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Growing Tomatoes

Mountain Magic - One of the best setting varieties so far

14 years ago

This Mt Magic plant has continued to set fruit even during the high heat and humidity we have experienced. Almost all others stopped setting during this time. So far it does not seem to be bothered by foliage disease issues which others in the same row have been showing. (I dont spray).

I planted it 5/15 so the first fruit will probably come in at about 60-65 days.

There is even more fruit on the other side of the plant and above.

{{gwi:1360577}}

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Comments (10)

jtcm05
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
carolyn137
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
My plants are quite behind but I too am looking forward to Mountain Magic F1. As well as the other two new ones that Randy sent me.

But I think it would only fair to note, as he wrote at another message site, that Mountain Magic won't be available until 2010.

Dr Randy Gardner wrote elsewhere:

(I recently released from NC State Univ. a new indeterminate tomato hybrid named 'Mountain Magic'. This hybrid, resulting from the cross of a large fruited tomato with early blight and late blight resistance to a high sugar grape tomato line with early blight resistance, produces highly flavored round fruit that are 1.5- 2 oz. in size. The hybrid was released to the Dutch seed company Bejo and should be available beginning in 2010 in both conventional and organic seed. It should be listed in several seed catalogs. This hybrid will provide commercial growers and home gardeners with a superbly flavored, highly productive tomato with combined resistance to early blight and late blight.)

Dr. Gardner, now retired as of last June but still actively breeding tomatoes, is known world wide for his work with tomatoes.

Mulio got his MS degree with Dr. Gardener a few years back, and is still very much in touch with him.

My contact with him goes back quite a few years re his work with Early Blight ( A. solani) resistance and use of heirlooms in breeding and once again he wants to incorporate heirloom tomatoes into his breeding program and this past Spring, as we'd agreed on last year, I sent him about maybe 20 - 30 varieties.

In return he sent me seeds for Mountain Magic F1, Plum Regal F1, which he says has Late Blight resistance and Smarty F1. And Smarty F1, a grape tomato similar to Camapari but adapted to field culture is offered by Johnny's Selected Seeds this year.

One of them, I think maybe the Plum Regal F1 has a longer DTM, I can't remember without reading the letter that came with the seeds, and he hoped I could mature it but only time will tell in this so far cold and rainy season.

And there's always next year. Sigh.

Keith, those fruits look great and I really hope that mine look as good here in LB territory and that I can mature them and the other two without problems. Please let us know what you think about the taste when they ripen.

Many of you I'm sure know Dr. Gardner particularly for his Mountain series, such Mountain Spring, Mountain Glory, Mountain Fresh and several other Mt's as well as many other varieties.

He's a wonderful man, he really is, and is now doing a lot of his breeding work back on the old family place in VA. But he usually worked at Fletcher, NC, which isn't that far from where my brother moved to when he moved from here to NC and if only I could get Dr. Gardner to Dx the diseases my brother has on his tomatoes. ( smile)

For those who might be interested in Mountain Magic F1 and the backgrounds of the other two I mentioned above, I've linked to a site below.

Carolyn. who shared seeds with only three folks; the person who raises my plants for me,obviously, the person who does almost all of my seed production even though no seeds will be saved from the F1's, and the person in IN who did the initial NAR X Brandywine cross. ( smile)

Here is a link that might be useful: Dr. G's latest varieties
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Looks great! What was your seed source for them? ***** Dave, I just lost this whole post when I went looking for the other thread mulio did about Mt Magic F1 b'c in that thread, which I linked to below, I gave a link to Dr. Gardner's other new varieties and it said there that Mountain Magic will be available commercially in 2010. A few of us have MM and Plum Regal F1, another new one of his, Smarty F1 is currently available at Johnny's Selected Seeds, and I'm growing that one as well, b'c we know Dr. Gardner. In my case he sent me seeds for all three of his newest, I think, as thanks for sending him quite a few heirloom varieties that he wants to use to get some different tastes in some hybrids. He emed me Friday wanting to know if I'd been able to get out all three varieties, bc he did send the seeds quite late as he said, and speaking most directly about MM b'c of its enhanced Late Blight tolerance and he knows I'm in the target area for that. MM also has some Early Blight tolerance as I recall and is also the one that's similar to Campari which is grown in greenhouses, but MM is for field growing, home gardener growing. Here at GW this AM I saw that someone just one hour south of me has LB, so fingers crossed here. I'd just as soon not be a trial plot for LB resistance/tolerance, in terms of all my other varieties that have no LB tolerance. However right now everything is so delayed and late that I don't know if I'll get ANY fruits off ANY of my plants. And it's still rain, rain, rain, as far out as the 4 weather sites that I look at indicate. I think many of you know Dr. Gardner for his Mountain series of tomatoes and other varieties as well. While he retired last June he still has a very active breeding program going. I've known him for quite a few years, not nearly as well as Mulio does ( see other thread) and first contacted him years ago re Early Blight resistance since at the time only he and Dr. Tom Zitter of Cornell were working on that. And he has used heirlooms before but thought the fruits were too soft, so we'll see what happens this time with some of the varieties I sent. Carolyn Here is a link that might be useful: Other Mountain Magic thread
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pennyrile
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Looks great, Mulio! The even color, no green shoulders look great. Is that a pink or a red tomato?

I have Plum Regal growing alongside Mt. Glory, another Gardner cultivar. The Plum Regal is loading up with elongated plums on jointless pedicels and does look a bit later than several others in the bed. I'll check closely today for signs of color break. Just got back from a 2-week trip last night.
tammysf
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Mulio those look awesome. Let us know how they taste.
raisemybeds
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Those look great. When might the rest of us Plebeians hope to get some seeds? Is there a source currently?
luv_daises
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
If it taste as good as it looks, I want to grow some to. As it is really HOT here at 105, I need to grow some that can withstand these temps.
carolyn137
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
When might the rest of us Plebeians hope to get some seeds? Is there a source currently?

****

In my post after Mulio's I cut and pasted a snip from Dr. Gardner who said that the seeds won't be available commercially until 2010.....and there was more info in that same paragraph that is of interest about this variety.

I had mentioned two others of his and Smarty F1 I said above is currently being sold by JOhnny's Selected Seeds.

Carolyn
tn_veggie_gardner
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
My father-in-law is growing a Mountain Magic. I told him to save me some seeds! =) Awesome Hybrid...no staking necessary.
jtcm05
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
How has the taste of these been? Also, what is the gene for the uniform unripe color?
tputnam_smith_edu
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Johnny's Selected Seed has packets of 'Mountain Magic' in their 2011 catalog. Get it quick! I grew it last year and it was fabulous.

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