mentioned website but never heard anything in return. Hopefully I'm still in the hunt for some Ramapo F1 etc. __________________ There's a fine line between gardening and madness.

January 4, 2008	#6
troad Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Des Moines, WA. Posts: 358	Douglas, I resent with a notation that it was a second request. I probably should have waited for Barkeaters response. If I understand him correctly,he received seeds last year. Maybe that is why he received an email and we did not. There was nothing that I saw indicating a preference for New Jersey residents. Maybe they are waiting for their last years customers to get first shot? Will post here if I get any response from Rutgers. __________________ There's a fine line between gardening and madness.

January 4, 2008	#8
troad Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Des Moines, WA. Posts: 358	Received an email response from Rutgers this morning. Their response was that they did not have time to answer all requests but I am on the waiting list. Seeds should be available early March. No name on the email but some kind soul took pity on me I guess. Will post if any more news received. __________________ There's a fine line between gardening and madness.

January 4, 2008	#9
cecilsgarden1958 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: swPA Posts: 629	How about a description for us that have never seen but only heard of Ramapo! Small, medium, large...early, mid, late?? Determinate, semi, indeterminite?? Tart, sweet, old fashioned, tomatoey?? CECIL __________________ Hybrids Rule, Heirlooms Drool!

January 3, 2008	#3
barkeater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b Posts: 1,439	You know I put my request in right away. I got a nice e-mail back right away confirming I'm on the list. The limited supply last year wasn't passed out until March, but I don't know if the schedule will be the same with this year's commercial batch.

January 4, 2008	#5
Douglas14 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Minnesota Posts: 602	I sent an email as well, and didn't hear back either. Wondering if I should resend?

January 5, 2008	#10
Douglas14 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Minnesota Posts: 602	Good question Cecil. One thing I've wondered about, is how the name came about. It doesn't seem like a good marketing name.

January 5, 2008	#12
Ruth_10 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MO z6a near St. Louis Posts: 1,349	And do remember there is the dehybridized Ramapo around. Carolyn did the original dehybridization out to F3. Barkeater noted reduced yield for the dehybridized Ramapo as compared to the F1, but says he needs to do a side-by-side comparison. http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...ghlight=Ramapo I grew Ramapo from F5 seeds in 2007, so the seeds I saved would be F6. Production was very good and the taste was excellent as well. I intend to bring this one back in 2008. __________________ --Ruth Some say the glass half-full. Others say the glass is half-empty. To an engineer, it’s twice as big as it needs to be.

January 11, 2008	#14
barkeater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b Posts: 1,439	Very interesting correspondence. I am surprised Jack Rabin does not consider Ramapo a beefsteak based on its "medium" size. I weighed all mine and they were consistently in the 10-12 oz. range. But size does not make a beefsteak, IMO. Its whether the tomato is multilocular or not, which Ramapo is. Slice a multilocular tomato and it gives the appearance of a well marbled steak. Hence the term "beefsteak". Interestingly, when I grew it last summer it was fairly early for me compared to many others, but still in the 80 day range, ripening around the 3rd week of August, just like it did down in NJ. Cold tolerant, maybe?