It’s one of those sayings that is in our vernacular but is both felt and misunderstood. Personally we’ve always felt that the dog days started in August, but in reality they start early on in the year’s best Month July. So here we are smack dab in the midst of Summer yet looking at the last week of Summer’s dog days just ahead and you perhaps ask or maybe demand where do we go from here. Summer’s simple answer of course is dive right in. Wherever you feel you need to go or whatever it is you have been wanting to do but waiting for the nice weather, the time is now. That Dog Star hangs bright in the sky tonight but not for much longer so get out there and be that best Dog of Summer you can.
For growers of course it’s all in this time time of year, vacations, days off, those are for the feint of heart. Dirt, sweat, and long days well that is what we are blessed with. The opportunity to grow and grow well. Feeding more people than we ever imagined we could with nutritious fresh organic produce, we’d be lying if we said that we aren’t living the dream. We’d also be lying if we said it wasn’t a lot of hard work at times. One might even say we are working like dogs.
While working like dogs, there are a lot of thoughts going through our heads, what to seed, where to weed, we try to choose the most important task because the reality is rarely does everything get done. Then there is the fact that August is just days away, which is great for many reasons but also terrifying from other prospectives. Some of the challenges of Summer such as pests like flea beetles and quickly bolting veg become a thing of the past as August’s days roll on. Unfortunately this daily reduction in light also means the the clock is ticking to plant certain things for late Summer and Fall. The push and pull of the seasons is always challenging but with a bit of hard work and determination it can also be rewarding. Late July and August do generally bring one great reward to patient farmers and gardeners across the land and it comes in the form of a perfectly vine ripened tomato waiting for you just outside. Softening the blow of another hot week to come tomato after tomato ripens in the tunnels, as if to quietly whisper in our ear “we’re here you’ve done it, everything will okay”.
Have a Great Week