dark furrow
a quiet almanac of soil and sky
night, the twenty-first of july
midsummer
the full weight of summer.
everything is ripe or ripening or done.
shade beneath the oakthe only cool place to sitthe dog already knows
sky
warm and loud with insects. sleep with the windows open or don't sleep.
- waxing crescent, 47% lit
- sunrise 6:14 am · sunset 8:27 pm
- 14h 13m of daylight (-1.3 minutes from yesterday)
- civil dusk 8:56 pm · sailor's dark 9:32 pm · true dark 10:10 pm
the moon is waxing. plant leafy things: lettuce, spinach, cabbage, herbs that grow above ground. the light is growing and pulls the energy upward.
cygnus the swan flies down the milky way, deneb at his tail
a cloudburst. not just rain but the whole sky falling at once. half an inch in ten minutes. the ditches fill, the creek jumps its bank, and then it stops. the sun comes out like nothing happened.
garden
in the ground now
- let some herbs bolt and flower for the bees
- the garden is giving now, keep up with it or it spoils
- second planting of beans if you have the space
- save seeds from what did well, close the circle
this week
- order garlic for fall planting now. the good varieties sell out early.
- 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
- a row of buckwheat where a bed has emptied, it brings the bees and feeds the soil for fall
- basil started again from cuttings, the second crop of the year is the strongest for pesto
bad neighbors
- garlic dropped in among the new peas, the peas will be small and bitter for it
- never put fall brassicas where the spring brassicas stood, the cabbage worms remember the place
- fennel anywhere near the new bean rows, the seedlings will sulk all the way to fall
kitchen
in season
- watermelon with salt, the oldest summer trick
- eat outside if there is a breeze
- can or freeze what you cannot eat, winter will want it
- cold soups, gazpacho, things from the fridge
tonight
- it is too hot to cook, so don't
putting up
- corn off the cob, blanched four minutes, then frozen. corn cannot be water-bath canned safely. it must go in a pressure canner or stay in the freezer.
- green beans the same way. low-acid foods need a pressure canner. otherwise pickle them as dilly beans.
foraging
- jewelweed, the orange-flowered plant near creeks. crush the stem for poison ivy relief.
- blackberries, everywhere, ripening in waves through july and august.
- chanterelle mushrooms after summer rains, golden in the hardwood leaf litter.
- 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.
passionflower tea from wild vines. deeply calming. good for the restless nights the heat brings. midsummer medicine is first aid. the garden and the woods are handing out scratches, bites, heat, and rashes. have your remedies ready.
cicadas, loud enough to drown out thought. they are harmless.