I started this thread in European gardening, but thought that this could be a more appropriate forum for it.
I came upon these sites, and thought it might be an interesting study object to help coming through the rest of the dark winter months.
[HYPERLINK@www.sacred-texts.com]
[HYPERLINK@www.plantea.com]
Is there anyone who has ever experimented with sowing, planting , harvesting according to the phases of the moon ?
After all it might not be so unlikely as moon phases causes the tides of the sea and oceans and we must all know stories of the influences of the full moon on people and animals, so why not on plants ? The major part of plants like everybody knows consists of water.
influence of different moon phases: superstition ?
bonotin - would you put those links out again..they are not working. Thanks
Sorry, Anitabryk,
Hope it works now!
http://www.sacred-texts.com/astro/ml/ml18.htm
http://www.plantea.com/planting-moon-phases.htm
Thanks,
Anita
bonitin, I've always been curious about this too. Some of us should do some simple experiments and report our findings! Sometimes when I plant something that fails for no apparent reason I wonder about this.
The Farmers Almanac is what many country folk still swear by. The old fashioned Farmers Almanac on line makes me smile- that paradox of technology and nostalgia, lol.
http://www.farmersalmanac.com/gardening/gardening.html
Yes, Gemini, it would be very interesting if some of us would be willing to go into experiments, and give report of the results.
I cannot do it myself. I only have a tiny town garden, no greenhouse or space with suitable accommodations.
The farmers almanac, is this exclusively based on moon phases, or does it also takes in account planetary influences ?
To begin with we could keep it simple like for example : sowing 4 times the same type of seeds in exactly the same conditions and this in the 4 main moon phases; new moon, first quarter, full moon and last quarter.
The Farmers Almanac uses moon and planetary influences. Excellent way to go about experimenting, too!
Thanks Gemini,
The following text I've copied from a site about Lunar gardening, Patbar found on the web:
http://www.astro3.demon.co.uk/index.htm
'Do seeds germinate better at some point of the lunar cycle? My experiments with seeds grown at constant temperature tended to confirm the results published by Kolisko in the late 1930s, namely that seeds would usually germinate better if sown around the Full Moon, and especially on the day or two prior to it.'
The next full moon is on the 2nd of February.
So good times to sow would be 31Jan to 2nd of Febr.
Anyone feels like sowing on these dates ?
I sowed on the 28th....is that close enough?
I hope so Illoquin! I, personally have no experience with it, but I would like to find out. Because of lack of space and the right accommodations, I cannot go into experiments myself, at least not in a large scale.
Perhaps I will sow a couple of seeds though and see what comes.
www.gardeningbythemoon.com
I always plant by the phases of the moon, the sign too. I use the Farmers Almanac. I have good luck using that method and it helps me keep my work organized. I am sure that seeds will sprout when conditions are proper for their development. I just use the moon phases, new to full to plant seeds & starts -- full to new to fertilize, cut back or pull weeds. I have noticed with some of the tougher weeds that they will die very quickly between the full and new moon, but, to be honest I don't know if it is because of the phase or the humidity (or other factors).
Like I said before, I use it to keep my tasks organized.
Thank you Stlhead for the interesting site you've found!
Thanks also for your response, Dale_a_gardener,
Good to know you have good results with following the 'Farmers Almanac',
but it would be interesting to know what happens if one didn't follow it, to compare the results so that we get some objective criteria whether it really works or not.
Who's is that beauty in your picture ? Is it one that only thrives in tropical conditions ?
Ooooh, Dale, is that a single gardenia? How beautiful!
Very interesting to hear you use the Farmers Almanac. I plan to use it when moving my garden this year. Hoping to ease the transition for the plants in every way possible :)