To garden by the signs, therefore, one plants when the Moon is both waxing and in a Fertile Sign; and weeds, tills, and harvests when the Moon is waning and in a Barren Sign.
In addition, one never plants on a Sunday. Sunday (named after and supposedly ruled by the Sun) is a fiery, barren day and therefore unsuitable for planting no matter the sign. Native Americans obviously have different reasons for this than the typical Christian beliefs that it is a Holy Day... Also, one never plants on days when the Moon is undergoing a phase change, ie: New Moon, Full Moon, or either quarter.
Below will be a list of the Signs of the Zodiac showing their properties and a brief description of what to do when the moon is in that particular sign. Numbers following the description denote the quarter of the Moon's cycle (beginning at New Moon) when the action described is best carried out.
Those who know how to read an almanac
These are the Fertile Signs
Water Signs
Cancer - best time to plant aerial crops, or prune to encourage growth, or graft (1,2); plant seed (2), and plant root crops (3). It's also the best time to water since plants take it up more easily in a water sign.
Pisces - transplant or sow seed in this sign for vigorous root growth (2). Fertilize root crops or graft for best results now (1,2); or plant root crops (3).
Scorpio - best sign for planting seed (2), or graft or prune for growth (1,2); or plant root crops (3).
Earth Signs
Taurus - transplant in this sign for hardy plants (1,2); sow seed (2); plant root crops (3); or prune to limit growth (4).
Virgo - till, cultivate, and turn compost heaps (1-4); garden pests and weeds are most vulnerable in this sign and pruning to shape plants is most effective (4).
Capricorn - prune for strong growth and graft in this sign (1,2); plant seeds (2); plant bulbs, tubers and rhizomes (3).
These are the Barren signs
Fire Signs
Leo - prune to shape shrubs in this most fiery of the fire signs (1); or cultivate and till the soil (1-4); this is the best sign to weed or control pests (4).
Aries - destroy weeds and pests (1,2); or till and cultivate (1-4); prune to limit growth, turn sod, and harvest crops for best keeping qualities now (4).
Sagittarius - till and cultivate in this sign (1-3); plant onions (3); or weed, prune to limit growth, or harvest crops for maximum keeping qualities (4).
Air Signs
Gemini - cultivate and till in this sign (1-3); harvest herbs and root crops (4); or weed for maximal effectiveness (4).
Aquarius - cultivate and till the earth in this dry, airy sign (1-3); get rid of weeds or harvest crops for long-term storage (4).
Libra - plant annual flowers (1,2); plant vines (2); flowers picked in this sign last longest and plants pruned now will keep their shape longer (4).
ooooooo...Dusty...you should start a new thread with all this wonderful information!!!!
I'm interested in moon gardening also. I just purchased the "Raising with the Moon: Complete Guide to Gardening and Living by the Signs of the Moon" and "You and the Man in the Moon" By J. Pyle and T. Reese from Amazon. Since I know nothing on this topic I'm anxiously waiting to learn.
yippee, dusty! you just posted what would have taken me days to re-read and then post. thanks!
sempervirens, i have their first book but not the second. great information in it.
Dusty, sensational information - thank you! I will be printing it out and trying to make it work on my calendar. Gosh, not planting on Sundays could be difficult as sometimes that's my only free day!!!
Darius, I'm intrigued enough by your enthusiasm for the book that I am going to try to find it (library, or cheap somewhere). I do hope you begin to feel better TODAY!. Please take care of yourself.
Sempervirens, those sound good, too - now I have two more books to look into!
What all of you need to do is to get your correct Latitude and Longitude...The signs are not the same depending on Northern or Southern Hemisphere or other locations..
For example, it is Already tomorrow in Australia...
And you are right Darius...You MUST work with the Nature Spirits...For example, now that I am back up north, I feed my squirrels year round...They will not destroy your gardens if they are well fed...Rather than considering them a pest, I can enjoy watching them playing together in the big tree...
fyi.... the gardening by the moon calendar is put out in 3 US versions depending on if you live in a short day zone, long day zone, and i forget the other one. still doesn't give enough info on lat/longitude but better than nothing.
dustry, we have very few squirrels here because the father and son across the street love squirrel stew.
now, if they'd give appropriate thanks for the life the squirrel has given up to feed them, i'd not mind quite so much.
Very True Darius....
Try this to search for your area... http://www.bcca.org/misc/qiblih/latlong.html
Wonderful information and so well written. Even I can understand it.. Thanks so much Dusty.
So I guess I need to take a trip to SC over my birthday in late August so I can amend the soil and till it in for the veggie garden next spring since I haven't moved yet.
These are names of the Full Moons...You can see the Native Influence here.
January: Wolf
February: Snow, Quickening, Storm
March: Worm, Sap, Chaste
April: Seed, Pink, Grass, Sprouting, Wind
May: Flower, Corn Planting, Hare
June: Strong, Rose, Sun, Strawberry
July: Mead, Thunder, Buck
August: Sturgeon, Wort, Corn
September: Barley, Harvest
October: Hunter's, Blood
November: Mourning, Beaver
December: Cold, Oak, Long Night's
Carat...What is the nearest large town to Filbert, SC?
Clover and York are nearest towns that are close to me and on the map. We are 8.3 miles from the NC border off HWY 321 just south of Gastonia, NC.
These would be the closet to you...
Rock Hill 34° 59' N 80° 58' W
Spartanburg AP 34° 58' N 82° 0' W
According to the Moon in August it will be full on the 28th...Good time to till...
LOL, great birthday activity. I can have a tilling party and have everyone bring compost, coarse sand or animal droppings as the gifts.
DH would never let me live it down although it probably wouldn't surprise him much..
don't forget that true north and magnetic north are moving farther apart. i think it's something like 12-15º now.
casey, your area of sc used to get about 3000 degree days but with our crazy climate changes that may have changed a bunch. (degree days are based on available solar radiation and certainly have an effect on a garden as much as moon signs in my limited knowledge.)
Ahhhh ... so the 28th is your B-Day? What fun that would be!! LOL
Yup, Dusty and I will expect you at the tilling party....
Sorry Sweetpea, I am just about tilled out!! but if you send me your addy I'll mail you a bag of cow manure..LOL
|Gosh, this was grocery/errand day, and I have missed a lot.
Thanks Dusty, and Darius, this is the kind of information that we need.
Well I gotta tell ya DCat....Us NDN's didnt know Capricorn from Leo..... We just went by the waxing or waneing of the moon..So I wouldn't get too cotton picken picky here.. LOL
There are still a few of us surviving, so I guess we didn't do too badly...ROFL
Dusty, evidently you NDN's are sharper that we immigrants!!. Or may just listened to your elders better than we did.
curiosity, and certainly none of my business.... what's your tribe?
I am Coharie...and I have a Great GrandMother who was stolen and integrated by the name of Octavia Panther..She was Eastern Band Tsalagi...
guess i need to do some research!
i have lakota and cherokee friends, and have actually sat in the main chickee in Big Cypress with Mike Osceola or maybe it was Jimmy, i forget which as my dad knew them both. for a small red headed girl child to sit up with the elders in the chickee was quite an honor.
Hmmm ..
Seems there'd been several folks here on DG.com, that had shown interest in 'gardening by the signs' .. since some time ago! > http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/175331/ .. and, now; finally - it's been delivered!!
Interesting to note ..
. . . the Zodiac Signs (not constellations) for the moons place are used for astrological calculations to determine the best times to plant, best fishing, lucky days, and horoscopes, etc. * Since the Zodiac Signs were first used around the year 1300, the Signs have moved slowly backward along the path of the Sun approximately thirty degrees, which means that the Sign of Aries now contains the constellation Pisces and the Sign Taurus now contains the constellation Aries, etc. Most astronomical observers use the constellations, which can be readily calculated from the Signs by going backward one symbol.
(Yep, I'll admit: I gotta put that in the food-mill 'brain processor' a few extra times, these days!) .. lol ..
Also, along with the length of the particular growing season different folks may have (short, medium or long) - tis vital to remember to consider ones' local frost dates (first and last).
I'm sure that there are a multi-slew of varying factors that come into play for (global) implementation of gardening (and otherwise), 'by the signs'.
- Magpye
Darius can you tell me a little more about "nature spirits"?
luvs, i just wrote a very long responsive thread and it went poof. machelle small wright wrote 2 books (garden workbooks) that explain nature spirits quite well. i think her site is www.perelandra-ltd.com.
i cannot possibly re-write what i tried to explain, and it's very tough for the average person to understand anyway without some background. i think that's why dusty gets it... she grew up with it.
That site wont open Darius... :-(
Thanks darius, sounds very interesting. (If you type in the address it works)
And most people don't consider me average they consider me odd! LOL... I just may get it!! ♥
there was a period after the dot com - try this Dusty
http://www.perelandra-ltd.com/
Thanks Dovey... I finally got it to go last night..
*smiles*
Hi all,
Darius - you had mentioned a 'very good book" about gardening by the signs. Can you give us the Title and author
? I would like to get a copy.
Here is Pa. Many folks think that if you don't believe in the Almanac, you don't believe in the bible. Sounds odd, doesn't it? I guess it may have been the older folks "Bible" for planting and butchering and so forth. ( The Pa. Dutch)
I do use it for planting seeds and transplanting, and rotortilling, and harvesting, etc, etc. I like to live "in tune" with the natural circles.
I gather you have had surgery - sure hope you are feeling better.