Everyone knows that Jersey tomatoes are great. What you may not know is that Rutgers University is a leader in developing new tomatoes and is responsible for some of your favorites over the years… Peter Nitzsche, the Morris County agricultural agent for the Rutgers University Cooperative Agriculture Extension is on the planning committee for the event and shared with me that they are growing 160 varieties this year. Not all of those tomatoes will be ripe for the Great Tomato Tasting but he anticipates 60 tasting stations with varieties being cycled in when one variety runs out. With proper pacing of the stations, you may be able to taste over 100 tomatoes in one day… This year they are working on a new tomato to release in 2016 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Rutgers. “We have three varieties that are contenders and we need the public to help us with choosing one,” Nitzsche notes. “They are medium slicers developed by Dr. Thomas Orton. We’ve selected seedlings that have good plant habit, fruit quality and flavor. We’re hoping participants like what we’ve got.”

New Jersey might be called the Garden State, but its agriculture expands far past the gorgeous green farmland out to the coast and beyond into another realm: aquaculture. New Jersey fishermen bring in tons of fresh seafood daily along the Jersey shore …