Puppy Days

The dog days are not supposed to start until August, but the crazy heat wave gripping most of the country seems to have brought the canine times to us early, so I hereby christen these the "puppy days" of July.  The heat seems to have killed demand for most vegetables for cooking, but even the salad veg is suffering.  The major salad manufacturers are bleeding orders and the outlook right now is grim.  I would like to know what sales of beer are like right now.  Meanwhile, the garden looks good except for some early blight in some varieties which look like someone played a blowtorch too close to the leaves.  Otherwise, I am already scanning the weather reports for chances of rain, but things don't look good over the next 10 days.  One good thing about staying ahead of weeds is the ability to make a "dust mulch" by shallow cultivation.  By disrupting the soil profile, you can stop the moisture in the soil from being sucked out by the dry air.  It is a stopgap measure, but will buy a few more days of growth until the plant roots have exhausted the moisture.