The Dog Day sun is still rising hot early in the day. Even the dog star, Sirius, rises with the sun and follows the sun across the sky all day long. Like Sirius, we need to rise before the heat of a Dog Day morning, do our chores and garden tasks, and then take a nap in the heat of the day. We still have about two more weeks before the end of Dog Days plus the hotties of the rest of August so be prepared and use common sense.

The Dog Day sun shines down on the water in the birdbath and heats it up in the afternoon. It becomes distasteful to the thirsty birds, especially on days when no rain is in the forecast. Empty the hot water from the baths each afternoon and refill with fresh cool water. They not only drink the water but also take baths in it too.

The tropical colors of the portulaca

The huge container of portulaca on the deck has a new display of flowers each day in different patterns and colors. They bloom each day and are replaced each morning with a new array of flowers. The container is completely covered in cactus like light green foliage and flowers in colors of orange, red, yellow, white, burgundy, rose, tan, pink and coral. Every day that the sun shines, the flowers open wide. On cloudy days, there are not as many flowers. As the summer progresses, the portulaca cascades over the container for a rainbow of festive color. Other names for the portulaca are rose moss, desert flower and cactus rose.

In the heat of Dog Days, tomato vines sort of look pooped. They need a shot to perk them up, and you can give them that double dose of pepper uppers. First of all, fill a sprinkle can with water, add two cups of powdered lime (calcium carbonate), stir and pour at the base of tomato vines. Next, fill the sprinkling can with water and add liquid fish emulsion according to directions on the bottle. Pour this solution around the base of the tomato vines. Next day, side dress the tomatoes with Tomato-Tone organic tomato food and pull soil up on each side of the row.

Making a cool-down cucumber salad

Cucumbers are good at any meal during summer’s Dog Days and this recipe will cool off hungry diners. Dice three or four cucumbers (peeled). Dice three firm tomatoes, dice one medium onion or four scallions, dice half cup stuffed olives, one two ounce jar diced pimentos (drained). For dressing mix, half cup sugar, one fourth cup apple cider vinegar, half teaspoon salt, half teaspoon pepper, one fourth cup mayonnaise. Mix the salad ingredients together and pour dressing over the salad ingredients. Refrigerate two hours or more.

Rainbows: Gems in summer skies

Rainbows are glorious gems in the eastern skies on humid summer days. An afternoon thunderstorm brings relief from heat and the extra bonus of a beautiful rainbow — a ribbon of seven bright colors of red, orange, yellow, blue, green, indigo and violet. These are all the colors of the prism, which are products of light, in this case, the light from the sun. The colors of the rainbow are the colors of the spectrum and the spectrum is God’s great color wheel.

This is a great recipe for squash sonker and the ingredient that sets it apart is the use of real vanilla, not imitation. We certainly don’t know what the flavor of the very first sonker was, but it surely could have been squash because they are so plentiful in summer. To make this sonker, boil a quart of fresh squash (preferably straight neck) or you can use a quart of canned squash. Mash or chop the cooked squash, add one and a half cups sugar, two teaspoons real vanilla, one teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning, two tablespoons corn starch, one fourth cup of milk, two teaspoons Log Cabin syrup. Mix by hand and set aside. For the crust, mix two cups plain flour, one teaspoon salt, two teaspoons sugar, two third cup Crisco shortening, ten tablespoons of cold (ice cold) water. Mix salt and sugar with flour, add Crisco shortening and mix with hands until crumbly, add the ice cold water and knead the dough until it forms a soft ball. Form the dough into a crust in a 13 x 9 x 2 inch bakingdish or pan greased with Crisco shortening and floured. Pour the squash filling into the pan and pat slices of light margarine on top of the squash filling. Bake at 375 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes.

Planting another row of green beans

As we move to the end of July, there is still plenty of time to sow a row or two of green beans for a late summer harvest. Most varities will produce a harvest in about 55 to 60 days. Beans sown in the next week or so will produce a harvest in the latter part of September. Sow the bush varities of Strike, Top Crop, Derby or Tenderette. Place a layer of peat moss in the furrow, sow the beans and then apply a layer of peat moss on top of the green bean seed and then an application of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food and hill up soil on both sides of the furrow. Once the beans sprout, side dress every two weeks with Plant-Tone and continue to hill up soil on each side of the row. When rain dosen’t fall, use the water wand each week.

Hints of coming of autumn

The crickets and the katydids have been singing their tune about the coming fall for several weeks. Crows have also been making a racket about it. The dogwoods have the evidence of plenty of berries even though they have not turned red yet. The nandena bushes have clusters of tiny green berries that may be pointing to autumn and possibly some harsh winter cold. Days are still getting shorter by a minute each evening. Many flowers are producing seed pods and weeds are also trying to produce seed as they try to stay ahead of the weed games. Even with signs of autumn, there is still quit a bit of garden time left to take advantage of.

Sowing seeds of broccoli, collards and cabbage

With subtle hints of autumn in the air, it’s time to sow cole family vegetables to transplant to the autumn garden in late August. Start a packet of cabbage, broccoli and collards within the next week. Use three medium flower containers, fill them with seed. Starting medium and allow an extra handful of medium per container to cover the seed. Pour the medium into a bucket and mix with water until well moistened. Fill the containers to within half inch from the top. Label each container because all the cole family seeds look alike. Sprinkle seed in the container and apply a layer of medium on the seed and pat down with your fingers. Repeat process with the other seed varities. Use a spray bottle like window cleaner comes in and mist the containers each day. Keep out of the direct heat of the sun or place in the carport. When plants develop two leaves, transplant to individual pots and spray with mist of water each day. Keep plants out of the heat of the sun. They should be ready to transplant to garden in early September.

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