dark furrow
a quiet almanac of soil and sky
night, the twenty-first of july
early fall
the light is leaving but slowly.
mornings are cool again. the garden exhales.
one red leaf fallingthrough the still september airlanding in my palm
sky
cold and clear. you can see more stars now that the haze is gone.
- first quarter, 56% lit
- sunrise 6:14 am · sunset 8:27 pm
- 14h 13m of daylight (-1.3 minutes from yesterday)
- civil dusk 8:56 pm · sailor's dark 9:32 pm · true dark 10:10 pm
the moon is in its first quarter. plant things that fruit: tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash. the increasing light favors strong stems and heavy fruit.
cassiopeia the queen climbs higher in the northeast, her W shape easy to find
a norther. the temperature drops thirty degrees in an hour. the sky turns grey-green. it is the first reminder that summer is something you had, not something you have.
garden
in the ground now
- garlic goes in now, it sleeps through winter and wakes strong
- lettuce and greens again, the cool returns
- cover crops where the beds are empty, clover or rye
- plant bulbs for spring, an act of faith in the dark
this week
- dig and cure sweet potatoes before frost. let them sit in a warm place for two weeks.
- bring in tender herbs. pot up rosemary and basil if you want them through winter.
good neighbors
- spring bulbs near the garlic, they wake at the same hour and ask for the same things
- chamomile and dill let to self-sow, they will come up early next year and bring the right insects with them
- a row of carrots beside the late onions, each one still hides the other from its own fly
bad neighbors
- a brassica patch is a brassica patch, do not plant another one in its footprint, the worms are still there
- fall potatoes where the tomatoes stood, the blight will follow them under the soil
- never set garlic where the peas just left, what one called sweet the other calls bitter
kitchen
in season
- soups return, the pot comes back to the stove
- pumpkin in things, but not everything
- apples from the orchard, not the store
- roasted squash with sage and brown butter
tonight
- warm drinks in the evening, the hands want holding
putting up
- winter squash cures five to ten days at eighty to eighty-five degrees, then keeps at fifty to fifty-five in dry air. wipe each one with diluted vinegar before storing to slow rot.
- green tomatoes at first frost. chow-chow, chutney, fried.
foraging
- spicebush berries, bright red, drying well for a spice like allspice.
- hen of the woods mushrooms at the base of oaks. unmistakable and choice.
- pawpaws, the largest native fruit, custard-soft and tropical. find them along creeks.
- persimmons, but only after frost or they will turn your mouth inside out.
fall foraging is nuts and fruits and mushrooms. the woods are giving away everything before the cold. walk with a bag in your pocket.
folklore
the harvest moon, the one that rises close to sunset and gives extra light to work by. the corn moon. the barley moon. the equinox passes and the dark starts winning again, two minutes stolen each day now.
rosemary tea, strong and warm. improves circulation as the cold starts settling in. fall remedies are about preparation. dry what you can now. make the syrups and salves. winter does not wait for you to be ready.
the mosquitoes are finally easing. first frost will finish them.