No. 037 · open-pollinated
Rutgers
Rutgers is a determinate open-pollinated slicer with red fruit. It ripens in about 75 days.
Flavor
Described as having an intense, classic tomato taste with an excellent balance of acidity and sweetness. This is the recurring catalog and grower description, not a measured claim.
Origin
Released in 1934 by Dr. Lyman Schermerhorn at the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, from a cross of J.T.D. and Marglobe, in collaboration with the Campbell Soup Company's Riverton research facility.
What it does well
- Classic dual-purpose canning and slicing variety
- Uniform round fruit that ripens evenly
Where it frustrates
- Thin skin made it unsuitable for mechanical harvesting, which led to its commercial decline
- Modern strains vary in habit and fruit size compared to the original
Growing it
- Determinate bush. It sets most of its crop in one concentrated flush, which suits batch cooking and canning, and needs only light support.
- Mid-season timing, ripening around 70 to 80 days from transplant.
- Generally forgiving and beginner-friendly to grow.
- One of our picks for the cold, short-season gardens of New England.
Disease resistance
An open-pollinated variety, sold without formal disease-resistance codes.
Why no hardiness zone?
Tomatoes are warm-season annuals, so variety choice comes down to days to maturity and your local frost dates.
Like Rutgers, but...
Sold out, or after a change? The closest alternatives, and how they differ.
Browse similar
Where to buy seed
Related reading
Common questions
- Is Rutgers determinate or indeterminate?
- Rutgers is a determinate variety. Determinate bush. It sets most of its crop in one concentrated flush, which suits batch cooking and canning, and needs only light support.
- How long does Rutgers take to ripen?
- Rutgers ripens in about 75 days from transplant. Mid-season timing, ripening around 70 to 80 days from transplant.
- Is Rutgers an heirloom or a hybrid?
- Rutgers is open-pollinated, so seed saved from it comes back true to type.
- What can I grow instead of Rutgers?
- A close swap is Marglobe, but the earlier USDA parent variety Rutgers was bred from.
Sources
- Rutgers tomato · Wikipedia
- Rutgers Tomato · Thresh Seed Co.
Stay in the loop
From the Almanac
Updates from Tomato Almanac, when there is something worth sharing.