The outdoors? Scorching.
The cicadas? Screaming.
The garden? Thriving.
Me? Sweaty. Tired. Happy.
Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year (or pretty close) and the first official day of summer. In the Ozarks, it has felt like summer since some time in May, but this “official” summer feels more like a fiery hellscape. Luckily we’ve had at least some rain to balance the heat, so the vegetables are flourishing, even if the humans are not.
Before the heat came on strong, I snapped a few photos of the wildflowers around the land: milkweed, yarrow, queen anne’s lace, mullein (not pictured but abundant), passionflower, black eyed susans, and blackberries (not a flower, but again, abundant). Rewilding this field has been one of my favorite things we’ve done on the farm. It requires almost no work, it’s gorgeous, and we have heaps of bees, butterflies, dragonflies, fireflies, and other pollinators that are helping us garden. For his birthday, Damien was given a scythe, which he loves and has been putting to good use cutting paths through the fields.
wild blackberries
orange milkweed
orange milkweed
fleabane and milkweed
wild passionflower
queen anne’s lace
In the Veggie Garden
As two individuals with day jobs in town, a small budget, and big goals, projects can take some time to complete. I’m proud of how much we (mostly Damien) have accomplished this year as far as making improvements to the garden. One of those improvements is a fenced-in veggie garden to hopefully keep the deer from reaping our harvests. The fence has been up for a few months, but recently we added a gate door– a crucial finishing touch to an enclosed area. It was made from some scrap trim, lumber, and sweetgum saplings and I love it.
This year we started our tomatoes indoors under grow lights, and the difference from last year is impressive. I’m certain that the head start in a controlled environment along with more rain and improved soil conditions are the reasons for our big, happy tomato plants. Interspersed with the tomatoes are some of their great companions: tulsi basil and marigolds, which are also bursting with vigor.
wild mullein that appeared in the garden
marigolds
Herbs and Harvests
Tulsi basil has been shown to have antidepressant and anti-anxiety properties comparable to prescription drugs like diazepam. As someone who has struggled with both of these ailments from a very young age, I’m always interested in growing herbs/food that help support the nervous system or have mildly sedative properties. I’ve found lemon balm, valerian, chamomile, and tulsi to be most effective at calming panic and anxiety, but to be honest, you need to have them consistently and that is not my strongest suit. It’s my goal to make a few tinctures and tea blends this year to make consistency a little bit easier, but in the meantime I’m just enjoying watching the plants grow (except Valerian, I’m not growing that one…yet).
I didn’t realize that Damien planted a decent amount of Daikon radishes all around the garden, but what a great surprise! It’s been nonchalantly growing, working hard to loosen the soil for weeks until we noticed its big, radish-y leaves and tasty little flowers above the ground. Other early summer harvests include some beautiful, fragrant garlic, yellow onions, French Breakfast radishes, beets, all kinds of lettuces and kale, calendula, mint and lemon balm, sunflowers, rosemary, lavender, mint, and many pumpkins from our volunteer compost plants! We are still waiting on more tomatoes, corn, beans, zinnias, bell and serrano peppers, cucumbers, watermelon, kabocha squash, and more.
Perils and Recompense of Summer
I’m not a fan of summer. It’s oppressively hot and humid, it’s hard to adjust my sleep to the long days, and I can’t wear oversized sweaters and cozy socks. I am thankful for the summer though, for making food grow, giving us days of creek swimming, grilling with friends and family, and the illusion of having more hours in the day. Evenings spent on the back porch or by the pond are renewing, and it is satisfying to see an increase in pollinators and wildlife from last summer.
Here is a photo from an evening when we sat under the oak tree after work, watching the guineas chase the cat around, drinking cranberry juice mixed with sparkling water, and tried to talk about our day over the screaming cicadas as the sun set: an innocuous moment in time, but one that I reflect on with the joy of a summer evening.
Here’s to hot nights filled with ice cold drinks, friends, and fireflies lighting up the sky.
I’m working on a longer research-based blog post about regenerative agriculture for this month, but I hope for now you’ve enjoyed a little garden update!
Until the watermelons grow,
Allyson
venus & the moon over the hollow
*Originally posted on Substack on July 3, 2023
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