Bill's How Lane Farm & Garden Center - Seeds, PLants and Organic Solutions - (732) 545-6361 1348 How Lane, North Brunswick, NJ

Bill's How Lane Farm & Garden Center

Bill’s How Lane Farm & Garden Center has been providing local plants, flowers, honey and trees to the central New Jersey area for over 55 years. Located in North Brunswick near Route 27, Bill’s Garden Center offers locally grown, healthy plants and vegetables from seed. Bill will help you with all your gardening questions and get your garden growing to look beautiful and to feed your family healthy food from your backyard. If you're in Middlesex or Somerset counties, stop by and get the best gardening supplies and advice in the state.

We also produce our own local, raw and unadulterated NJ honey!

Here are a just some of the things you can buy here at How Lane Farm and Garden Center:

  • Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes! We have so many varieties including the famous NJ Ramapo
  • Basil
  • Rosemary
  • Thyme
  • Mint
  • Sage
  • Parsley
  • Lettuce
  • Swiss Chard
  • Kale
  • Collard Greens
  • Peas
  • Arugula
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Cayenne Peppers
  • Garlic
  • Eggplant
  • Zucchini
  • Cucumbers
  • Pumpkins
  • Squash
  • Strawberries
  • Watermelon
  • Carrots
  • Onions

Learn more about our locally grown New Jersey plants...

Please call us at (732) 545-6361 or email us at info@billsgardencenter.com with any questions you have. Or better yet, stop by!

Ramapo Tomatoes are Here!

Ramapo Tomato SeedlingsThe Ramapo Tomato was developed at Rutgers in 1968 by Dr. Bernard Pollack. Many years ago it disappeared from seed catalogues. Seed companies were favoring varieties that produced higher yields for commercial growers. Despite its disappearance, Rutgers continued to receive many requests for this tasty tomato and produced small batches throughout the years. Now the Dr. Pollack’s variety has been reconstructed and a limited amount of real Ramapo seeds are available, I am growing and selling them once again.

Learn more about the Ramapo Tomato...

Ask "Mr. Tomato" a Question

If you ever wanted to grow your own tomatoes or become a better grower of tomatoes, ask "Mr. Tomato," Bill Coniglio. Stop by the nursery, call or email at info@billsgardencenter.com. He will answer every question you can think of!

Letter from Mr. Tomato: Don't Blame the Tomato!

Why does a commercial tomato taste like a piece of wood? There is nothing like the taste of a fresh field grown fruit or vegetable picked at or near the peak of flavor. Grow your summer garden or local farmer and have a feast. Nothing you will buy in the store has the same taste. WHY? Because it was grown to be picked green or half ripe, packaged, shipped and stored yet look good enough to sell weeks or months later. Pick the last green tomatoes of the season just before a killing frost and placed them on a window to ripen. Those that don't rot, taste like wood. Right? Well that is what a winter tomato tastes like. Red on the outside and woody green on the inside. 

Did you know that most restaurants will not buy vine ripe tomatoes even when they are locally available? Why? They place the tomatoes on a slicing machine and vine ripe tomatoes are soft and juicy. They crush when sliced this way. Restaurants want commercial tomatoes picked green, shipped green, then treated with ethylene gas to start the ripening process. The process is timed so pink tomatoes are available at distributors and slight red tomatoes are available in the stores and restaurants.

In addition, growers want a tomato that grows on the plant so the first picking gets lots of round, green balls 3-5 inches in diameter. Hard skins to resist bruising and slow and uniform ripening when gassed. This is factory farming at its finest.

BUT IT IS NOT A TOMATO!

Greenhouse tomatoes are better but still can't measure up to the taste and texture of a field grown tomato. Sorry but hyrdoponic tomatoes don't cut it either. Surprise!!! You can buy field grown, vine ripe tomatoes in the winter if you live near a green grocer who knows his business. Yes, they will cost more than a gassed tomato but probably less than a greenhouse tomato. I know--- I once spent hours each week buying at the wholesale market, transporting and selling to my community. It can be done. Tip---- the skin of a vine ripe tomatoes has an iridescent shine. 

If you can't find a vine ripe round tomato get a plum, grape or cherry tomato. They will taste better than the commercial gassed tomato. 

HAPPY GARDENING, AND REMEMBER...YOU CAN'T EAT GRASS.

incerely,
Mr. Tomato (Bill Coniglio)

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