Gardening with the moon
Did you realise that the as the moon waxes and wanes through its cycle the gravitational pull on the earth causes the water table of the soil and the sap in plants to rise and fall. As gardeners we can utilise this to provide maximum output from our crops and flowers.
First things first - moon gardening doesn’t mean you go out at midnight and start planting under the moonlight! Firstly that’s quite tricky to see what you are doing and secondly that’s not the point! Moon gardening is about following the lunar cycle and using that to find the best time to sow, cultivate and harvest crops. It follows the natural cycle of the moon as follows:
NEW MOON
WAXING CRESCENT MOON
FIRST QUARTER MOON
WAXING GIBBOUS MOON
FULL MOON
WANING GIBBOUS MOON
THIRD/LAST QUARTER MOON
WANING CRESCENT MOON
& BACK TO NEW MOON AGAIN
image credit":NASA/JPL-Caltech
NEW MOON
Astrologically New Moon is a time of new beginnings so we start the cycle here. Often depicted as the black/dark moon the alignment of the sun and moon is such that the moon is in shadow (on our side of the earth depending on the hemisphere) and so we cannot see it in the sky. The New Moon period lasts around 3 days and is traditionally associated with beginnings. So I see this time as planning - for all good projects start with a decent plan…
WAXING CRESCENT
When the moon is waxing it is revealing itself and will slowly grow more bright in the sky over time. So it is moving TOWARDS being full. Just after NEW MOON a first sliver of a crescent can be seen in the sky. This is ACTION STATION TIME! Time to sow seeds or even move/transplant or plant out. The reason for this is the water table of earth rises as the gravitation pull of the moon moves towards fullness. This encourages growth from beneath pulling sap up through the stems and putting energy into producing strong leaf growth. So we need to think LEAVES. Lettuce, salads, spinach, cabbage are all plants where the leaf is to be consumed so these form the first stage of our planting cycle.
FIRST QUARTER
The moon at this stage is halfway to full so we see a perfect half moon in the sky. At this point the sap is still rising and so the vitality of the earth is good. This is perfect time to move on to our next type of crop. The soil at this time is known as VERY PROLIFIC and will encourage growth that is concentrated on the FRUIT as well as LEAVES.. Fruiting annuals (not trees) such as pumpkin, broccoli, beans and tomatoes fall into this category. FLOWERS such as perennials and annuals will also do well to be planted at this stage as we can treat them like a type of fruit category as they produce something more than leaves.
WAXING GIBBOUS
The period the the moon is almost but not quite full is an optimum time to apply LIQUID MANURES or feed to plants and also grass. This will encourage growth and support plants through the FULL MOON when the vitality starts to fall. We stop planting at this point and concentrate on NOURISHING.
FULL MOON
When the moon is at its brightest and fullest in the sky we are starting to think about our ROOT vegetables which ideally will be planted 3 days after a full moon. This stage encourages ROOT growth rather than LEAF growth as the sap is moving down. Seeds sown around FULL MOON have a tendency to grow too fast and become spindly and weak as the sap is moving in the wrong direction. Cultivation of the soil is best done now (digging, tilling and improving soil structure
WANING GIBBOUS
When the moon starts to wane it is losing light so slowly disappearing in the sky. The Vitality is still dropping and we are looking more beneath the surface as the moon dips and moves more into darknes. SO this is perfect time to get those ROOT vegetables in. We have dug our soil (FULL MOON) and now it’s time to plant carrots, potatoes, onions and other root crops. Also it’s a great time to plant flowering bulbs as anything UNDER the SOIL will prefer this time.
LAST QUARTER
This is the time to STOP all planting and sowing and instead look at the rewards that we have gained from the cycle (or previous concurrent cycles). So this the best time to HARVEST and enjoy the fruits of your labour. It is also the BEST TIME to REMOVE WEEDS and prepare soil for the forthcoming new cycle. Pruning is a NO! Remember we want to preserve LEAVES and anything growing above ground at this stage. GRASS CUTTING to slow growth however does utilise this stage well. To increase grass growth you would mow/cut at FIRST QUARTER as we treat grass as a LEAF crop by cutting now it inhibits leaf growth hence no pruning..
Also we have another little window here to so a few extra things…
WANING CRESCENT
As the moon fades to a crescent (this time on the other side of the sky) we still have opportunity to plant more ROOT CROPS before it disappears completely. Then put your feet up, have a rest and browse a few seed catalogues until it all starts again with the NEW MOON!
The interesting thing is that the main time we see the whole of the moon is when we do not plant or sow. A FULL MOON is traditionally in astrology the COMPLETION cycle and in MOON GARDENING the time where we stop with the seed trays and look to the soil instead.
Of course Biodynamic gardening can be astrologically even more complex as we can start to examine the signs which correspond to the seasons and find optimal times to plant particular crops. This short article is meant as a basic guide and a starting point of interest.
I’m a Taurus moon and naturally that gravitates me towards gardening. I have successfully kept a veg plot (and previously an allotment) over a course of 15 years. I’ve also studied garden design alongside my astrological musings and I love bringing them together. I created a simple garden wheel that can be used to track the moon for a gardening cycle. Available in the SHOP as a physical item or as a download that you can print and assemble yourself. I hope this helps.
Perpetual Calendar - Moon Gardener Wheel
