Getting back to business…

Hello to our OH Honey Farm friends. We want to apologize for the lack of updates to the site, delayed orders, and for our general absence over the last five months as we’ve navigated the life challenges that 2024 has thrown our way. We are dedicated to getting back to business and continuing to grow our farm and workshop with you. As part of that commitment we have begun updating inventory and products on our website.

On the market side of things, we have bottled up the last of the honey for 2024 and have Fall/Summer honey available in our one pound main squeeze jars. The next harvest will be Spring of 2025. With the change in temperature and shorter days here in Ohio, the hens have stopped laying eggs for the season so we will not have eggs available again until March 2025. The last of our pasture raised whole chickens have been harvested and are off to freezer camp. We will begin raising whole chickens again in March 2025. The first week of December we will be sending a couple of our pigs for processing and have two half hogs available as of this post. Vacuum sealed cuts or pork will be available the third week of December in our Market. The new year will bring with it a return of our microgreen and mushroom offerings, with our first harvests slated for February 2025. Subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know when the Market is restocked.

In our workshop we have been busy getting things ready for the Christmas season. Hop on over to the Workshop to check out our newest additions like our Christmas Countdown tracker, and the return of some of your holiday favorites including our Naughty Ornament Collection. We will be adding new items frequently so check back often.

Thank you for your continued support of our little farm and workshop. Thank you for your patience as we get back to business.

Best Regards,

Larry

OH Honey

I want a pretty lawn. What can I do about these weeds?

Spring is almost here and so begins the fertilization and weeding programs many use to chase a pristine lawn. I myself love the color contrast of dandelions in the yard as it’s one of the favorite flowers of pollinators. I see yellow and I think healthy and happy bees, some see yellow and think their lawns are unhealthy. Well I was asked by a friend about an alternative method to using herbicides to kill weeds and thought it would be a great opportunity to share a process that works pretty well. Today I’ll share a very simple spray solution that is pet friendly, environmentally safe, and typically cheaper than the commercial stuff.

So first thing first. Please do not use products that contain glyphosate to kill grass and weeds. Glyphosate is a herbicide that is extremely effective at killing plants. It also does a pretty good job of disrupting, if not destroying, the microbiota found in the gut of honey bees. I wont get into naming specific products or even discuss the health complications that some studies have shown glyphosate can have on the human body, but I will ask again, please do not use glyphosate products to treat your lawn or weeds.

Let’s get into it. What do you need for our alternative method of weed remediation?

• A gallon of white vinegar

• An empty 5-gallon bucket

• A bag of water softener salt - I prefer to buy water softener salt because it's fairly cheap and you get a lot of it. A 50 lb bag of softener salt can be found for about $7 at the local big box store.

• Dish soap

• A Sprayer or spray bottle - I bought a cheap pump sprayer from Harbor Frieght.

• Water

Once you have all of your items, pour a third of the bag of salt into the 5-gallon bucket and then fill the bucket with water. Let the mixture sit for at least 12 hours to create a brine. You can speed up the process by adding a small water pump tor agitation in the bucket. Don't worry about adding too much salt or if you still see salt in the bottom of the bucket, this is normal. The water will only be able to absorb so much salt before it falls out of suspension and to the bottom of the bucket. The nice thing is that once you remove your solution you can simply add more water to the salt left behind to make another batch of brine.

Once your brine solution is ready, add equal parts of vinegar and the brine solution to your sprayer along with 4-5 drops of dish soap and shake briefly before spraying onto the leaves of the plants you wish to get rid of. Take caution to only spray the plants you wont gone. The soap helps the solution to stick to foliage and minimize run off. For best results spray your solution when there is no rain in the forecast for the next 24 hours and allow 48 hours for the solution to fully work.You can do as many re-applications as you like. Any salt residue can be washed away after your desired results have been achieved.

There are many alternatives to ridding your yard of unwanted foliage including spraying with the vinegar solution outlined here, spraying with a lemon juice solution, steaming with hot water, or even good old elbow grease in the form of pulling weeds by hand. Whatever method you choose please think about our pollinators before beginning your lawn care regime.

-Bee kind