dark furrow
a quiet almanac of soil and sky
morning, the fifteenth 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
blazing. the garden wilts by ten. water it or lose it.
- new moon, 2% lit
- sunrise 6:10 am · sunset 8:31 pm
- 14h 21m of daylight (-1.1 minutes from yesterday)
- civil dusk 9:00 pm · sailor's dark 9:36 pm · true dark 10:15 pm
the moon is dark. this is a time for rest and planning. prepare beds, amend soil, but do not plant. the old farmers said nothing wants to start in the dark.
the milky way was called the "backbone of night" by some old cultures. in midsummer it arches overhead like a bridge from horizon to horizon. go somewhere dark and look up.
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
- harvest in the morning before the heat sets in
- the garden is giving now, keep up with it or it spoils
- save seeds from what did well, close the circle
- second planting of beans if you have the space
this week
- pull spent crops and plant fall seeds in their place. bush beans, beets, carrots.
- take notes on what worked and what failed. your memory will lie to you by winter.
good neighbors
- a second planting of bush beans beside the cucumbers, both will run together to the frost
- a row of buckwheat where a bed has emptied, it brings the bees and feeds the soil for fall
- marigolds sown thick where the brassicas will follow, they leave the ground cleaner than they found it
bad neighbors
- never put fall brassicas where the spring brassicas stood, the cabbage worms remember the place
- another round of squash where the first one suffered, the bug eggs are already waiting
- 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
- can or freeze what you cannot eat, winter will want it
- cold soups, gazpacho, things from the fridge
- eat outside if there is a breeze
tonight
- it is too hot to cook, so don't
putting up
- hot peppers go three ways: strung on thread to dry, fermented for hot sauce, or whole into freezer bags.
- the first figs come in. jam them, dry them, or bake them into the lid of a tart.
foraging
- blackberries, everywhere, ripening in waves through july and august.
- wild plums, small and tart, good for jam and nothing else.
- jewelweed, the orange-flowered plant near creeks. crush the stem for poison ivy relief.
- passionflower vine, blooming wild. the flower makes a calming tea.
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.
a simple electrolyte: water, honey, salt, lemon juice. better than anything in a bottle. midsummer medicine is first aid. the garden and the woods are handing out scratches, bites, heat, and rashes. have your remedies ready.
japanese beetles at their worst. the roses suffer most.