Moon gardening

[Jaxom]

Grow in pots at any time

The main reason for moon gardening is to make sure your plants and seeds have a head start when you plant at the most opportune time for them.
If you think about a plant or seed and what it needs, it basically boils down to: Light, food and water.
If you are planting after the winter solstice then the hours of light are increasing each day as we move into spring.
If you prepare your ground well and add plenty of muck and compost then you will have added all the food a plant could need. The muck and compost also act as a sponge to lock any moisture into the ground. This organic sponge is not fussy about where the water comes from. Rain, hose or underground store, as the plant needs water so it takes it.
If a plant is restricted in the access it has to water then growth slows down and the plant can suffer or vegetables can become bitter.
Moon Gardening utilises the gravitational pull of the moon to alter the earth’s water table. In the first and second quarter the water table rises and feeds the plant/seed as well as filling the spongy ground store you have provided to your vegetables to grow in.
During the third and fourth quarters the water table goes down so plants and seeds are reliant on rain or an hour or two with the hose. If when preparing your beds you have dug deep and layered down leafmold, compost, manure, between the earth and the surface then the water surrounding the plants during the third and fourth quarters will remain longer.
When it comes to plants in pots you provide all the needs of the seeds. Water, food and light position. The cycle of the moon will have no sway on the growth. In this case it’s all down to you. There is no magic to help seeds and plants in pots. The care you as a gardener provide determines how well your seeds and plant do.
Moon Gardening is not "Magic" but using observation of the world around you with a little 20th century science to explain why it works.
To sum it all up. Plant in pots at any time of the year. Just bare in mind when you will need the plants for planting out so that you leave adequate time before hand to start them off.
hope this helps?
Jax

[Jaxom]

As I have posted information on the moon I thought I should post some on the sun or rather information that tells us about how much day light we can expect during the year.
As the earth turns it also tilts on its axis. This tilt provides us with our four seasons Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. As the north tilts towards the sun we get Spring followed by Summer and the Southern Hemisphere countries such as Australia get their Autumn followed by Winter.
When the north tilts away from the sun we get Autumn followed by Winter and down-under they tilt towards the sun for their Spring followed by Summer.
This tilting that provides us with our seasons also provides four markers of time that are watched for by farmers and people who feel linked to the earth.
These four points in the year are Earth’s two Equinoxes and two Solstices.
On the time of the Equinoxes the hours of daylight and darkness are exactly the same, twelve hours of each.
On the time of the Solstices there is an imbalance between daylight and darkness. At the Summer solstice the hours of daylight outnumber the darkness, but at the time of the Winter solstice the balance is reversed and the hours of darkness outnumbers the daylight hours.
For those that are interested here are the dates for the future Equinoxes and Solstices.

2005...
VERNAL EQUINOX.....(SPRING) MAR 20 2005
SUMMER SOLSTICE....(SUMMER) JUN 21 2005
AUTUMNAL EQUINOX...(AUTUMN) SEP 22 2005
WINTER SOLSTICE....(WINTER) DEC 21 2005

2006...
VERNAL EQUINOX.....(SPRING) MAR 20 2006
SUMMER SOLSTICE....(SUMMER) JUN 21 2006
AUTUMNAL EQUINOX...(AUTUMN) SEP 22 2006
WINTER SOLSTICE....(WINTER) DEC 21 2006

2007...
VERNAL EQUINOX.....(SPRING) MAR 20 2007
SUMMER SOLSTICE....(SUMMER) JUN 21 2007
AUTUMNAL EQUINOX...(AUTUMN) SEP 23 2007
WINTER SOLSTICE....(WINTER) DEC 22 2007

[Lesley Jay]

So basically moon gardening is all about water. As I water my vegetables sufficiantly there shouldn't be any difference between my planting and moon planting - should there?

[Jaxom]

OK you got me

So basically moon gardening is all about water. As I water my vegetables sufficiantly there shouldn't be any difference between my planting and moon planting - should there?

OK you got me. there is more to moon gardening than just supplying the water a plant needs. The moons gravitational pull also works on the plant themselves as plants are basicly made up of water.

[Jaxom]

Harvesting by the Moon.

When I first mentioned the possibilities of trying out Moon Gardening and what type of vegetables most people would like to try. Beans came back as the answer from most.
When harvesting beans you need to collect every other day at least during the growing season to keep bean production going. A lull in picking would stop the vine producing flowers. However beans harvested during the first and second quarters of the moon should taste better than beans harvested during the third and fourth quarters.
When it comes to other vegetables the time you harvest them is considered by R.J. Harris to also be important. Harvesting at the correct time in the month can make a big difference in how long vegetables will store over winter and also how much taste they contain at the time you harvest. Remember freezers and fridges have only been around for a short time. Our ancestors had to know the best time to pick and store for the coming months if their families were to come through the winter, healthy enough to start the new sowing at spring.
Any way less of the history ramble and back to the Vegetables.
As the Moon waxes so sap rises in the plant as well. This would be a good time to harvest crops that grow above ground, as they will be at their best and also their most flavoursome. Root crops during this time will be sending all their power up above ground to their leaves. Pulling Carrots at this time in the month would result in weaker roots but very tasty leaves.
When the Moon Wanes the plant slows down its cycle of sending the growing force upwards and instead at this time concentrates on its root growth and structure. During the third and fourth quarters of the moon, carrots would be at their tastiest, and a good time to store or freeze for the coming year. Brusslesprouts, cabbage, and broccoli on the other hand would not be as plump and juicy.
Hope this helps. Sorry if I didn't mention this before but I was trying to keep it as simple as I could.
Jax

[Lesley Jay]

Jaxom two things. First there is alot of information about dates to plant and now dates to pick the crop. So I think it would be very helpful if during next year when the growing season begins, each week you could write a few lines about what we should be doing that particular week.

Second, a while ago I saw a programme where I thought this woman was daft because she was putting newspaper under the seed potatoes but thinking about it that is like the equivalent of putting compost in to help hold the water in the moon planting. Yes? All this extra water must help swell the potatoes.

[Jaxom]

As I will be trying to garden by the moon for the first time this year I will try and post helpful notes as I come across them, as well as things to do this month.
Jax

[Jaxom]

I saw a programme where I thought this woman was daft because she was putting newspaper under the seed potatoes but thinking about it that is like the equivalent of putting compost in to help hold the water in the moon planting. Yes? All this extra water must help swell the potatoes.

I take it that when you say "putting newspaper under the seed potatoes " you mean, as she put them in the ground. If this is the case then the newspaper would act like a sponge and hold on to the water when the rest of the ground around the seed potato was drying out. once the potato had sent out its own roots then the need for the news paper would be less. The news paper would then be turning in to organic matter which would add water holding properties to the soil for future plants that may be planted in that spot.

[Lesley Jay]

Jaxom there is a discussion on another forum about moon gardening and a question was asked about whether slugs and snails were affected when the moon waxed and wannned. If they are more active at certain times depending on the moon. Does it cover this in your book?

[Jaxom]

War on slugs still.

Sorry. No information. I'm afraid that it is still old-fashioned warfare.
Jax

[Jaxom]

Peas by the moon this month. (Februry)

In March's second quarter I will be planting out my pea plants that I am due to sow in pots this coming week in my greenhouse. the peas are soaking in a little water in my Kitchen (starting to swell up)
21st Feb (fourth quarter) Time to apply Blood, Fish and Bone to the area set aside for peas
6th March (second quarter) Plant out young Peas with a pea seed next to each plant. (cover with fleece for early protection)
Jax

[Jaxom]

Do things in the right order

Just a recap for everyone as to what gets planted when. I know we all said we would like to trial beans and peas but there are going to be other veg going in to the ground over the next few months.
First quarter Moon: Plants that produce their seeds on the outside, such as lettuce, Pack choi, broccoli, annual flowers and herbs have an affinity with this quarter of the Moon. Sow and transplant them during this phase.
Second quarter Moon: Plants that set seeds inside a pod or skin do best when planted in this quarter. These are primarily vegetables such as beans, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers.
Third quarter Moon: All vegetable root crops such as potatoes, onions, radishes and beetroots, parsnips do best planted in this phase. Perennial flowers, flower bulbs, shrubs and trees also prefer the third quarter.
Fourth quarter Moon: This phase is reserved for garden DIY and odd jobs. There’s a gardening tail that if you remove weeds during the fourth quarter, they won’t grow back! I can't imagine bindweed giving up.
As you plan your garden this year, consider timing your plantings by the phases of the Moon. I am hoping for great results, I am sure centuries of gardeners who swore by this method can't be wrong.

[Jaxom]

I carried out an experiment with carrots in long toms on my green house bench, during the last few months.
One batch I sowed in the first quarter and the second batch in the third quarter. Even though I used the same mix of earth and the same packets of seeds, the batch sowed during the third quarter seem to be doing much better than the ones sown during the first quarter.
I shall have to see how things progress in a few weeks.
Jax

[Jaxom]

The time to plant out Runner Beans plantlets and Climbing French Bean plantlets out has arrived. From the 5th of May, for seven days. This is the second quarter of the moon.

OK. I can hear you all choking on your tea, but I will be planting mine out. Admittedly they are not very big with only their second true leaves but I am trying to keep to the schedule as much as I can.
I will be planting Enorma Runner Beans, Cobra Climbing French Beans, Blue Lake Climbing French Beans and Purple Queen Climbing French Beans.
My Cherokee Trail of Tears Climbing Beans have yet to show in the pots. Maybe a few days more will change that?

My two types of peas are going great guns and are starting to flower. As they were not going to be part of the trial I didn't post about them before. The control group is not doing as well. Those planted a week before are smaller than the ones planted at the correct time. Time will only tell how much they will produce?
Jax

[Lesley Jay]

Jaxom mine will not be quite big enough so when is the next date that we can plant?