dark furrow
a quiet almanac of soil and sky
night, the twelfth 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.
- waning crescent, 7% lit
- sunrise 6:08 am · sunset 8:32 pm
- 14h 24m of daylight (-1.0 minutes from yesterday)
- civil dusk 9:02 pm · sailor's dark 9:38 pm · true dark 10:18 pm
the moon is a thin crescent, almost gone. do not plant. rest, clean tools, plan the next cycle. the old almanacs left these days blank on purpose.
the milky way runs through it, visible on clear dark nights away from town
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
- second planting of beans if you have the space
- 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
this week
- pull spent crops and plant fall seeds in their place. bush beans, beets, carrots.
- stake and tie anything that is leaning. the weight of fruit will snap a stem.
good neighbors
- a second planting of bush beans beside the cucumbers, both will run together to the frost
- marigolds sown thick where the brassicas will follow, they leave the ground cleaner than they found it
- basil started again from cuttings, the second crop of the year is the strongest for pesto
bad neighbors
- another round of squash where the first one suffered, the bug eggs are already waiting
- 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
- cold soups, gazpacho, things from the fridge
- it is too hot to cook, so don't
- eat outside if there is a breeze
tonight
- watermelon with salt, the oldest summer trick
putting up
- blackberry syrup for winter biscuits.
- hot peppers go three ways: strung on thread to dry, fermented for hot sauce, or whole into freezer bags.
foraging
- jewelweed, the orange-flowered plant near creeks. crush the stem for poison ivy relief.
- wild plums, small and tart, good for jam and nothing else.
- chanterelle mushrooms after summer rains, golden in the hardwood leaf litter.
- blackberries, everywhere, ripening in waves through july and august.
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.
stink bugs arriving. they want your tomatoes. they will get some.