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The Rutgers 250 - a tomato bred to be grown and eaten in the Garden State. (Photo by Peter Nitzsche)

When plant breeders at Rutgers University describe their newest Jersey tomato, the senses kick in: You taste its sweetness, bred to remind folks of the tomatoes of their youth. You feel the firmness, the skin designed not for long-distance trucking, but for immediate consumption. You smell it, and know it's summer.

That tomato, which debuted last year, will finally be broadly available to home gardeners this spring, the university has announced.

The tomato, dubbed the Rutgers 250 in honor of the school's 250th anniversary, was bred using seeds that traced back to the famous "Jersey tomato" that was used in Campbell's soup, Heinz ketchup, and Hunt's canned goods.

Because that Depression-era version was not patented, commercial seed distributors were free to tinker with it over the years, meaning subsequent plants strayed from their original flavor and consistency.

Looking at supermarket tomato stock that is full of hard, pink tomatoes - even in the summer - the folks at the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station decided to focus their efforts on a tomato that would be grown locally and eaten quickly.

That meant they didn't have to breed it to grow in other soils or to survive a week of cross-country trucking.

A limited number of seeds for the Rutgers 250 and three other heirloom tomatoes are available by mail order using this form. The other varieties include the Ramapo F1 Hybrid, developed in 1968; the Moreton F1 Hybrid, an early-ripening version that dates back to 1953, and the KC-146, unveiled in 1956 and used by Campbell's.

About 2,000 seed packets of the Rutgers 250 are for sale; when they run out, Rutgers will offer a nearly identical type called the Rutgers 250 Schermerhorn, named for Lyman Schermerhorn, the breeder of the original tomato.

In April, tomato seedlings will be for sale at the Middlesex County Master Gardener plant sale during the annual Rutgers Day celebration on April 30, as well as at other events and farm markets during the spring.

In the meantime, the Rutgers plant breeders are hard at work to develop a version of the Rutgers 250 that will be suitable for large-scale commercial farmers. It should be ready by 2018.

Kathleen O'Brien may be reached at kobrien@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @OBrienLedger. Find NJ.com on Facebook.