dark furrow
a quiet almanac of soil and sky
night, the twenty-seventh 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 gibbous, 95% lit
- sunrise 6:19 am · sunset 8:23 pm
- 14h 4m of daylight (-1.5 minutes from yesterday)
- civil dusk 8:51 pm · sailor's dark 9:26 pm · true dark 10:03 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 perseid meteors begin in late july, peaking in august, bits of comet swift-tuttle
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
- save seeds from what did well, close the circle
- second planting of beans if you have the space
- the garden is giving now, keep up with it or it spoils
- let some herbs bolt and flower for the bees
this week
- water in the morning, before the sun is high. evening watering invites fungus.
- order garlic for fall planting now. the good varieties sell out early.
good neighbors
- a few sunflowers at the north end of the bed, where the shade falls on no one important
- a second planting of bush beans beside the cucumbers, both will run together to the frost
- borage left to flower fully, it is the bees' last reliable cup before the heat breaks
bad neighbors
- never put fall brassicas where the spring brassicas stood, the cabbage worms remember the place
- do not return tomatoes to last year's tomato ground, the soil is asking for three years of rest
- fennel anywhere near the new bean rows, the seedlings will sulk all the way to fall
kitchen
in season
- can or freeze what you cannot eat, winter will want it
- watermelon with salt, the oldest summer trick
- 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
- peaches in july. can in light syrup, peel and freeze, brandy a few jars for winter.
- green beans the same way. low-acid foods need a pressure canner. otherwise pickle them as dilly beans.
foraging
- sumac berries, the red fuzzy clusters. steep in cold water for a drink like pink lemonade.
- blackberries, everywhere, ripening in waves through july and august.
- jewelweed, the orange-flowered plant near creeks. crush the stem for poison ivy relief.
- chanterelle mushrooms after summer rains, golden in the hardwood leaf litter.
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.
jewelweed stem, crushed fresh, for poison ivy. it often grows right next to it. 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.