Dog Days and the hotties are now with us. Dog Days of summer got their official start on Friday and they will be around until Tuesday, August 11. During this time, we can expect some of summer’s hottest days. Heat and humidity will be the norm for the next five weeks. My Northampton County grandma always watched her hounds during Dog Days because of old wives tales and rumors that dogs would go mad during Dog Days, but her dogs did not go mad, even though they may have gotten upset and irritated by the extreme heat.
At grandmas’ house, we watched the hounds and quickly discovered they knew what to do about Dog Day heat. They would crawl under her house, scratch a hole in the cool soil, and not come out until suppertime. Dog Days have absolutely nothing to do with dogs, but with the dog star named, Sirius, which is a star in Canis Major, one of Orion’s dogs in the winter constellation of Orion, the Hunter. It rises with the summer sun and follows it across the sky all day long. If you have garden and lawn chores to do during Dog Days, rise earlier before the Dog Day sun bears down, and temperatures are cooler. Then you can find a cool spot like grandma’s dogs did and get some heat relief.
Hanging baskets and containers need a pep stick of growth magic. The hanging baskets and containers of impatients, petunias, verbena, portluca, and other summer annuals need some extra nourishment as we approach the heat of Dog Days. Several packs of Miracle-Gro pep sticks placed two or three to baskets and containers will feed a basket for two or three weeks and a packet cost a little more than two dollars. Water the baskets and containers every evening to coll them down and also help dissolve the pep sticks. Water until water runs from hole in bottom.
The goal of a first tomato by the fourth of July each year. Every year, we have a goal of having the first tomato of summer by the Fourth of July. This is a real challenge because wet, cool days of May can slow down the growth of many varieties of tomatoes. Last year, we had two to ripen on July 2.
Do not mow wet summer lawns. Grass is tough to mow on a Dog Day afternoon. Never mow grass still wet from a rain or afternoon thunderstorm. Your job will be much harder when grass is still wet, plus wet clippings promote rust on the housing of your mower as well as pile up wet, ugly, clippings all over the lawn. Wait until the sun dries up the grass even if it takes waiting until the next day. We failed to mention that wet grass gets the feet wet and the wife mad when you track wet grass clippings onto her fresh-vacuumed carpet.
When a thunderstorm threatens, keep an eye on the deck umbrella. A sudden summer thunderstorm can produce enough wind to blow over the deck umbrella and as a result, blow over the deck table. Before a storm arrives, remove the umbrella and replace after the storm. Before going on vacation, remove the umbrella and store it until you return.
The cool green ferns of a summer day. The panda fern, the asparagus fern, and Boston ferns are thriving as they provide welcome cool greenery on the dock on summer days. We have a panda fern that is ten years old that spends its winters in the sunny living room as well as an asparagus fern. In winter they need to be trimmed each month and watered every week and fed with Miracle-Gro liquid plant food once a month.
Boston ferns produce refreshing hanging baskets. Boston ferns not only make nice container plants they also provide hanging greenery in hanging baskets. The ferns will cascade over the sides of the basket for extra summer-cool green. They will also provide a resting place for birds after their stop at birdbath or feeders.
Leafy petticoats predict a summer thunderstorm on a Dog Day afternoon. When the summer sun bears down on a humid Dog Day afternoon and heat seems to be unbearable, watch the leaves of the maple, oak, poplar, and hickory trees as they flip their petticoats (in other words, they flip their leaves upside down) as they send a subtle message that they are expecting some rain and a cool-off. My Northampton County grandma said they were thanking the Lord in abundance for the rain that was on the way. Maybe that is a good lesson for us! As clouds gather, lightning flashes, thunder booms, and rain begins to fall, the leaf petticoats absorb every drop of moisture. After the rain, the leaves would flip back upwards, and my grandma would say, “They didn’t forget to thank God for the refreshing rain!”
Using grass clippings to heat up the compost pile or bin. Grass clippings are nitrogen-rich and will heat up compost and break it down quickly. Always add water to your compost especially during Dog Days to cool it down and reduce the volume of the compost. To make the compost heat up when grass clippings are not in good supply, add some Black Kow composted cow manure or Garden-Tone organic vegetable food. Black Kow can be purchased in 25- and 50-pound bags at most hardware stores, Lowe’s, Home Depot and other garden shops. This product can be applied directly to garden rows and beds and flower beds. It is totally organic, improves soil, boosts growth, increases yields. Black Kow is easily recognized in its yellow bag with a black cow on it. We especially like this product in raised beds and we apply it to seeds in furrows before covering with soil. This really provides any seed a great start.
Tomato plants need to be fed every ten days. As we move further into Dog Days and higher humidity, tomato plants can be under a lot of stress from the heat. They need a shot in the arm and a boost of nutrients to keep them on a path to protection. Give them a drink of water twice a week to cool them down when no rain is forecast. Feed the tomatoes with Tomato-Tone organic tomato food every ten days by side dressing and pulling up soil on each side of the plants. Notice we mention feeding tomatoes not fertilizing them. Vigaro tomato food with enriched calcium is another tomato food that has calcium in it to help control blossom-end rot. Dr. Earth tomato food is also a good tomato food that is available in three pound bags at Home Depot. It is a quick-dissolving food that can be sprinkled directly from the bag on both sides of tomato plants. A little of this food goes a long way. A quick and effective way to feed tomato plants is with Miracle-Gro liquid tomato food. Mix with proper amount of water in a sprinkling can and pour around base of tomato plants.
Enjoying a full buck moon tonight. The full moon of July 2020 can be enjoyed tonight and is named the Full Buck Moon. It will be rising in the eastern sky tonight about the time you are leaving church. Take a few moments to enjoy this beautiful full moon. Place a few five-gallon buckets of fresh water where the full moon’s rays can shine on it all night and poor the moonstruck water into a sprinkling can and pour around your tomato plants and give them a bit of the moon’s influence.
Enjoying a bowl of ranchero-picante macaroni. This is a great and quickie Dog Day supper that is plenty spicy. You will need one can of Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup, one cup milk, one can Pacepicante sauce, three tablespoons ranch dressing, one eight ounce pack finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese, one can Campbell condensed cheddar cheese soup, six cups of boiled elbow macaroni (three cups uncooked), two cups Doritos (crushed). Mix all ingredients together and spoon into a 13x9x2 inch baking pan or dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Sprinkle a cup of crushed Doritos on top of the dish.
Hoe-Hoe-Hoedown: “Saturday Night Fever”: This fever usually comes on every Sunday morning. No ill effects are felt on Saturday night. On Sunday morning, the patient feels fine and eats a hearty breakfast. At 8:30 a.m., the fever begins and last until about 12:20 p.m. in the afternoon, the patient is much improved. He reads the Sunday paper, watches football. He eats a big supper and the fever attacks him again and lingers through the evening. The patient is able to go to work as usual bright and early Monday morning.
“Doing the math”: Student – “Is there any difference between a pound of feathers and a pound of lead?” Teacher – “Absolutely not. There is no difference. Both weigh a pound”. Student – “I bet there is a difference.” Teacher – “That’s impossible!” Student – “Well then, could I drop a pound of feathers on your left foot and a pound of led on your right, and test your theory out?”
The almanac for month of July 2020. Dog Days of the summer of 2020 began on Friday, July 3. Independence Day was celebrated yesterday. Tonight, July 5, there will be a “Full Buck Moon” rising in the eastern horizon. The moon reaches its last quarter on Sunday, July 12. There will be a new moon on Monday, July 20. The moon reaches its first quarter on Monday July, 27.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com