Planting by the moon is a practice that’s been around for many many moons; not just in folklore but also in agriculture and that’s what I’d like to share with you today.
Of course this does not mean a romantic planting session by moonlight, LOL; lunar planting entails planting different crops during the four phases and various astrological signs of the moon.
I can hear some of you think that this old gal here has gone totally loony or maybe been affected by the full moon like some people are said to be; but this is a practice that really works – plants grow stronger therefore more resistant to pests and other diseases plus the crop is more abundant and healthier.
I can personally attest to this as we used this method when we first moved into our home many many moons ago; but when I became a working mom the veggie garden sadly took a backseat.
Later on as our suburb became more built-up, monkeys became a problem as their territory was being invaded by humans, so they started venturing into the same humans’ gardens. Of course nothing frightens them; we’ve tried rubber snakes and scarecrows but they’re way too shrewd for that!
Nowadays I have a small herb garden and grow a few veggies like kale, spinach, lettuce, leeks etc, as the monkeys are not interested in those.
HOW DOES LUNAR PLANTING WORK
We all know that the earth’s gravitational field is influenced by the sun as well as the moon – tides are highest during new or full moon when the sun and moon are lined up with the earth.
As tides rise because of the pull of the moon, just so does moisture rise in the earth, encouraging growth.
New moon is the best time to plant aboveground annual crops that produce their seeds outside the fruit like Lettuce, Spinach, Celery, Cabbage, Kale and Grain.
During this phase of the moon, lunar gravity pulls water up which causes the seeds to swell plus the added factor of increased moonlight creates balanced root and leaf growth.
During the second quarter, just before full moon also is a good time for planting aboveground annual crops but those whose seeds form inside the fruit like beans, melons, peppers, tomatoes etc. This is the time to get the benefits of peak moisture plus the strong moonlight promotes healthy leaf growth.
The third and fourth quarters are just after full moon when the light is waning. Gravitational pull is high and creates more moisture in the soil.
This is the best time to plant root crops like beets, carrots, onions etc. and also bulbs and perennials.
Seed Potatoes ready for planting
The fourth quarter is considered a resting period because of the decreased moonlight and gravitational pull – harvest, prune, fertilize and transplant as well as mow the lawn during this period to retard growth.
Astrological Moon signs of which there are four types – earth, air, fire and water, also play a big part.
According to ancient folklore each sign confers certain growing conditions - earth signs correspond to root, water signs to leaf growth, fire signs to seed and fruit production and air signs to flowers.
Lunar gardening calendars are available from various online stores; a really nice perpetual one can be ordered from The Micro Gardener
Hubby is busy laying out a new veggie garden and will be installing monkey proof protection for the aboveground crops, so we’re really looking forward to harvesting our own veggies again and being able to share it with friends and neighbours.
Refer to Gardening by the moon, for further information.
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