Gardening by the Moon Phases- Calendar weblink

For those who practice this or are interested, I have found a great site that has explanations as to how it works and also a complete calendar outlining the phases, signs (aquarius, virgo etc.) and what they mean with regards to gardening. I hope you find it worthwhile.

http://www.ommas-aarden.net/perp_lunar_garden.htm

I wonder if anyone has done a side by side comparison of plants planted using moon phases, and plants that were not. It would be interesting to see what the outcome would be.

My grandma planted her vegatables by the moon. I have never tried it myself, but By comparing my gardens to hers, Id say she knew something I didnt.

there may be something in it, last rising moon i planted a tree seed, 6 days later i had a tree 4cm high and strong and healthy looking, this was not planned just planted?

I dont always have the luxury of planting on a given date. If we get flooding rains, then planting will wait. I usually plant during any window of opportunity, which isnt always ideal.

actualy the time i planted the tree was during a monsonal rain storm, i was in the rain to see what could be done with a small pocket of land suffering some water erosion problem, mind you when it rains here it's still 30celcius so no real biggie, lightning is a bit scarey though

I can see planting trees in the rain, which Ive done, but sowing carrot seeds in a downpour can be a little challenging.

steve simko wrote:
I can see planting trees in the rain, which Ive done, but sowing carrot seeds in a downpour can be a little challenging.

depending on how hard its raining, sow several meters uphill

I've only done one comparison trial so its nothing conclusive but the results were in favour of planting by the moon when looking at germination rates. Here's how the experiment went

I made two beds side by side using the same technique and compost from the same pile, built within a few days of eachother

Red kidney beans were planted in both beds

One bed was planted during the last quarter about a week or more before the new moon

The other bed was planted the day of the new moon.

RESULTS: The beans planted the day of the new moon sprouted first and took off better. Unfortunately I left that farm before I could weigh the yields.

well if you live in a cold climate you will know that a full moon and a clear night in June or in September mean a freeze in most years..

we always wait until after the full moon in June to plant out our tomato and tender plants..unless it is really late in the month..as it generally will bring a frost if it is before the 20th.

and always watch for early fall frosts when there is a full moon and a clear night.

there is no folklore regarding this..it is just plain facts..

For me gardening by the moon phases helps keep on track and keep a schedule. I think its the added pressure of knowing that there is a window of optimal time for a given task so I work harder to be done within that window.

I've found that over the few years I've been gardening by the moon, I've unconsciously (or is it subconsciously) kept my practices largely within the phases.