Read more Jersey Vegetable Crops Ag Updates @
Commercial Ag Updates
on the Rutgers Plant & Pest Advisory

Plant & Pest Advisory > Commercial Ag Updates and Farm Food Safety

Plant & Pest Advisory > Vegetable Crops

Contact Information

The points of contact between Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service and the grower & business communities are the NJ County Agricultural Agents. The agents are a tremendous source of information for both new and experienced growers. Visit your local county extension office.

Friday, September 9, 2011

What is the "Perfect" Tomato?

When I hear complaints about not being able to find a "good Jersey tomato" anymore, especially comments like "... years ago! That's when tomatoes had flavor!", I usually break out singing my Ode to the Jersey Tomato to the tune of Billy Joel's Piano Man:
  "Son, can you [grow] me a memory. I'm not really sure how it goes, ... but it's [plump] and it's sweet, and I knew it complete, when I wore a younger man's clothes. Oh la, la, la, ditty dah..." 
RickVanVranken

Well, in response to author Barry Estabrook's book 'Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit', which takes direct aim at the quality of Florida tomatoes, CNN just posted on their Eatocracy blog an interview the Florida Tomato Committee's manager Reggie Brown.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Sourcing Pumpkins and other Fall Crops

Eighteen participating states have their
own MarketMaker homepages now.
July's heat followed by the excessive rains through August have farm market operators concerned about having enough pumpkins and other crops for the lucrative Fall season. Pennsylvania, New York and DelMarVa have also been inundated with flooding rains lately, so crops may be tight there too. That's forcing us to search further west, but how does one start making contacts?

Update on Jersey Fresh Sitings

Turns out it was not an anonymous post, but the owner of the Fresh Produce group forwarded a blog post by a pompous New Yorker writing at gothamist.com. You can see the original post here.
Rick VanVranken

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Jersey Fresh Sitings

A week or so ago, on The Packer's Linked-In Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group, some wise guy anonymously posted "Is "Jersey Fresh" Supposed to be a Good Thing?". I couldn't help but think of that post this past weekend when I walked into an Amish Country Farm Market in upstate NY to be greeted by the prominent display in the photo. It must be good for something!

Rick VanVranken

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