New Jersey tomatoes are almost here

We are about a week away from seeing our first Jersey tomatoes of the season. There is absolutely nothing like the tomatoes we grow here.

The Campbell's Soup company has been using them for years and they have become famous the world over. The Rutgers and Ramapo tomatoes are probably the two most popular and widely grown varieties both on local farms and in backyard gardens.

Some of us who bought tomato plants that were started in a greenhouse and already had buds at the time we planted our gardens already had some tomatoes for a couple of weeks.

But there's nothing like the field-grown variety from local farms. You'll probably start to see them on farm stands in about two weeks or less. They'll show up first in the southern counties like Cumberland, Salem, Cape May and Atlantic County.

With the mild winter and fairly decent spring, we might expect them a few days to a week early. They usually show up in the southern part of the state right around July 1 with some Jersey Silver Queen corn right around the same time.

We are expecting a better crop this year than last, according to the website packer.com  there is nothing like the taste of a fresh Jersey tomato with a little bit of basil and a drizzle of olive oil. Or thick slices on white bread with mayo.

How about diced for a fresh bruschetta or Pico de Gallo or salsa. Yep, my mouth is watering too. We'll let you know when they hit the farm stands and where to get them!

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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