Kudos to Dr. Gardner on this new release.
I have tried other, earlier Mt. Series varieties (mostly sold at the local farmer's market), and have been underwhelmed.
This one however is by far the best of those that I've tasted, and very impressive.
The plant is quite healthy and growing very well. Fruit set is very good, I'll have a better comparison at the end of the season to how it holds up.
The attached pictures show the first 13 oz. fruit picked in 68 days from set out next to a 10 oz. Summertime Gold, and the
cut version of Mt. Gem.
As for the taste, Dr. Gardner was holding back on us... this is in the very good to excellent taste category. A solid 8 in my book. Big Beef in comparison ranks from 7.5~8.5, so this is well in that range.
As a comparison, the Tasti-Lee that is growing right next to Mountain Gem was not as flavorful... 6.5 in my opinion.
That Summertime Gold in the picture was a solid 9, and Mountain Gem compared nicely along side it. (Wonderful dinner plate by the way!
)
I grow very few hybrids, but this one will now be on my must grow list alongside Big Beef and Sungold. (Impressive company).
Thanks Dr. Gardner for this one!
Lee (NCSU '89/'97)