Mountain Fresh

**tomatoaddict** · June 10, 2007

Well, I lost a plant this week. It had been looking sickly and I'm not sure if it was something I did or if my husband got it with Round-up drift. I finally pulled it today. A tomato guy at the farmers market talked me into a Hybrid called Mountain Fresh. It's the first hybrid I have ever planted excluding my Sweet Baby Girl cherry. This guy raved about it. So I went ahead and gave him a home in the garden today. Anyone know much about this one?

**carolyn137** · June 10, 2007

THe Mountain series of varities were bred by Dr. Randy Gardner of NCSU and are extremely popular with commercial growers.

And that's b/c they are not soft, so have long shelf life, are prolific yielders of fruits and are blemish free.

While I haven't grown any of them my commercial friend Charlie grows them and I've tasted Mountain Spring and two others whose names escape me now.

The ones I've tasted I would not grow for taste and I have grown tomatoes primarily for taste since I'm not a commercial grower.

The best hybrids that I've grown that I think have very good taste are the Harris varieties Jet Star and Supersonic. And there's nothing at all wrong with Big Boy and Better Boy as far as I'm concerned.

So while in the past I have usually grown some hybrids many years ago I switched to growing primarily OP's and most of them heirloom varieties.

But since taste is an individual perception and actually has a genetic association, you may like the taste of the Mountain series of varieties including Mountain Fresh. You won't know until you grow them and taste them.

barkeater · June 10, 2007

TA, consider yourself lucky. The Mountain series of tomatoes has done more to destroy the conception of the tasty, homegrown tomato on the east coast than any other. It is the epitome of the supermarket tomato: Perfect shape, no cracks, no taste whatsoever.

Because of the heat, humidity, and thunderstorms, midatlantic and northeast tomato growers used to average about 1/3 less harvest due to cracking. At the same time US consumers lost their taste buds, the Mountain Series came out. Now, no matter how wet the weather, we farmers could pawn off the most beautiful, and most disgusting tasting tomato off at premium prices.

Come to think of it, the ascension of the Mountain Series pretty much preceded the heirloom movement by only a couple years (early-mid 90's). Who knows, it may have been the proverbial straw that heirlooms owe their popularity to!

**tomatoaddict** · June 10, 2007

OMG.... I feel like going out there and ripping it out of the ground.
I have always grown heirlooms but wanted to be open minded enough to at least try growing a hybrid. Sounds like I might have picked the wrong one. I was thinking that next year I might grow 4 hybrids just as a comparison for my own personal experience. I was thinking of Momotaro, Better boy, and now because of Carolyn's recommendation Jet Star. I have room for about 47 tomato plants so I thought it might be nice to try something new. I guess I'll sleep on it about the MF. Don't want to waste a spot in the garden for a spitter.
Thanks for the info.

June 10, 2007	#1
tomatoaddict Moderator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: zone 5 Posts: 1,459	Mountain Fresh Well, I lost a plant this week. It had been looking sickly and I'm not sure if it was something I did or if my husband got it with Round-up drift. I finally pulled it today. A tomato guy at the farmers market talked me into a Hybrid called Mountain Fresh. It's the first hybrid I have ever planted excluding my Sweet Baby Girl cherry. This guy raved about it. So I went ahead and gave him a home in the garden today. Anyone know much about this one? __________________ Secretseedcartel.com

June 10, 2007	#2
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	THe Mountain series of varities were bred by Dr. Randy Gardner of NCSU and are extremely popular with commercial growers. And that's b/c they are not soft, so have long shelf life, are prolific yielders of fruits and are blemish free. While I haven't grown any of them my commercial friend Charlie grows them and I've tasted Mountain Spring and two others whose names escape me now. The ones I've tasted I would not grow for taste and I have grown tomatoes primarily for taste since I'm not a commercial grower. The best hybrids that I've grown that I think have very good taste are the Harris varieties Jet Star and Supersonic. And there's nothing at all wrong with Big Boy and Better Boy as far as I'm concerned. So while in the past I have usually grown some hybrids many years ago I switched to growing primarily OP's and most of them heirloom varieties. But since taste is an individual perception and actually has a genetic association, you may like the taste of the Mountain series of varieties including Mountain Fresh. You won't know until you grow them and taste them. __________________ Carolyn

June 10, 2007	#4
tomatoaddict Moderator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: zone 5 Posts: 1,459	OMG.... I feel like going out there and ripping it out of the ground. I have always grown heirlooms but wanted to be open minded enough to at least try growing a hybrid. Sounds like I might have picked the wrong one. I was thinking that next year I might grow 4 hybrids just as a comparison for my own personal experience. I was thinking of Momotaro, Better boy, and now because of Carolyn's recommendation Jet Star. I have room for about 47 tomato plants so I thought it might be nice to try something new. I guess I'll sleep on it about the MF. Don't want to waste a spot in the garden for a spitter. Thanks for the info. __________________ Secretseedcartel.com

June 10, 2007	#3
barkeater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b Posts: 1,439	TA, consider yourself lucky. The Mountain series of tomatoes has done more to destroy the conception of the tasty, homegrown tomato on the east coast than any other. It is the epitome of the supermarket tomato: Perfect shape, no cracks, no taste whatsoever. Because of the heat, humidity, and thunderstorms, midatlantic and northeast tomato growers used to average about 1/3 less harvest due to cracking. At the same time US consumers lost their taste buds, the Mountain Series came out. Now, no matter how wet the weather, we farmers could pawn off the most beautiful, and most disgusting tasting tomato off at premium prices. Come to think of it, the ascension of the Mountain Series pretty much preceded the heirloom movement by only a couple years (early-mid 90's). Who knows, it may have been the proverbial straw that heirlooms owe their popularity to!