Bulk Ramapo Tomato Seed and
POP Materials for Commercial Growers

Winter 2012 Update on Ramapo seed availability

Rutgers NJAES has contracted Ramapo F-1 hybrid tomato seed production since 2007, making retail and wholesale seed sales available to farmers, gardeners, and transplant growers for retail garden plant sales. Unfortunately, there was a seed crop failure this year. We will not have new seed for distribution until late March or April. We are sorry to report this problem but wanted you to know for planning purposes.

If you have remaining Ramapo seed supplies from last year, and will be producing Ramapo tomato crops and/or transplants, please let us know and we will list your operation on our website, as we have done in the past (see item 3 below). Limited new seed supplies may bring greater demand to remaining suppliers, so consider that in your planning.

We will do our best to communicate the status of our second attempt getting Ramapo F-1 seed produced, and when seed will be available, tested, and packaged for distribution. We are maintaining an e-mail list for notification of Ramapo seed status. If you would like to receive updates on the progress of the seed, e-mail Ramapotomato@njaes.rutgers.edu with “2012 Ramapo waiting list for Commercial growers” in the subject line.

Post updated 1/11/2012
When seed becomes available, the information below applies:

1. Ramapo tomato bulk seed can be purchased from:
Joe Musumeci
Eastern Seed Services, LLC
1136 Route 45
Pilesgrove, NJ 08098
Phone: 856-769-7911
Fax: 856-769-7913
Joe4seeds@yahoo.com

2. Ramapo and Moreton POP Materials
Thank you for participating in bringing back the old time favorite Ramapo tomato. In order to support your interest marketing this variety to our interested public, we have developed point of purchase sales materials for New Jersey and regional retailers to use for their transplant sales. We have produced plant labels and 5 X 7 bench cards that highlight the Ramapo tomato as a tasty old time gardener’s favorite variety and are providing these materials to growers at our cost. We also have POP materials for Moreton tomato (Note: seed for Moreton tomato is available in packets (30 - 35 seeds) using the order form here: http://www.njfarmfresh.rutgers.edu/JerseyTomato.html. Bulk Moreton seed is available from Harris Seeds http://www.harrisseeds.com.

If you would like to purchase the labels and/or bench cards for use, please use the Ramapo and Moreton POP order form.

3. Get listed on our Ramapo and Moreton transplant & tomato posting!
Since there is strong public demand for Ramapo early transplants and tomatoes in season, we will again be posting NJ and other locations where consumers can purchase these items on our Rutgers Cooperative Extension website as a service to consumers. If you would like your operation included in this 2012 listing (to be posted in mid-April) please e-mail us your company retail information: name, address, phone number, e-mail, web address and county you are located in to: njfarmfresh@njaes.rutgers.edu and put “Commercial Ramapo Sales” in the e-mail subject line. Indicate whether Ramapo and/or Moreton tomato transplants and/or tomatoes will be for sale and approximate availability dates. We will advise consumers to call you and check availability. To see the listing page from last year, go to: http://www.njfarmfresh.rutgers.edu/2011Ramapoplantsales.htm