YOUR INDUSTRY
ITALIAN HERITAGE TOMATO LOVED BY NELSON LOCALS Words by Anne Hardie
The creases and comical shapes of Bettina Romano’s Isle of Capri tomatoes are all part of their appeal to her loyal Nelson customers. Tucked away at the base of a hill near Cable Bay in Nelson, Bettina produces 10 tonnes of the heritage variety each year, continuing a Romano family business that spans three generations. The Italian tomato was brought to the Nelson region with the early Italian settlers and the Romanos were one of the families to establish market gardens in an area known as The Wood. Back then, the tomatoes sat on the edge of the town centre and by the 1940s much of The Wood was covered in glasshouses until Nelson’s growing population slowly replaced them with houses. When Bettina married Nick Romano, her father-in-law Tony was still growing tomatoes in his glasshouses in The Wood and she used to help pick the fruit and take them to market. Then the couple bought a 4ha lifestyle block where they could raise their two kids in a rural setting and Tony saw an opportunity to continue the family business. He offered Bettina the glasshouses and he would teach her all he knew about growing his Capri tomatoes. It entailed shifting three glasshouses that ranged from 25m in length down to the smallest at 16m. The structure of the latter was shifted in one piece, while the others were dismantled and resurrected on the lifestyle block by Nick. 26
NZGROWER : FEBRUARY 2021
Shifting the glass panels was another story and Bettina would pick up several panels every time she picked the kids up from kindergarten in The Wood. Plastic replaced the former glass roofs and once they were set up, Tony set about teaching her how to grow the meaty red tomato. “He would show up in his car at 6am and get into it and be there until lunchtime.”
The Italian tomato was brought to the Nelson region with the early Italian settlers and the Romanos were one of the families to establish market gardens in an area known as The Wood That was 20 years ago and today Bettina has two glasshouses growing the Capri tomatoes while the third grows a mix of aubergines, Lebanese cucumbers and Flavorino cocktail tomatoes. Back in Italy, Bettina says the low-acid Capri variety was often used for making tomato purée – passata – to pour over pasta or use on pizzas. Or the fresh tomatoes were used in a salad with mozzarella, basil and olive oil.
