Rutgers Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum 'Rutgers'
Height: 5 feet
Spacing: 24 inches
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: (annual)
Group/Class: Heirloom-Determinate
Description:
An early producing and well loved heirloom variety; large and vigorous plants with round, bright red fruit; rich tomato flavor, great for canning, fresh eating, salads and sandwiches; disease and crack resistant; requires staking
Edible Qualities
Rutgers Tomato is an annual vegetable plant that is commonly grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. It produces red round tomatoes (which are technically 'berries') with red flesh which are usually ready for picking from early summer to early fall. This is a determinate variety, which means it bears a full crop all at once. The tomatoes have a delicious taste and a firm texture.
The tomatoes are most often used in the following ways:
- Fresh Eating
- Eating When Cooked/Prepared
- Cooking
- Pickling
- Canning
Planting & Growing
Rutgers Tomato will grow to be about 5 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 24 inches apart. Because of its vigorous growth habit, it may require staking or supplemental support. This fast-growing vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop.
This plant can be integrated into a landscape or flower garden by creative gardeners, but is usually grown in a designated vegetable garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America, and it is considered by many to be an heirloom variety.
Rutgers Tomato is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
