# This years harvest.



## forktender (Sep 9, 2021)

This is the second batch of the year. The reds are 80%
San Marzano's.
	

		
			
		

		
	







I blanched and skinned the Tom's then pulsed them in the food processor to break them down the  seeds removed with the trusty old food mill.





Cooked down with a little onion, garlic, basil, seasonings and a few carrots to see if I could tell it they sweetened the sauce.
Thanks JJ. The tomatoes were so sweet I really couldn't detect the added carrot sweetness.





Got the canning crap set up and loaded the first of the 16 qts. plus 1/2 tsp of citric acid which Ball Jar recipe calls for. Then into the boiling water for 50 minutes, I always add a few minutes just to be safe 
	

		
			
		

		
	












This was the first batch of 16qts. The extras were done in the house. Now onto the second batch.

Boy, did I pick an awesome day for canning, it was only 104* here today. And 95* at 8:00 in the evening. What was I thinking?

It's 10:30PM, and it's still 80* inside the house with the AC running all day, I hate this time of yr because of the hot August nights  I forgot it was September. It's only supposed to be 103* tomorrow, so I have that to look forward too. 

Thanks for looking.
Dan.


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## tropics (Sep 9, 2021)

forktender said:


> What was I thinking?


More like the song says what was I drinkin LOL nice batch of sauce.
Richie


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## BrianGSDTexoma (Sep 9, 2021)

Wow Dan.  Nice harvest.  I picked the worse year here to try to grow.  It was a bust.  I will no longer bitch about the price at the farmers market.


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## forktender (Sep 9, 2021)

tropics said:


> More like the song says what was I drinkin LOL nice batch of sauce.
> Richie


Honestly, it was so hot under that tin awning that I was pounding water without the Bourbon in it.
 I know it sounds crazy, but the heat kills me these days. I got heat stroke way too many times when I was younger working in this 100*+ crap that it makes me sick now. I hate the heat!!!


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## GonnaSmoke (Sep 9, 2021)

Dan, that looks fantastic and I know just how much work is involved. There was a time when I was obsessed with growing tomatoes, sweet corn too, and would regularly plant 60-80 seedlings of many different varieties in the hopes of finding that "perfect" tomato taste that I was looking for. I would make and can sauce, salsa, whole tomatoes, tomatoes and okra. I don't grow them anymore, but sometimes when I see things like your post, I'm reminded about how much I enjoyed the end results of all that work. It's a labor of love for sure, especially in 100℉+ heat.

By the way, I never did find that "perfect" tomato taste that I was looking for...


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## fxsales1959 (Sep 9, 2021)

forktender said:


> This is the second batch of the year. The reds are 80%
> San Marzano's.
> 
> 
> ...


Nice! wish we could grow those in the sand down here in Ft Lauderdale. I'm happy to keep my basil plants alive in this heat.


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## forktender (Sep 9, 2021)

BrianGSDTexoma said:


> Wow Dan.  Nice harvest.  I picked the worse year here to try to grow.  It was a bust.  I will no longer bitch about the price at the farmers market.


This year was my second-best year growing in 35+ years, and I think our new well water had a lot to do with it, without having all the Bromine, chlorine and salt in the water.

 I'm aslo trying a few new things this year for the first time, I stressed 6 of the plants the others were watered every  other day and fertilized every 12-14 days. The watered and fertilized plants kicked butt on the stressed plants, by as much as 50%  in the yield. One of my plants had 70+ San Marzano Tom's on it, which is crazy. San Marzano's have never produced as well as this for me, ever!!! 
Although by watering them as much as I did, I had some loss due to end rot, I'll cut back on the water a bit next year.

The plants that are still going, I will start fertilizing heavily with a bloom fert. to see if I can get another batch in before the days get too cool and short. We had way more days of 100+ degrees this year, which proves to me that Tom's love heat as long as they are shaded in the late afternoon for the hottest part of the day, which is from 4:00-7;00 PM out here in NorCal. I'm curious to see if I get them to produce for a third time in one season.

This is all I used from start  up to this point, plus I used 10lbs of fresh worm castings, from the Bait Guy!!!






I'll be hitting them hard with this to see if I can get a third bloom out of them.






 I've never tried this before, a lot off the weed farmers that I met at the Bait Guy's house swear by this stuff, so I'm very interested to see if it works.


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## forktender (Sep 9, 2021)

fxsales1959 said:


> Nice! wish we could grow those in the sand down here in Ft Lauderdale. I'm happy to keep my basil plants alive in this heat.


I don't know how you keep basil from bolting in that heat, ours is only good  until about mid June then it goes too seed and taste like crap.

You could always use 15-20 gallon black  cloth grow bags, they sit on the ground and are self supported, then just fill them with good soil from the hardware store. That's how a lot of the weed is grown out here in Cali.


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## GonnaSmoke (Sep 9, 2021)

forktender said:


> ...Tom's love heat as long as they are shaded in the late afternoon for the hottest part of the day, which is from 4:00-7;00 PM out here in NorCal.


Yes, I think so, too. This is why I quit planting them. For years, I had the perfect garden spot, but some trees were cut down and others got bigger and slowly my garden suffered. It took me a while to realize what was happening and then I was looking at some old pictures of my garden that got wanting to understand what had happened. Now, I'm not getting any sun until about 1 pm and then full sun all afternoon long where before the trees were cut down, I had no late afternoon sun. The trees now blocking my morning sun are not mine and I don't really have anywhere else to plant.


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## smokerjim (Sep 9, 2021)

looks great!


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## fxsales1959 (Sep 9, 2021)

GonnaSmoke said:


> Yes, I think so, too. This is why I quit planting them. For years, I had the perfect garden spot, but some trees were cut down and others got bigger and slowly my garden suffered. It took me a while to realize what was happening and then I was looking at some old pictures of my garden that got wanting to understand what had happened. Now, I'm not getting any sun until about 1 pm and then full sun all afternoon long where before the trees were cut down, I had no late afternoon sun. The trees now blocking my morning sun are not mine and I don't really have anywhere else to plant.
> 
> good to know.
> I neuter mine when each branch splits. I also move under the patio canopy on full sun days. I also keep them in a chicken wire cage to keep th iguanas from feasting on them.


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## ravenclan (Sep 9, 2021)

When my Grandma was alive, I use to can with her when I was a kid. Sure do miss her and I was so young I really don't remember the process. But for me it was just the time I got to spend with her and Now all of those memories bring a huge smile to my face.


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## fxsales1959 (Sep 9, 2021)

forktender said:


> I don't know how you keep basil from bolting in that heat, ours is only good  until about mid June then it goes too seed and taste like crap.
> 
> You could always use 15-20 gallon black  cloth grow bags, they sit on the ground and are self supported, then just fill them with good soil from the hardware store. That's how a lot of the weed is grown out here in Cali.


i neuter mine regularly to keep them bushy. also move them under canopy on full sun/heat days. I have to keep mine in a chicken wire cage to keep the iguanas from eating them.


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## Bearcarver (Sep 9, 2021)

Looks Great !!
Like a lot of work pays off!!
Shame it gets so hot though, making it even harder!!
Like.

Bear


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## BrianGSDTexoma (Sep 9, 2021)

If you end up with green tomatoes need try the relish recipe I did.


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## forktender (Sep 9, 2021)

ravenclan said:


> When my Grandma was alive, I use to can with her when I was a kid. Sure do miss her and I was so young I really don't remember the process. But for me it was just the time I got to spend with her and Now all of those memories bring a huge smile to my face.


I did the same thing with my  Nona and my Mom.
I wish I had my  Nona's canning skills.
the basic stuff is really easy, just pick up a  opy of Ball Jars canning recipes and follow them to a tee. With canning it's not safe to alter the basic recipe or you might get someone really sick. It's honestly very easy but time consuming in prep work and clean up work, but it's really fun. Actually it's addicting after you taste the goods months even years later.  A lot of my Nona's canned goods were only put up every 3 to 5 years. That's fruits, veggies, fish and meat.


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## forktender (Sep 9, 2021)

BrianGSDTexoma said:


> If you end up with green tomatoes need try the relish recipe I did.


I'll look for it, most likely I have enough on the vines right now to make a small batch. Were did you post this  Brian?


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## ravenclan (Sep 9, 2021)

forktender said:


> I did the same thing with my Nona and my Mom.
> I wish I had my Nona's canning skills.
> the basic stuff is really easy, just pick up a opy of Ball Jars canning recipes and follow them to a tee. With canning it's not safe to alter the basic recipe or you might get someone really sick. It's honestly very easy but time consuming in prep work and clean up work, but it's really fun. Actually it's addicting after you taste the goods months even years later. A lot of my Nona's canned goods were only put up every 3 to 5 years. That's fruits, veggies, fish and meat.



My problem now is time.


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## forktender (Sep 9, 2021)

ravenclan said:


> My problem now is time.


I'm medically retired so I'm just killing time before it kills me.


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## DRKsmoking (Sep 9, 2021)

Nice batch of sauce , I know the heat sucks but come winter when your making a big batch of spaghetti with
your own tomatoes, you will say it was worth the effort.

I'm doing a lot of my pickling also right now, and for the next few weeks. Not that hot up here , at least today.

David


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## bregent (Sep 9, 2021)

forktender said:


> I don't know how you keep basil from bolting in that heat, ours is only good until about mid June then it goes too seed and taste like crap.



Same here. I've switched to growing it indoors and having great results. These are about 6 months old and I'm harvesting about two cups per week from it:


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## forktender (Sep 10, 2021)

I just happen to have a few old grow lights that I can use, I don't have any well lite windows in this house.
The windows were put on the shady sides of the house to keep the inside cooler in the summer months.


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