This week we took a little break from all the garden and kitchen activities and took a couple small trips here in Ohio. We are blessed to have the means and time to do this. Many can’t leave their homestead due to having animals that rely on them daily. This is when having a family member, neighbor, or even a professional animal caregiver (Goldpaws Pet Care) can step in and help. We all need a little time to recharge and get some much-needed rest.
September 23, 2023
Ohio Trips
Hocking Hills
Our first little get away was to Hocking Hills State Park. We have been here before but this trip we took our RV and stayed with friends at a camp site called Pine Creek Campground, Cabins, & Arena. Take the time to look this place up if you love hiking or have horses and like riding. There are so many trails to ride here in Hocking Hills and this is a beautiful place go and take your horses with you.
We hiked several of the parks here and enjoyed the beautiful weather. You can tell fall is right almost here, warm days and cool nights. I will note that the parks were so busy. I’m sure this is due to the time of year, Fall being a hiking season. And we did go during the weekend which is usually not how we do things. We like to travel during the week to avoid the crowds. This was a weekend and wow not a great experience. The hikes were beautiful but hard to enjoy with so many people. My husband made a comment that it felt like being in line for an amusement park ride. I do recommend going during the off season or at least during the week to avoid crowds. We have never had this problem. Lesson learned.
The area offers several parks to hike and there is so much to see. If you have never been to Hocking Hills, I recommend going and checking it out. The area offers lots of different lodging options. If your not in to camping they have several beautiful cabins. Our favorite cabins are Harvest Moon Cabins. They are beautiful, centrally located, and offer lots of amenities.
Geneva State Park
After our 2-day stay in Hocking Hills, we went home for a night to check on things and restock our supplies. We then traveled north to Geneva on the Lake State Park. This trip was a planned trip with the intention of picking grapes again to bring home and preserve. We traveled here last year and pick amazing grapes and made so many grape items for the pantry shelf. Check out our grape videos over on my YouTube channel. Unfortunately, this year they were not ready when we arrived. The vineyard we visit informed us that the grapes are a bit late this year due to the buds freezing this past spring and perhaps not as many sunny days to help ripen them up.
We still enjoyed our time here and will probably make a day trip in the next week to pick grapes when they are ready.
In The Garden
On Sunday while we were home, I did check on the garden. It is so frustrating when you spend all the time and effort to grow your own food only to fail because of all the different problems when trying to grow organically. This brings me to my Chinese cabbage. I planted this in the spring this year and did get a harvest but only about half of what I grew was salvageable. This was due to the bugs.
We used insect netting to deter the cabbage looper and cabbage moths from getting to them only to be taken over by slugs and pill bugs. We used Diatomaceous earth (not my 1st choice), and this really didn’t do much. This product does not work when it becomes wet, and the plants need to be watered. And really, I didn’t see much of an improvement. I then went to Bonide Captain Jack’s Bug & Slug Killer. This did help but it is short lived, and I need to keep applying it. I will probably not get a harvest this fall either due to bugs!
Same goes with my carrots. I have replanted two times and both as soon as my seedlings emerge, they are devoured by the pill bugs. I do believe we have an infestation of them due to the numbers we are seeing. Nothing makes it past seedling stage if direct sowed into the soil. I have also used the Bonide for this around my transplants and it seems to deter them from eating the lettuce, so fingers crossed. I do hate to use anything like this but what is the point of planting only to feed the bugs your seedlings.
In The Kitchen
We did pick up our Azure Standard order this week and just in time. I was out of everything. You don’t realize how much sugar you use in canning until you have used it all.
I purchased sesame seeds this time in hopes of making my own tahini sauce. We like humus as a treat with pita bread or tortilla chips and thought I would give homemade tahini sauce a try and use this when making the humus.
We also purchased more supplies to make our coffee syrups and sauces with. I picked up some unsweetened coconut flakes to make coconut syrup. Have you all noticed the prices of coffee creamer? My favorite thing that I do buy at the store is coconut coffee creamer. This is almost $5.00 a bottle now at our local stores. So, we are going to try making this syrup to add to half and half. I’m so excited to try this flavor and I’m sure our shop with love it too. I will let you all know how it turns out.
Tonight, we will be pressing apples into cider. We did this last year, and it was one of our favorite things we preserved. Nothing like the store-bought cider we were used to. This is so fresh! We have been collecting apples to do this with and have quite the collection so far. Mixing up the apple variety makes the best cider. I have an article on pressing apples if you would like to see how this is done. Check it out Pressing Apples into Apple Cider.
Wrap Up
This was a great week away and with family and friends. Remember to give yourselves a break and recover from all the hustle and bustle this time of year brings to a homestead. No matter how big or small it may be. Stay motivated and loot for next week’s Urban Update. Happy Gardening!
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