Experience with growing San Marzano tomatoes
I purchase the seeds from our local Agway store. It carries a fairly large variety of seed types imported from Italy that I cannot find in other seed stores in Rhode Island.
The San Marzano plants grow to a height of over 5 feet and produce a tomatoe that can be 4 or 4 inches in length and of the shape characteristic of this variety. The major draw back is that the fruit takes all summer to ripen. I suspect the ripening time would be less in a climate warmer than that of New England. They are tasty.
Hope this helps.
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How can I get this seed?
Originally posted by fdn1James
I have been growing a San Marzano (species "Pomodoro", variety S. Marzano 3 Selezione Redorta) tomato for a few years now. The seeds are produced by Franchi Sementi S.p.A. of Grassobbio-Bergamo. Is the species and variety of San Marzano tomato you are referring to different from this?
Do you know how this seed could be available? I live in a Mediterranian climate and love to grow tomatoes.
I know, I know...it's not the real thing. But I am very interested in a sustainable lifestyle. So could you direct me, please?
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San Marzano DOP
Hi Fred,
San Marzano can describe both the type of tomato (cultivar) and the specific product. That's why the Italian government came up with San Marzano DOP (denominazione d'origine protetta) -- which describes both the type of tomato, as well as where it is grown, how it is processed, etc.
I guess it's like wine, where Chianti Classico, Champagne or Cote du Beaune control the grape, the location, the vineyard practice and the wine making practice. Again like wine, they do it both for quality and marketing reasons. By controlling quality and creating a "brand" in the global market, they try to drive up demand (and price) for an excellent product.
James
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James
I have been growing a San Marzano (species "Pomodoro", variety S. Marzano 3 Selezione Redorta) tomato for a few years now. The seeds are produced by Franchi Sementi S.p.A. of Grassobbio-Bergamo. Is the species and variety of San Marzano tomato you are referring to different from this?
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They aren't cheap. $18 for four 28 oz (big can) cans, plus shipping. Lot's of people buy them along with the Caputo flour -- Vera Pizza Napoletana in a box. :-)
One of life's little luxuries? It's less than a bottle of Champagne, is almost as good, and lasts a lot longer.
James
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How much for the real thing?
How much do you charge for the real deal?
I live on California's Central Coast and wonder about the cost once postage is figured in.
Michael
aka PizzaMan
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Size of San Marzano crop
I was talking with the owner of the company that imports the San Marzano tomatoes we stock, and he talked a lot about the imitators. It turns out that the real San Marzano tomatoes make up .05% of the Italian tomato harvest. Tiny.
He said that they are good and costly, because they are trained and picked by hand -- when they are red. Unlike large scale tomato processors that plant tough skinned tomatoes that are machine picked when they are green.
Case in point, our local market carries a "San Mazano" tomato grown in California by a U.S. company. It even has Italian writing on the can. Very sad.
We tasted the imitator next to the real ones the other night, and you can definitely taste the difference.
The best way to check is to look for the DOP seal (attached).
JamesLast edited by james; 06-06-2006, 11:48 PM.Tags: None
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