dark furrow
a quiet almanac of soil and sky
morning, the twenty-eighth of july
midsummer
the full weight of summer.
everything is ripe or ripening or done.
thunder in the westthe corn stands perfectly stillwaiting for the rain
sky
blazing. the garden wilts by ten. water it or lose it.
- waxing gibbous, 99% lit
- sunrise 6:20 am · sunset 8:22 pm
- 14h 3m of daylight (-1.6 minutes from yesterday)
- civil dusk 8:51 pm · sailor's dark 9:25 pm · true dark 10:02 pm
the moon is nearly full. transplant, fertilize, graft. the light is strongest and the sap is rising. a good time to move plants and feed the soil.
the summer triangle dominates: vega, deneb, altair, high and bright
the tropical remnant. what is left of a hurricane after it has come inland and lost its name. days of grey warm rain. everything floods slowly. the old farmers knew it by the way the wind circled.
garden
in the ground now
- second planting of beans if you have the space
- let some herbs bolt and flower for the bees
- the garden is giving now, keep up with it or it spoils
- save seeds from what did well, close the circle
this week
- harvest everything on time. overripe vegetables tell the plant to stop producing.
- pull spent crops and plant fall seeds in their place. bush beans, beets, carrots.
good neighbors
- nasturtium tumbling between the squash hills, the bugs go to it and not the fruit
- borage left to flower fully, it is the bees' last reliable cup before the heat breaks
- a few sunflowers at the north end of the bed, where the shade falls on no one important
bad neighbors
- garlic dropped in among the new peas, the peas will be small and bitter for it
- do not return tomatoes to last year's tomato ground, the soil is asking for three years of rest
- never put fall brassicas where the spring brassicas stood, the cabbage worms remember the place
kitchen
in season
- can or freeze what you cannot eat, winter will want it
- it is too hot to cook, so don't
- eat outside if there is a breeze
- cold soups, gazpacho, things from the fridge
tonight
- watermelon with salt, the oldest summer trick
putting up
- peaches in july. can in light syrup, peel and freeze, brandy a few jars for winter.
- the first figs come in. jam them, dry them, or bake them into the lid of a tart.
foraging
- chanterelle mushrooms after summer rains, golden in the hardwood leaf litter.
- passionflower vine, blooming wild. the flower makes a calming tea.
- blackberries, everywhere, ripening in waves through july and august.
- sumac berries, the red fuzzy clusters. steep in cold water for a drink like pink lemonade.
midsummer foraging is abundance and sweat. bring a bucket and water. the blackberries alone will keep you busy for weeks.
folklore
the buck moon, the thunder moon. the dog days begin when sirius rises with the sun. the old farmers blamed the star for the heat. it is not the star. but the name stuck.
calendula flowers, steeped in oil for weeks. makes a healing salve for cracked hands and dry skin. midsummer medicine is first aid. the garden and the woods are handing out scratches, bites, heat, and rashes. have your remedies ready.
dragonflies over the garden, eating hundreds of mosquitoes a day. allies.