Planting by
the Moon
May
the Force be with you while sowing seeds, mowing the lawn,
pruning roses, composting, watering and more!
By Marion
Owen, Fearless Weeder for PlanTea,
Inc. and Co-author of Chicken Soup for the Gardener's
Soul
 My
friend Amy sometimes braces herself before going to work.
Amy works at the hospital and when the moon is full, those
nights in the emergency room are, as she calls it, "memorable."
Many
scientists insist that the myth that a full moon affects the
behavior of humans, animals and plants is a bunch of baloney.
But police, bartenders and folks like Amy will tell you otherwise.
Before
I go further, let me tease you with a possibility: What if
mowing your lawn during certain phases of the moon retarded
growth which meant you didn't have to mow as often? Keep reading.
I bet you won't be shaking your head much longer!
According
to a National
Geographic news article more gardeners today are turning
to the moon for sage advice on the best time to plant, prune,
weed, and harvest. The practice, known as moon or lunar gardening,
centers on the moon's gravitational effect on the flow of
moisture in soil and plants.
Gardening by the moon is as old as time. Long before man (and
women!) ever had a watch on his wrist or a calendar on the
refrigerator, everything was governed by the phases of the
moon.
May the Force be with you!
Moon gardening
has been passed down through many generations. "There
are firm believers in moon gardening today who will not plant
anything unless a favorable moon sign is indicated,"
says Ed Hume, one of the Pacific Northwest's favorite garden
gurus and proponent of the moon's influences on gardening.
Hume publishes an annual Garden Almanac which gives month
by month moon sign gardening calendar -- you can buy your
own copy for just $1.49 through my online
catalog.
The moon
controls ocean tides, influences the groundwater tables beneath
our feet and the movement of fluids in plants. Even continental
land masses are said to rise 2 to 3 feet in elevation with
the passage of the moon. Understanding the effects, and timing
your gardening chores accordingly, is the basis of moon gardening.
For example,
the best time to turn over garden soil is during the last
quarter of the moon (decreasing moon phase) because that's
when the water table has dropped to its lowest point. This
means there is less moisture in the soil. Taking your back
into consideration, it is easier to turn soil over when there
is less moisture in it!
How
to garden by moon phases
The moon
moves through a complete cycle every 29 days. For moon gardening
purposes, this cycle is divided into four quarters or phases.
The term phase refers to the moon's apparent shape as viewed
from earth during the month. To plant by the moon phases you
will need an almanac or calendar, such as Ed Hume's Planting
Guide, that lists the exact time and date of the moon phases.
The lunar month starts with the new moon, also called "the
dark of the moon. From the new moon to the first quarter and
from the first quarter to the full moon, the moon appears
to grow from nothing to a crescent and then to a full circle
at mid-month. These are the increasing or waxing phases.
Increasing
Light -- New moon to full moon
Examples
of garden chores to do by the light of the moon:
(NOTE: These are general guidelines. I highly recommend referring
to Ed Hume's Planting Guide for specific planting tasks):
•
Repot and groom houseplants
• Sow seeds of plants that grow above ground
• Fertilize
• Graft fruit trees
• Plant evergreen and deciduous trees
The decreasing
or waning phases are when the moon "shrinks" from
the full moon down to the new moon (darkness). As the moon
wanes during the 3rd and 4th quarters, this is a good time
to prune plants, as the water table is diminishing and so
less sap will flow out of the cut ends. The plants are said
to orient themselves toward their roots, making this a favorable
time for planting, transplanting and harvesting root crops
in general. The 4th quarter is the most dormant period and
is good for chores like weeding.
Decreasing
Light -- Full moon to dark of the moon
Examples
of garden chores to do by the dark of the moon:
(NOTE: These are general guidelines. I highly recommend referring
to Ed Hume's Planting Guide for specific planting tasks).
•
Plant bulbs
• Plant crops that grow below the ground, such as
potatoes, carrots
• Cultivate weeds
• Plant biennials and perennials because they need
strong roots
• Eliminate slugs
• Prune shrubs
How is
sowing, transplanting and harvesting linked to phases of the
moon? One theory is that during the light (waxing) of the
Moon, sap is thought to flow more strongly, filling plants
with vitality and energy, favoring the planting and harvesting
of crops that mature above ground.
What the moon gardening movement currently lacks is a body
of modern scientific work that validates its benefits...
Science
or baloney?
John
Teasdale, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Agricultural Systems Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, said
he is not aware of any research on the lunar influences on
agriculture, though he said an experiment could be established.
"We
know that the moon influences some natural phenomena such
as tides," he said. "I would guess that a simple
hypothesis would be that lunar cycles could influence meteorological
cycles which in turn could influence crops."
RJ Harris,
the head gardener at a private estate near Cornwall, England
conducts his own experiments. Each year he cultivates a selection
of crops in opposition to the best practices of moon-gardening
methods. Crops planted according to the lunar cycle fare much
better, he said. "I've got a large area in potatoes.
We've got some planted at the right time of the moon and some
crops at the wrong time of the moon. The difference is so
obvious and there for everybody to see," he said.
Names
of full moons
January:
Wolf
February: Snow, Quickening, Storm
March: Worm, Sap, Chaste
April: Seed, Pink, Grass, Sprouting, Wind
May: Flower, Corn Planting, Hare
June: Strong, Rose, Sun, Strawberry
July: Mead, Thunder, Buck
August: Sturgeon, Wort, Corn
September: Barley, Harvest
October: Hunter's, Blood
November: Mourning, Beaver
December: Cold, Oak, Long Night's
Now it's
your turn. Test the validity of gardening by the moon in your
own garden. Plant some crops by the correct moon sign and
others by the wrong moon sign. Experiment with above ground
and below ground crops. Try mowing different parts of your
lawn according to the moon phases! Send me you results, either
by email
or, better yet, send me a photograph. I'll send you a set
of my photo note cards and a free box of PlanTea organic fertilizer.
Marion
Owen is a master gardener, photographer, entrepreneur, and
New York Times bestselling author of Chicken Soup for the
Gardener's Soul. Recently honored with a "Women of Distinction"
award by the Soroptimist International of the Americas, she
is also a webmother and the creator of PlanTea. (Plant + Tea),
the organic fertilizer in pocket sized tea bags.
Check out Marion’s UpBeet Gardener newsletter, which
celebrates what is right in this world with upbeat tips, organic
gardening tips, photography how-tos, recipes and stories from
Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul, which she co-authored.
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