Heirloom tomatoes generate a growing recovery in New Jersey

Good taste wins out over good looks as heirloom tomatoes make a comeback.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Tomato fans turned off by today's waxy, bland tomatoes can find the tastier ones of old at a growing number of New Jersey roadside stands and tailgate markets, thanks to a project that's rating the best heirloom tomatoes.
The Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service program is aimed at increasing overall tomato production in New Jersey. A key focus is encouraging farmers to grow heirloom tomatoes -- old varieties favored for taste over appearance -- along with the hardier commercial types.
"The public really wants great-tasting tomatoes back," said Jack Rabin, associate director of farm services for the extension service. "They remember these big, juicy, seedy, flavorful tomatoes, and we're going to get them."
Wes Kline, the project head and a Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service agent in Cumberland County, said tomato farmers wanted to know which heirloom tomatoes taste best, weather attacks by insects and plant diseases well, and produce the most fruit. That's crucial because the heirlooms' thinner skins mean most don't make it to market.
Testing
So tomato farmers and agriculture agents have been jointly testing dozens of heirloom varieties, as well as some other tomato types, and occasionally holding public taste tests.
Unlike the hybrid red, round tomatoes bred to have a uniform appearance, long shelf life and firm skin for long-distance shipping, heirloom varieties follow nature's own designs.
Heirlooms, with colorful names like Red Brandywine, Eva Purple Ball and Mortgage Lifter, are varieties at least 50 years old. They are softer than most commercial tomatoes because of their thin skins, and come in different colors and shapes, not all attractive.
"They split open and crack; they have big scars on them. They look ugly but they taste good," said farmer Gary Donaldson of Mansfield Township. "It seems like the consumers are willing to put up with that even at a higher price to get that good, old-fashioned flavor."
Donaldson, who has grown about 30 varieties of heirloom tomatoes on his farm over the past four years, usually gets about $2.99 per pound, or twice the price of his regular tomatoes.
Even though the higher price doesn't make up for the much lower yield, Pennington farmer Jim Sansone has been growing heirlooms for a decade.
"I'm passionate about tomatoes," said Sansone, who grew 40 heirloom varieties this year. "Our customer base seems to be enjoying the variety."
Tomato project
The project began with about 125 heirloom varieties, 32 plum varieties and assorted other tomatoes. Each year, tomatoes are planted at participating farms and Rutgers' experimental farms. At season's end, an advisory panel of agricultural agents and farmers reviews how each tomato type fared based on 15 different factors, then winnows out the worst performers.
The research includes studying varying conditions that can help boost tomato production, such as planting in raised beds, finding the most disease-resistant varieties, and even trying to lengthen the growing season by planting tomatoes in temporary plastic, greenhouse-like shelters.
With the fourth year of the project nearly finished, only about a dozen heirloom varieties are still in the running, and that likely will be trimmed to a half-dozen next year when the $225,000 state grant paying for the project ends.
"There aren't enough heirlooms to fill the demand this year," said Kline. "Next year I think there'll be more farmers getting into heirlooms."