Thoughts On Moon Phase Gardening?

[lukeout007]

Has anyone had any experience with moon phase gardening? I have a friend who has been experimenting with good results but I'm still skeptical.

[DoubleDogFarm]

I'm not sure. Most people don't look good bare bottom.


Eric

[lukeout007]

Speak for yourself. My butt is incredible.

[PaulF]

I am also a skeptic. Plant only if there is a moon orbiting the earth and harvest when things are ripe.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Plant only if there is a moon orbiting the earth

I think he means Uranus.


Eric

[DoubleDogFarm]

When to Plant, Wean, Castrate, Build Fences, Harvest
by Martha White
Source: The 1994 Old Farmer's Almanac

The age-old practice of performing farm chores by the Moon stems from the simple belief that the Moon governs moisture.

Pliny the Elder, the first-century Roman naturalist, stated in his Natural History that the Moon "replenishes the earth; when she approaches it, she fills all bodies, while, when she recedes, she empties them."

The Moon's Phases
The Moon's phases guided many a farmer and gardener in the past, and still do today:

Moonrise occurring in the evening brings fair weather, says one proverb, harking back to the belief that the waning Moon (full and last quarter, which rise in the evening) is dry.
The New Moon and first quarter, or waxing phases, are considered fertile and wet.
The new and first-quarter phases, known as the light of the Moon, are considered good for planting above-ground crops, putting down sod, grafting trees, and transplanting.
From full Moon through the last quarter, or the dark of the Moon, is the best time for killing weeds, thinning, pruning, mowing, cutting timber, and planting below-ground crops.
The time just before the full Moon is considered particularly wet, and is best for planting during drought conditions.

Moon Folklore
Folklore is rich among farmers, given their close ties to Earth and her natural rhythms.

Rail fences cut during the dry, waning Moon will stay straighter.
Wooden shingles and shakes will lie flatter if cut during the dark of the Moon.
Fence posts should be set in the dark of the Moon to resist rotting. Ozark lore says that fence posts should always be set as the tree grew. To set the root end upward makes a short-lived fence.
Don't begin weaning when the Moon is waning.
Castrate and dehorn animals when the Moon is waning for less bleeding.
Slaughter when the Moon is waxing for juicier meat.
Crabbing, shrimping, and clamming are best when the Moon is full.
Best days for fishing are between the new and full Moon. See our best fishing dates for the year.
Dig your horseradish in the full Moon for the best flavor.
Set eggs to hatch on the Moon's increase, but not if a south wind blows.

[imafan26]

I'm a believer.

I must admit though that I usually only pay attention to it when my seeds fail to sprout. After a while a lot of this is done unconsciously. I don't understand it all that well, but it does seem to work. Of course common sense also applies. I would not attempt to grow seeds outside of the 65-75 night temp range, they just don't sprout all that well.

Moon Planting Rule
New Moon To Full Moon: Sow, Transplant, bud and graft.
Full Moon To New Moon: Plow, Cultivate, weed and reap.
New Moon To First Quarter: Good for Planting above-ground crops with outside seeds,
flowering annuals.
First Quarter To Full Moon: Good for planting above ground crops with inside seeds.
Full Moon To Last Quarter: Good for planting root crops, bulbs, biennials, and perennials.
Last Quarter To New Moon: Do Not Plant

The phases of the moon affect the tides and what fish you can catch during the different phases of the moon.

http://stardate.org/nightsky/moon

[jal_ut]

It is so much superstition and hype.

[grwrn]

My grandparents were successful farmers by gardening by the moon signs. When my squarefoot garden didn't flourish in the beginning, I checked the signs and they were not favorable that day for planting so it makes me wonder. I am just a beginner gardener and I plant to garden/plant according to the almanac so we shall see.

[lukeout007]

I mean it makes sense to a point. Just as the moon would have an effect on the tide I could see it also affecting growth. I just don't know if it's enough of an effect to actually make a noticeable difference as far as success goes.

@Eric

Thank you for that excerpt. That definitely answers some questions. (not just gardening ones for that matter...I always wondered why one of the beers I like was called "Pliny The Elder" lol)

[veggiedan]

I pay more attention to Sun. If the Sun doesn't shine, things are going to be pretty bad in your garden. If the Sun is down low in the sky, it's cold. If the Sun is high in the sky it's warm. The Moon doesn't do squat. Moisture relates to the Sun and Moon equally. If it's raining, neither are shining. A gentle breeze will push on a plant a lot more than the Moon will pull on it.

Besides, if you go out at night and gaze at the Moon, you might just step on your plants. Not so with the Sun!

[DoubleDogFarm]

Besides, if you go out at night and gaze at the Moon, you might just step on your plants. Not so with the Sun!

Then why are you wearing sunglasses?

Eric

[applestar]

I like to try out gardening practices for myself. So I tried consulting moon phase gardening calendars. There seems to be different schools of thought and there are at leat two primary calendars and three or four sub-classes with different recommendations following those calendars.

Sometimes, recommendations for a given period of the moon phase conflicts among the different practices. So, I picked one for which the explanation sounded most reasonable to me and the available on-line calendar was clearly described. There was one kind which was rather vague and you had to buy or subscribe to an yearly almanac for details --Avoided that one.

As with most gardening practices, I think the most important factor is whether it "works" for you. And by this, I mean whether your personal schedule and temperament finds the results worthwhile for the time and effort spent on it.

Gardening by moon phases did not work for me because it was too difficult to juggle the logistics of when I had the time, inclination, and energy to do the work, family's needs and the weather pattern needs of the plants (rain, day/night temperature, frost, predicted) AND apply the restrictions imposed by the phases of the moon, when the plants themselves have their own needs as to when they need to be planted.

All in all, I prefer starting/sowing seeds and planting in the garden according to weeks to last average frost in the spring and planting them out in the garden according to weeks before and after, then starting/sowing seeds and planting according to days to maturity (adjusting for local climate of reporting grower/seed source) and the days/weeks to first average frost in the fall. I have to do other garden(ing) chores when I can, when needed -- in that order.

[rainbowgardener]

I agree with applestar. I would not be so quick as james to write it off as hokum (james doesn't believe in companion planting either and there's good scientific evidence for that). However, I never seem to manage to actually pay much attention to moon phases, since there's so much else to take in to account, like when I have time to do things in the garden and whether the weather is right to do them. If those two things happen to coincide, I count myself very lucky and am not going to add in another restriction.

[DoubleDogFarm]

We could all join the Unification Church. We would be phased by Moon.



Eric