This is the last full week of September, and I just don’t know where the summer went. Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year and I am usually ready for the summer to be over. This is still a very busy time but also lots of fun with all the Fall activities.
We are still harvesting lots from the garden and now we are also buying from our local orchards and farms even more. This week we traveled back to Geneva, Ohio for grapes and will be processing those next week. We will also be headed to some apple orchards in the weeks to come for some more apple picking and preserving! Lots to do and so much to be thankful for.
September 30, 2023
In The Garden
Celery
I harvested more celery this week. I really over did the celery this year and really who uses this much celery. This is an easy crop to grow for us here in my Ohio growing zone 6A. We ended up harvesting another 7 stocks. I gave a couple away to our neighbors and I put the rest up in the freezer. We do plan on picking the rest this coming week and fermenting this batch. I will fill you in on that process in next week’s update. We will definitely not need to plan on planting celery next year.
One big problem I talk about a lot here on my updates are the pest pressures we deal with here in our yard. The celery plants were very healthy and no problems with our deer munching on those strong-tasting leaves, but the pill bugs are out of control here. They devour everything weather it is healthy or decaying. Doesn’t matter to them. This celery was another item that they just ate away at. So sad when you work so hard to have things destroyed. If we plant them again, I believe I will have to find some way to deter these nasty critters.
Tomatoes & Peppers
This week we picked even more tomatoes and peppers. I decided to simply can diced tomatoes in pint jars with these few we harvested. We simply have enough of everything else tomato related so this will be a nice size for smaller meals that I may throw together in a pinch. I raw pack these with lemon juice and process them in a water-bath canner. Simply dice the tomatoes up and fill your jars, no water is needed. Add the lemon juice, wipe the rim and center your lids. Screw the bands on to finger-tip tight and process in a water-bath canner for appropriate time based on the size of your jars. Very easy and a good way to preserve extra tomatoes.
These can be thrown in chili, veggie soups, sauces, or added to anything you need a little more veggies in. I will say I am running out of storage shelves for all the canned goods we are making this year. Definitely blessed but will need to find another place to store these goodies or slow down the production.
I also collect my Poblano peppers this week. I decided to do a ferment with these ones and I really think I am going to like this way of preserving them the best. This is the same way I fermented the jalapeno peppers with garlic, onion, and cumin seed. So good and so beautiful with the red and green layered with the white garlic and purple onion. The recipe is in this book I purchsed on amazon, Foolproof Preserving & Canning.
This variety of pepper does have a little heat but not to much. Perfect for our family since hot is not a good option. My husband suffers from Barretts esophagus and has a hard time with spicy foods. This is the one big reason why we are trying to be more self-sufficient and grow most of our food. We know what we are eating, what goes into our foods when we preserve it, and trying to eat more fresh seasonal items and less processed foods.
Back to Geneva, Ohio – Grapes
We made it back up to Geneva On The Lake, here in Ohio and picked 149lbs of beautiful concord grapes. I went up with my daughter and my mom who will be 83 in 2 weeks. They both had a great time, and we made some really beautiful memories together. My mom has never been to a vineyard like this and was definitely wowed. It is just a beautiful place, and we are so lucky to have this crop so close to our home. It was about a 2hr drive up to the Cleveland area but well worth it in my opinion.
I have processed 50lbs so far and have made just under 6 gallons of concord grape juice concentrate. We will have a lot of juice this year for sure, maybe too much but oh well. I plan to give lots away to family this year. The grape jam was a hit last year as well so I will be making more of that. I will give you all the details in next week’s update on the totals we have and what we preserved.
In The Kitchen
Pressing Apples
It is that time of year again. Apple season is upon us, and we are excited to have all the apple goodness back in stock on our shelves. We are starting our apple season a little earlier this year in hopes of preserving even more apple goodness.
This week we pressed one large batch of apple cider with a good variety of apples. We were able to collect most of our apples just around town. If we saw an apple tree, we would ask the owners if they were using them and if not if we could take some. Most everyone was glad to get rid of them. They do make a mess in your yard if you’re not continuously picking them up.
We usually get a few Italian apples from Henry. He is a gentleman that lives down the street from us and is always glad to give us apples. He grafted this beautiful apple tree many years ago when he first moved to the area. It is a cross between an Italian yellow apple and a golden delicious. This is the best tasting apple and I totally attribute our cider last year tasting so good to these apples. Sadly, this year his tree didn’t produce. Not one apple. It is an old tree now and he states that he is too old, at 93, to keep up the proper maintenance it requires. So, no apples this year from Henry. Maybe next year.
Our camping trip to Geneva last week was for grapes and since we weren’t able to pick them, we found an apple orchard and purchased 2 bags of seconds. Each bag was 1/2 a peck, and they were mostly Honey Crisp with a few other mixed in. This was a nice addition to our collection and added a nice sweetness to our cider.
In total we canned 4 1/2 gallons of apple cider. I canned the cider in half gallon jars because we usually go through it quickly. We do plan to do another round of cider making in October so I will update you on that process.
Using The Harvest
We are still getting a few squash and are trying to eat those fresh. We have grilled them, roasted them, added them to pasta, and all the other ways to eat them we have done. Definitely our fill of squash but here is an example of trying to be conscious and intentional with eating seasonal. I am trying to make more meals that involve what is fresh and available in my garden. This has saved so much on our grocery bill, and I feel better about serving this to my family. I know what is going into my foods and trying to stay away from processed foods if we can. Obviously, there are times that we do still buy those foods, but we are definitely trying to be more intentional on what we buy and what we eat.
Wrap Up
What a week! Lots to do around the home and garden and definitely keeping busy with life in general. We have a 2022 Grand Design RV that we have listed on RVShare (click the link to see our cutie) and this was a rental week for us. This means we deliver the RV, set it up, and then pick it up at the end of the rental, tear it down, clean it, and get ready for the next round. This on top of family, garden, my life is full. Very blessed. Stay motivated summer garden season is almost over then……. on to the fall garden and it looks like it will be a good one! I hope you enjoy my Urban Updates and Happy Canning!
Leave a Reply