If you want an update on semi homesteading life for September 2024 here in Zone 5, then this article is for you! September signals a slowdown in the garden. The cooler temperatures and lack of rain start to put a halt on most plants but a few are still producing.
This leaves me spending most of my time in the kitchen, canning and preserving what I can before time runs out. It also puts me in the mood for cooking and baking, of which I did lots of.
With these updates, I hope to do more of a “journal” type of post at least once a month to keep you updated on life here. Hopefully, it will allow you to get to know the person behind these articles (me!) and how we run our semi homestead a bit more.
This will allow me to share the loads of photos I take on my phone instead of having them collect dust in my camera gallery. (You can also look for updates on Instagram if you want to follow along with me there, too.) I’ll also try to link to posts that might be relevant to what happened during that timeframe.
Hopefully, you enjoy getting to know a bit more about our life here in Illinois and how the homestead is going – Both the good and the bad!
Our September 2024 Update For The Semi Homesteading Life
Garden Update
Even with the cooler temperatures of fall, we still have a few plants that are still producing. I am still getting a few zucchini here and there. I’ve been turning those into Garlic Butter Zucchini Mash to freeze over the winter as well as shredding it and freezing it to make zucchini bread when the snow falls outside.
The green beans have started to be on their way out. I harvested my last batch of green beans the first week or so in September. It was a bit earlier than normal, but the plants were starting to show signs of being done. Besides, there weren’t many blooms so I knew it was time.
As I was pulling out the plants, I tried to leave as many of the green bean roots in the ground. This allows the roots with the nitrogen-fixing nodules to add nitrogen back into the soil as they break down.
Tomatoes – September 2024 Homesteading Update
The tomato plants are still producing as well, albeit a bit slower and with somewhat smaller tomatoes. As soon as they start to turn color, I’ve been harvesting them and bringing them inside to finish ripening off the vine. This allows me to have plenty of blemish-free or at least pest-free tomatoes.
One of the best-producing tomato plants as well as the biggest plant overall is the Spoon tomato plant. This plant is huge while the tomatoes it produces are super tiny. They are one of my favorites to snack on, especially on salads. However, they are a bit of a pain to harvest if I’m being honest!
On the negative side, I’ve started seeing blossom end rot on some of the plants. This has been more of an issue with my San Marzano tomatoes than any other variety. I’m sure it has to do with the long breaks with no rain. I’ve been watering my plants weekly, but with such a long spell of no rain, it’s been a bit tough on some of the varieties. Thankfully, it’s only affecting a few tomatoes here and there and not the entire harvest.
Pumpkins
One crop we are growing this year that is different than some years is mini tomatoes and gourds. I had a couple of fun mixes that I planted in hopes of having some cute fall decorations. One was the Mini Harvest Blend from Park Seeds which has a chance of growing some really pretty varieties. Unfortunately, we only ended with plain orange. They are still cute though.
Another variety was the Baby Boo pumpkins, which grow tiny white pumpkins. They are just adorable! We also planted a few pie pumpkin seeds, but only one plant germinated. That one plant provided me with a single pumpkin. Hey, it’s better than nothing I suppose!
The last fall-ish plant variety we planted was called “Cornucopia Mix”. However, the gourds that are growing look nothing like what the seed packet shows. They will still look pretty mixed in with the other pumpkins, just not what I was expecting.
Canning – September 2024 Homesteading Update
Even with the garden slowing down, things in the kitchen have been picking up. That usually means lots of canning and processing. I’ve canned diced tomatoes, chili base, salsa, regular applesauce, cinnamon applesauce, hot pepper jelly, and green beans mainly.
In addition to canning, I’ve also been freezing some items. We did the Garlic Butter Zucchini Mash but I also put away some white onions as well. I love to dice a whole bunch at the same time.
I use my little chopper to dice several onions quickly. Then, I measure them out in either quarter or half-cup portions and place them in small snack-sized ziplocks. Those bags then go into freezer-safe bags and into the freezer. Now when a recipe calls for diced tomatoes, I can pull one of those little baggies out without all the work! It’s a great time saver and shortcut. (Product Link: Mueller Chopper)
Some Recipes I’ve Made
Along with canning and processing, I’ve also been cooking and baking. The fall season always starts to put me in more of a mood for homemade, from-scratch meals and foods. That is, once the canning and processing slows down some!
One item I’m making that I am super excited about is homemade vanilla. It’s such a simple recipe and takes hardly any time to prepare at all. I purchased 50 Madagascar vanilla beans from Vanilla Bean Kings and mixed them with 24 ounces of vodka and 24 ounces of rum. They will take about 6 months or so to soak before I can use them. It’ll be fun to see whether we prefer the vodka or rum-soaked vanilla better.
Some of the other items I’ve made during September (well, that I’ve taken pictures of at least) are From Scratch “Olive Garden” Alfredo Sauce; Cinnamon Roll Muffins; Crockpot Apple Cider; French Toast; Fried Rice; and one last batch of Tomato, Cucumber, Onion Salad using the last of our harvested cucumbers.
Miscellaneous Pictures – September 2024 Homesteading Update
As usual, I’ll leave you with some miscellaneous homesteading pictures. I take so many different pictures throughout the month that it’s hard to get them all on just one post so I like to do a photo dump at the end of my updates.
This month’s images include a festive orange mum to replace my big front porch fern and a couple of our mini pumpkins, the beautiful array of chicken eggs we are now getting, the difference between a modern cast iron pan that has been resurfaced and one that hasn’t. (It’s pre-seasoning but already such an improvement!), the one and only Drawf Teddy Bear Sunflower that grew, stunning nighttime sunsets (that unfortunately are happening earlier and earlier), harvested strawflowers decorating my office desk, and a cute little garden visitor.
Hopefully, you enjoyed getting to see what is happening on our mini homestead during September 2024. Now onto all things fall and pumpkin scented everything!
Until next time, thanks for stopping by!
– Chelsea
*This post may contain affiliate links. These are products I have used personally and highly recommend. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases if you purchase items through my links. These links and the ads on this page help to support my family and our semi homestead, so Thank You!
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