NC State University's research station in Henderson County has been home to one of the most prolific tomato breeders of our era. Randy Gardner, Ph.D. has been breeding tomatoes for over thirty years. Even though he retired from NC Sate University, Dr. Gardner still develops new varieties of tomatoes. He breeds hybrid tomatoes that have the favorable attributes of heirloom tomatoes.

Just some of the many tomatoes the Dr. Gardner has or is developing are Mountain Magic, Mountain Belle, Mountain Delight, Mountain Gold, Mountain Fresh, Mountain Pride, Mountain Spring, Mountain Supreme, Mountain Gold, Mountain Honey, Mountain Majesty, Mountain Merit, Mountain Rouge, Mountain Spring, Mountain Vineyard and Mountain Crest just to name some. Many of his hybrids are available at national seed retail establishments.