wow, thanks for posting this ... 4 years ago! I just found it, thanks to Janette Sands who posted recently.
I've just been using the Farmer's Almanac Gardening by the Moon calendar, here:
https://www.farmersalmanac.com/calendar/gardening
but wow on this one, will have to examine the Zodiac signs and try and figure out what they're about.
I did plant "fruiting" seeds today, May 13th, 2022. No cereals, but flowers ... marigolds would come under flowers, eh?
I'll look for the seeds today, and plant them tomorrow.
And I ALWAYS would prefer to mow my lawns to REDUCE growth!!! That's interesting!
I've been loving this astro-seek calendar! I have been using it for awhile now. Any chance the data set is downloadable? Or, have you thought about putting this into a book format? Maybe a Kindle direct publishing option? I'd be interested in having a hard copy for 2022 and beyond for both tropical and sidereal.
Since my original post about the zodiacs on here, I have discovered that Maria Thun’s wheel matches the sky with both asymmetric signs and precession taken into account. It is the same wheel I use with my astrology practice. This is definitely the wheel that resonates with me.
To answer your question, it depends on if you intend to use the cuttings as scion after. By the word, pruning, I would assume you are not. In short, if you prune during a descending moon (moon somewhere between Gemini and Sagittarius in the northern hemisphere) then the energy will be going down into the roots instead of sap flow into the tips. This is the best time to prune, trim hedges and fell timber. The caveat is that if you are trying to cut for scion then you would want that energy to be in the scion and you would cut at the opposite time.
Kero El turco wrote:I came to this topic to decide on a date on heavy pruning.
And the info about moon phases are usually very contradictory and confusing. So, according to this calendar, I can mow&prune the first half of april and then graft&prune the other half. So it looks like I can prune anytime. Which I am sure is wrong.
Hi Kero, I added short explanation
1) Moon Phase x Moon Zodiac Sign:
Please keep in mind, that Gardening by Moon Phase and Gardening by Moon Zodiac Sign are two different/independent biodynamic systems and they might give you different or contradictiory gardening recommendations.
- a) Each Moon Phase (except Full Moon and New Moon) lasts about 1 week
- b) Each Moon Zodiac Sign lasts about 2.5 days
Try to experiment with these two systems to find which recommendations suits you the most.
2) Tropical (Astrological) x Sidereal (Astronomical) Zodiac:
(1-2 days difference in Leaf, Fruit, Root and Flower days)
There are two different zodiacs for determining the Moon Sign:
- a) Tropical zodiac (Astrological) is based on the seasons - Vernal Equinox is fixed as 0° Aries (The 1st Fruit day)
- b) Sidereal zodiac (Astronomical) takes into account Precession of Equinoxes and shifts 0° Aries back by cca 1-2 days. Maria Thun who was an authority on biodynamics was using this Sidereal zodiac
Try to experiment also with these two zodiac systems to find which system suits you better.
I came to this topic to decide on a date on heavy pruning.
And the info about moon phases are usually very contradictory and confusing. So, according to this calendar, I can mow&prune the first half of april and then graft&prune the other half. So it looks like I can prune anytime. Which I am sure is wrong.
I didn't know that much about biodynamic gardening, and being honest I still don't know that much.
But I love the part about not using chemicals, carbon farming/compost, using onsite resources vs importing, integrated pest management, crop rotation/covercrop/polyculture vs monoculture.
I don't quite get the bit about, using horns/bladder to make compost. But I do get the part about making indigenous microorganisms (IMO), and just adding soil life.
I know that willow extract is used by scientist to make rooting hormones, so while I am not sure what each of the specific 7 herbal spray do, I can see them being beneficial. I would like to understand the underlaying theory/patterns that they are using.
I can see 12hr tidal rhythm, affecting the flow of saps in trees, and marine lifeforms
24hr diurnal rhythms, affecting sugar production, CO2 and water demands, etc
I can see how seasonal/yearly rhythms affect temperate, thus metabolic function, day length and such.
I don't understand how the moon phase affects the plants. The lunar biorhythm does exist in animals. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16407788/ So I would be very surprised if it didn't exist in plants. I would love to understand how it works.
I understand the calming effect that gardening can have and I like the positive socio-economic effect that buying local has on the community, which to me is at least "spiritual".
I don't understand the mystical parts about absorbing the cosmic force and such, and I really don't even have to understand it, because bio-dynamics have so many other wonderful parts to it. But I would like to understand that mystical part of it too. Maybe this entire rambling of a reply post requires it's own thread.
All that to say, I am glad I came across this post. And the link that was provided was very easy to understand: leafy vegetable quarter, fruiting vegetable quarter, fruit tree quarter, harvest/kill quarter, then rest on the new moon
Kristin Bulpitt wrote:Hoping someone (Petr?) can clarify for me, when looking at the calendar he created: https://mooncalendar.astro-seek.com/gardening-moon-calendar-farmers-guide There are two columns (Gardening Calendar by the Moon Phase and Biodynamic Calendar by the Moon Sign).
I normally use the Stella Natura planting calendar so am used to "root day", "leaf day" etc.
These two columns on the website seem to contradict each other often. Fri Feb 22 for example, Gardening Calendar says to "Sow/Plant: Below ground plants, especially Root plants", however the icon for the Biodynamic Calendar indicates a flower day.
I appreciate anyone's input.
Thank you!
Dre here I am so glad I found this thread! I’ve been studying Astrology pretty intensely lately and my best guess is that Petr’s calendar uses Sidereal Astrology (which takes Precession into account) vs Stella Natura’s use of Tropical Astrology (which does not account for Precession since Babylonian times).
There is a 24 degree difference between the two. Vedic Sidereal is closer to what is actually happening in the sky today.
Now for the kicker, I don’t believe either of them to be truly accurate. True Sidereal also takes the exact sizes of each zodiac constellation into account. Leo and Virgo in the sky are quite large compared to Cancer and Libra. Both Tropical and Vedic Sidereal use an even 30 degrees for each sign to simplify things and this can distort energy readings.
Since I’ve come across this (via Athen Chimenti mostly), I’ve been down quite an illuminating Rabbit hole.
Long story short, one of the many things I would like to do with this knowledge is to create a useful planting calendar from it. This winter will be filled with research for me...as much as the kiddos will allow.
Hoping someone (Petr?) can clarify for me, when looking at the calendar he created: https://mooncalendar.astro-seek.com/gardening-moon-calendar-farmers-guide There are two columns (Gardening Calendar by the Moon Phase and Biodynamic Calendar by the Moon Sign).
I normally use the Stella Natura planting calendar so am used to "root day", "leaf day" etc.
These two columns on the website seem to contradict each other often. Fri Feb 22 for example, Gardening Calendar says to "Sow/Plant: Below ground plants, especially Root plants", however the icon for the Biodynamic Calendar indicates a flower day.
I appreciate anyone's input.
Thank you!
I have used your ASTRO calculations (web site) to enhance and work out the/my lunar cattle breeding protocol, incorporating your evaluations of the signs into gestation days/period(s) into my excel sheet, based optimal time .
1st of all. Thank you, I sent you a piece of pie. It made me smile in the doing. It has taken me this protracted route to get to express my gratitude. Is there a better means of communication? falster@falsterfarm.com.
Next, I wonder if you would be interested in adding a biodynamic animal husbandry component to your work; I know I would greatly appreciate it, and considering the little work that has been done on such calculations, much needed by many. Not just cattle, but about all domesticated fauna. For example: best days for setting eggs data is commonly available.
Raising Food Fit To Eat:
karla cox wrote:Hi Petr,
question. i have an app that I have previously used to plant according to the moon schedule but unsure of its origins. I was only checking something else and found a canadian lunar planting calendar that had a different schedule than the app I've been using. is there a difference in location vs planting schedule? which one should I be using? i'm in western canada. thank you!
Hi Karla,
there are several different Moon planting systems according to:
1) Wanning/Waxing Moon
2) Descending/Ascending Moon
3) Moon Zodiacal Sign
and each system will give you different schedule with different advices (which are quite contradictory sometimes)... so check your app which system is using.
For example I tried to mix all of these 3 systems, but it was so complicated/chaotic/confusing ... so I rather finally used only 2 of them.
Hi Petr,
question. i have an app that I have previously used to plant according to the moon schedule but unsure of its origins. I was only checking something else and found a canadian lunar planting calendar that had a different schedule than the app I've been using. is there a difference in location vs planting schedule? which one should I be using? i'm in western canada. thank you!
Much appreciated! My grandparents and great grandparents all planted by the signs. I grew up thinking everyone had such abundance - every meal was a Thanksgiving feast!.... but now, I find that others struggled to make ends meet on the same jet black soil of the southeastern swamps. what was the difference? My great grandfather was, intellectually, a genius. He as an artist with grand ideas, but Ww1 changed him - he came home and married a local girl from a poor mixed race (Scots-Irish and Native America) family, whose father was a gambler and gun-fighter. She made his life very hard, but likely brought more "life" into his life than any other woman could. They had a huge family. He cleared and drained some swamp land to farm. He kept hogs, chickens and cows. He had bee hives. He hunted, fished and trapped. Everything had a season and a time, and there as always plenty Seeds were saved. Wells were dug using divining rods. Sundays were spent in church ... and there as a "witch woman" up the road in a French speaking Creole/Gullah community that was isolated by swamps and rivers, who was consulted in hard cases. Everything had a time and season. But, people make their own trouble... paradise as rarely peaceful. Shelling beans under the huge, spreading live oak, watching the chickens peck and the dogs sleep... a swept yard and my great grandmother's biscuits.... what I wouldn't give to go back!!!
Thank you so much! I like to garden with the moon) (and zodiac signs. The years I've been the most faithful to that calendar are the years I've had the absolute best gardens. The calendar I used to use has been discontinued which left me guessing about a lot of the timing. I love the wealth of information on your calendar! I'm sooo happy I don't think I can completely express it! I've never thought about incorporating the elements (fire, air, etc), but since it's on your chart, I'll work that in, too. You're my new superhero, Petr!