dark furrow
a quiet almanac of soil and sky
morning, the seventeenth 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
blazing. the garden wilts by ten. water it or lose it.
- waxing crescent, 13% lit
- sunrise 6:12 am · sunset 8:30 pm
- 14h 18m of daylight (-1.2 minutes from yesterday)
- civil dusk 8:59 pm · sailor's dark 9:35 pm · true dark 10:14 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 perseids have been watched for two thousand years. the old catholics called them "the tears of saint lawrence," who was martyred in august. the chinese recorded them in 36 AD. they are the most reliable meteor shower and the best one for warm-weather watching.
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
- 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
- let some herbs bolt and flower for the bees
this week
- check the compost and turn it. midsummer heat makes it cook fast.
- take notes on what worked and what failed. your memory will lie to you by winter.
good neighbors
- basil started again from cuttings, the second crop of the year is the strongest for pesto
- 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
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
- do not return tomatoes to last year's tomato ground, the soil is asking for three years of rest
kitchen
in season
- cold soups, gazpacho, things from the fridge
- can or freeze what you cannot eat, winter will want it
- watermelon with salt, the oldest summer trick
- it is too hot to cook, so don't
tonight
- eat outside if there is a breeze
putting up
- the first figs come in. jam them, dry them, or bake them into the lid of a tart.
- 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.
- chanterelle mushrooms after summer rains, golden in the hardwood leaf litter.
- passionflower vine, blooming wild. the flower makes a calming tea.
- 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.
yarrow tea for fevers. it makes you sweat, which is the point. 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.