dark furrow
a quiet almanac of soil and sky
afternoon, the fifth 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 gibbous, 71% lit
- sunrise 6:04 am · sunset 8:34 pm
- 14h 30m of daylight (-0.7 minutes from yesterday)
- civil dusk 9:04 pm · sailor's dark 9:41 pm · true dark 10:22 pm
the moon is waning. harvest what is ready, cut herbs for drying, prune what needs shaping. the energy is drawing inward. what you cut now heals faster.
cygnus the swan flies down the milky way, deneb at his tail
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
- 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
- harvest in the morning before the heat sets in
this week
- check the compost and turn it. midsummer heat makes it cook fast.
- pull spent crops and plant fall seeds in their place. bush beans, beets, carrots.
good neighbors
- basil started again from cuttings, the second crop of the year is the strongest for pesto
- marigolds sown thick where the brassicas will follow, they leave the ground cleaner than they found it
- nasturtium tumbling between the squash hills, the bugs go to it and not the fruit
bad neighbors
- 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
- never put fall brassicas where the spring brassicas stood, the cabbage worms remember the place
kitchen
in season
- watermelon with salt, the oldest summer trick
- it is too hot to cook, so don't
- eat outside if there is a breeze
- can or freeze what you cannot eat, winter will want it
tonight
- cold soups, gazpacho, things from the fridge
putting up
- cucumbers in the crock now. salt, water, dill, garlic, a grape leaf for crispness. ferment three to ten days.
- blackberry syrup for winter biscuits.
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.
- 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.
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.
cicadas, loud enough to drown out thought. they are harmless.