dark furrow
a quiet almanac of soil and sky
afternoon, the eleventh of july
midsummer
the full weight of summer.
everything is ripe or ripening or done.
the garden gives morethan i can carry insidethe table overflows
sky
oppressive. thunderheads pile up. the storms when they come are violent and brief.
- waning crescent, 11% lit
- sunrise 6:08 am · sunset 8:32 pm
- 14h 25m 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.
when you look toward sagittarius, you are looking toward the center of the galaxy. twenty-six thousand light-years of stars, dust, and darkness. the teapot shape is pouring out the densest part of the milky way. the old astronomers did not know what they were seeing. we barely do.
heat lightning. no thunder, just the sky flickering at the horizon. the storm is too far away to hear but the light carries. the old people watched it from the porch and called it "the shimmer."
garden
in the ground now
- harvest in the morning before the heat sets in
- second planting of beans if you have the space
- save seeds from what did well, close the circle
- the garden is giving now, keep up with it or it spoils
this week
- pull spent crops and plant fall seeds in their place. bush beans, beets, carrots.
- order garlic for fall planting now. the good varieties sell out early.
good neighbors
- nasturtium tumbling between the squash hills, the bugs go to it and not the fruit
- basil started again from cuttings, the second crop of the year is the strongest for pesto
- borage left to flower fully, it is the bees' last reliable cup before the heat breaks
bad neighbors
- garlic dropped in among the new peas, the peas will be small and bitter for it
- 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
- it is too hot to cook, so don't
- watermelon with salt, the oldest summer trick
- can or freeze what you cannot eat, winter will want it
- eat outside if there is a breeze
tonight
- cold soups, gazpacho, things from the fridge
putting up
- tomatoes are the work of july and august. add bottled lemon juice or citric acid to every jar. some tomatoes sit above the safe acid line and the lemon makes them water-bath safe.
- green beans the same way. low-acid foods need a pressure canner. otherwise pickle them as dilly beans.
foraging
- chanterelle mushrooms after summer rains, golden in the hardwood leaf litter.
- blackberries, everywhere, ripening in waves through july and august.
- 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.
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.