Closing the Gate on July: Finishing Strong & Preparing for the Harvest

Transcript

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So July has a way of disappearing before we realize it's gone. One day we're celebrating the first tomatoes, watching hummingbirds dart between flowers, and marveling at gardens finally coming into their own. The next thing we know, August is knocking at the gate. For many gardeners and homesteaders, July feels like the reward for all the work that began back in winter. But experienced homesteaders know something important. July isn't the finish line. It's halftime. The choices we make during these last days of July will determine what kind of harvest we enjoy in late summer and fall. Today we're taking a walk around the homestead. No magic, no moon phases, just practical observations, seasonal chores, and simple ways to set yourself up for success as summer begins its slow transition towards harvest season. So grab a cup of coffee, or maybe some iced herbal tea, and let's take one more walk through July together. This is Old Ways, New Days, where the old ways meet the good dirt. I'm Kayla, and I'm Noel. And each week we explore the sacred art of living close to the land. From compost to covens, chickens to charms, we're reclaiming self-sufficiency, seasonal living, and ancestral wisdom.

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Whether you're stirring your cauldron or your soup pot, this is a space for wild-hearted folk walking the homesteading path with intention, magic, and muddy boots.

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How's it going, Kayla?

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Hot, oh my gosh. Right? We are ending July on a banger. This heat is gross. It was uh 99 today without the heat index. Yay! Yes, and I saw uh a report yesterday or last night about um Dubai. And I had to do the the temperature calculations. They they're saying some areas of Dubai are hitting 60 or 70 degrees Celsius, which is 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Oh gross! And people are having to work in that, and it's it's and then it's even hotter in the city where you have all the reflection from the glass buildings and the concrete and you know that heat dome that cities make, so then it's like jumping up to like 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

SPEAKER_00 3:45

No, thank you. I was like, what?

SPEAKER_01 3:48

No, no, I will stick with our 99 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Right, and I will stick with the fact that global warming is a thing. Yeah, yeah.

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People thinking that it's not I mean there are fluctuations naturally throughout time where the temperatures do increase, and but we are only accelerating it. Yes. Yes, we are. And that's all we'll say on that, because we're not gonna talk about politics. No. So today we are talking about the hottest time of the season for the northern hemisphere, which is tends to be July and August.

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Mm-hmm.

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So if you've been gardening this month, you've probably experienced every emotion imaginable. Excitement, pride, frustration, confusion, wonder. Maybe your cucumbers exploded with growth. Maybe your tomatoes struggled. Perhaps rabbits helped themselves to your beans. Maybe you lost a few plants. Maybe everything surprised you. One of the greatest lessons homesteading teaches us is that perfection doesn't exist. Nature isn't interested in perfect. Nature rewards persistence. Every season becomes another lesson. Some lessons taste like fresh strawberries. Others taste like humble pie. Both are valuable.

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Yes. So before rushing into the next list of chores, stop and celebrate what went well. Maybe this was your first successful herb garden. Maybe you canned your first jar of jam. Perhaps you compost pile. Perhaps your compost pile is finally breaking down beautifully. Maybe your flowers attacked pollinators. Attacked? Attacked! Attacked them! Maybe your flowers attracted pollinators you had never seen before. Write those successes down. Keeping a seasonal journal, keeping a seasonal garden journal isn't just about failures. It's about remembering what worked. Because next spring you'll wish you could remember exactly which tomato variety produced first. Or where those butterflies loved gather. Or which lettuce handled the summer heat the longest. Memory fades, a notebook doesn't.

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One of the most valuable things you can do during the final week of July is simply walk. Not with pruning shears, not carrying fertilizer, not planning your next project. Just walk. Observe. Notice which plants seemed stressed. Look for insects. Watch where water collects after rain. If only we would get some. Right. Notice which flowers pollinators prefer. See which areas dry out first. Look beneath leaves, smell the herbs, listen. The land communicates constantly. Most of us are simply too busy to hear it.

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July rewards consistency. Many vegetables actually produce more than harvested regularly. Beans, zucchini, cucumbers, okra, herbs. Waiting too long often tells the plant its job is finished. Regular harvesting encourages continued production. Don't overlook herbs. Many gardeners dry oregano, thyme, sage, basil, and mint. Now while the essential oils are strongest, those herbs will become comforting teas, soups, and winter meals from months from now.

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One mistake many beginner or beginning homesteaders make is waiting until everything ripens at once. Instead, preserve steadily. One batch of salsa, one jar of pickles, one tray in the dehydrator, a few bags in the freezer. Small efforts add up surprisingly fast. By autumn, you'll look back and realize you've quietly filled an entire pantry. Homesteading isn't built on giant weekends. It's built on small, consistent habits.

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Late July can fool us. Plants that looked perfect a week ago may suddenly begin struggling. Water deeply rather than frequently. Deep watering encourages stronger root systems. Shallow watering teaches roots to remain near the surface. Mulch becomes one of your greatest allies. Grass clippings, leaves, wood chips, straw. Each helps retain moisture, moderate soil temperature, and reduce weeds. Healthy soil holds water far better than the ground. Then bare ground? Well, you didn't let me phoenix, you were rolling in rub rub roll. Healthy soil holds water far better than bare ground.

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This is a perfect week to spend an evening maintaining your equipment. Clean shovels, sharpen pruners, oil wooden handles. Remove rust before it spreads. One of the oldest homesteading tricks is keeping garden tools in a bucket filled with sand mixed with a little boiled linseed oil or mineral oil. Go see our tool maintenance episode. Or listen to, rather. Go see it!

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Go see those words!

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Each time you slide the metal into the sand, it cleans, dries, and lightly coats the steel, helping prevent rust while keeping the edge in good condition. Five minutes of maintenance today can save you from replacing expensive tools later.

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It feels strange to think about autumn while temperatures are still climbing, but experienced gardeners know that fall gardens begin long before fall arrives. Many cool season vegetables actually need to be started soon. Depending on your climate, this may include kale, carrots, beets, turnips, spinach, broccoli, cabbage. Planting now means harvesting long after summer crops fade.

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And a lot of those love the cooler temperatures of fall. So you need the heat now to get them to germinate and start growing. Exactly. Some flowers and vegetables are beginning to mature as well. Watch your healthiest plants. Allow a few flowers to finish naturally. That means that they dry on the stem. So collect dry seed heads. Label everything. Label, label, label. You'll thank yourself next spring. Even if you're not saving vegetable seeds this year, practicing with flowers is a wonderful way to learn. Nature has been packaging next year's garden all along.

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Yeah, future you will thank your past you for labeling. Yes. If you keep chickens, rabbits, goats, or other livestock, July's heat deserves extra attention. Refresh water more often than you think necessary. Provide shade whenever possible. Watch for signs of heat stress. Collect eggs frequently. Inspect fencing. Walk the pasture. Observe behavior. Animals often tell us something is wrong long before it becomes obvious.

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One of the funniest things about gardening is spending months wondering if anything will grow. Then, suddenly wondering what you're going to do with 30 pounds of tomatoes. Take inventory now. Do you have enough jars, enough freezer enough freezer space, enough vinegar, enough salt, enough lids? Because that seems to always run out of lids. Run out of lids. Planning ahead makes harvest season far less overwhelming.

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Social media often shows immaculate gardens. Perfect baskets, beautiful harvest photos. Those moments aren't real, but they are only moments. Every garden every gardener has weeds. Every chicken owner has escaped chickens. Every tomato grower eventually loses one to blossom and rot or cracking. Every fruit tree drops fruit. Every compost pile has a bad day. The goal isn't perfection. The goal is resilience. Every season teaches something new.

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August begins shifting our focus. Harvest becomes heavier. Preservation picks up speed. Seed saving increases. Summer flowers begin fading while others reach their peak. We'll begin preparing for cooler mornings, longer nights, and the first hints that autumn is quietly approaching. Nature never stands still. And neither do we.

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So as we close the gate on July, take a moment to appreciate everything you've accomplished. Whether you've harvested a single tomato from a patio pot or filled baskets from a large garden, you've participated in something ancient. You planted, you tended, you learned, you adapted. And that's what homesteading has always been. Not perfection. Not self-sufficiency overnight.

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But the steady practice of working with the seasons instead of against them. Thank you for spending another month with us here at Old Ways New Days. Next week we'll step into August together where the harvest begins to gather momentum and the rhythm of the homestead shifts once again.

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Until then, keep your hands in the soil, keep learning something new, keep sharing what you've grown. And remember, the old ways still have plenty to teach us in these new days. Until next time, take care and we'll see you in the garden.