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Planting by the Moon

December 3rd, 2009

I’ve always found the idea of planting by the moon fascinating, yet kind of confusing as well. I haven’t read about it in depth, so I don’t know much about it. I hear the phases of the moon have an affect on the moisture in the soil, how seeds sprout and it leaf and root growth.
full_moon
When I saw this full moon on Tuesday night it reminded me that I want to spend some time this winter reading about this topic. I’ll have to look up a few books about it and add them to my winter reading list (which is already getting quite long).

Anyone have experience planting by the moon? Any good book recommendations for those of us new to the subject?

20 Comments to “Planting by the Moon”
  1. tigress on December 3, 2009 at 7:10 am

    the moon was gorgeous the other night wasn’t it?

    i don’t know specifically about what books might be good. but i think that biodynamics incorporates the phases of the moon in planting schedules.
    .-= tigress´s last blog ..update: tigress’ can jam =-.

    Reply to tigress's comment

  2. annie avery on December 3, 2009 at 8:44 am

    i use the old farmer’s almanac.. the real one; it has all the information you can use in one small book. they are out now, too, btw. i have come to realize that after all the books out there on this subject, they all boil down to this tiny tome.

    Reply to annie avery's comment

  3. Mangochild on December 3, 2009 at 9:08 am

    My father and I went out taking pictures of the moon the other night, and it was lovely. I’ve never heard about gardening by the moon – totally new to me. I’ll be interested to hear what you learn.
    .-= Mangochild´s last blog ..“Localvore” – films expanding awareness? Or… =-.

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  4. Throwback at Trapper Creek on December 3, 2009 at 10:08 am

    The moon makes a difference on livestock practices too, like drying off a cow or castration, dehorning etc. The Stella Natura Biodynamic Planting Calendar is quite informative,
    .-= Throwback at Trapper Creek´s last blog ..Nothing much to say =-.

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  5. Dave on December 3, 2009 at 10:10 am

    Nice moon shot! I don’t plant by the moon, I guess I rely more on the weather channel. ;) It does sound interesting though!
    .-= Dave´s last blog ..Propagating Nandina (Heavenly Bamboo) =-.

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  6. KitsapFG on December 3, 2009 at 10:16 am

    I honestly need to plant when the conditions are good (right temp and time) and the plants are ready to go in. Never pursued the planting by the moon phase concept because I cannot wait to plant for a brief window of time each month. Even if it provided additional benefits, the set backs of lost production time would more than offset them for me.

    I enjoyed the beautiful moon the past few days too. We have finally gotten through the rainy month of November and have been enjoying some clear and bright skies for the past several days – just in time to enjoy the full moon.

    Reply to KitsapFG's comment

  7. Louise on December 3, 2009 at 10:40 am

    I have experimented with; sowing seeds and plating transplants on favorable moon days (for about 6 months), and visa versa. I have to say from my experiments that it does really make a huge difference. I now only sow seeds and plant by the phases of the moon, with great success. It does, at first, create difficulty adjusting to the moon timing, because one might want to sow and plant on none planting days.

    After some adjusting the following is my method: I use the planting calendar on following web site http://www.herbaluna.com/2009-Lunar-Planting-Calendar.php. Every first of the month I make a note of the favorable moon planting days, and work my gardening schedule around it.

    I also use the following site to get an overview of what the following moon phases look like: New Moon, 1st Quarter, (WAXING) – Full Moon – 3rd Quarter, New Moon (WANING) on a monthly basis. What this does for me, is that it teaches me what the moon looks like during its monthly cycle and what the moon looks like on the most favorable days. Incase of a emergency, without access to any tech gadgets, I will know when to plant by just looking at the moon.

    What I have found by using this planting system is that the success rate of seed germination, plant: growth, strength, and production increases 10 fold. I hope this information help you and/or your readers. Happy Moon planting everyone!

    Reply to Louise's comment

    • Susy on December 3, 2009 at 10:51 am

      Thanks so much for the info. I’ll be checking out that link for sure. Good to hear that it’s so successful for you, I always like to hear from people I know!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  8. Louise on December 3, 2009 at 11:07 am

    Sorry, I forgot to add the url for second site I use, here it is.

    “I also use the following site to get an overview of what the following moon phases look like: New Moon, 1st Quarter, (WAXING) – Full Moon – 3rd Quarter, New Moon (WANING) on a monthly basis. What this does for me, is that it teaches me what the moon looks like during its monthly cycle and what the moon looks like on the most favorable days. Incase of a emergency, without access to any tech gadgets, I will know when to plant by just looking at the moon.”

    http://www.almanac.com/moon/calendar/CA/Fullerton/2009-09

    Reply to Louise's comment

  9. Frugal Trenches on December 3, 2009 at 11:50 am

    What an interesting concept!
    .-= Frugal Trenches´s last blog ..When did this become normal? =-.

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  10. ruralrose on December 3, 2009 at 12:51 pm

    Hi Suzy – I have been planting by the moon for 10 years now. It is so rewarding to know each month what day is for harvest, planting and fertilization – not guess work it is all planned ahead of time. It is very easy to see the improved results over plants not in sync with nature. I write about it, and how easy it is in my new book Life Through The Cracks: A Place to Start. I have put it as a free download for another week, please come get your free copy, and anyone who is interested, I promise you won’t be sorry. I am a full time homesteader and after 5 years in the writing, the book is packed with all my gardening secrets.

    Reply to ruralrose's comment

    • Susy on December 3, 2009 at 12:54 pm

      Thanks so much RuralRose. I’ll download the book and read through it this winter.

      Here’s the link to here book on Lulu if anyone is interested:

      http://www.lulu.com/account/downloads.php

      Reply to Susy's comment

      • deedee on December 4, 2009 at 9:00 am

        i tried to download the free book but it said the file was corrupted? don’t know if it really is or if i did something wrong!

        to deedee's comment

  11. ruralrose on December 3, 2009 at 12:52 pm

    sorry Susy, geese after all these posts you would think I’d get your name right, ;o}

    Reply to ruralrose's comment

    • Susy on December 3, 2009 at 12:54 pm

      No worries, I don’t mind.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  12. Conny on December 3, 2009 at 4:04 pm

    In college I learned (more than one thing, but…) that the Moon shines in winter where the Sun shines in summer, meaning: if you want to know where the sun will hit your property in summer, see where the moon shines in winter. Maybe this only works in the Northern Hemisphere, not sure – I’ve never tested the theory. Many of our full moons here get spoiled by fog AND I’m not up in the middle of the night to view it any way.
    .-= Conny´s last blog ..Corner view – corners of your home =-.

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  13. Jaspenelle on December 3, 2009 at 10:41 pm

    I use the old farmer’s almanac to time my planting dates, it has lots of information and charts regarding gardening by the moon. I also do a lot of other tasks depending on moon phase too (like cutting hair.) I have come across other literature and articles about moon gardening and the almanac is the one I consistently go to every year over anything else.
    .-= Jaspenelle´s last blog ..Pieces of November =-.

    Reply to Jaspenelle's comment

  14. MAYBELLINE on December 4, 2009 at 2:12 am

    I’m with you…interested but no real knowledge. How about the Farmers’ Almanac? Those are such a treasure.
    .-= MAYBELLINE´s last blog ..Thanksgiving Bounty =-.

    Reply to MAYBELLINE's comment

  15. nic@nipitinthebud on December 5, 2009 at 3:36 pm

    Google ‘Paungger Poppe’ – they’ve written some great books about applying the lunar cycle to day to day life. I have two of their books ‘Moon Time’ and ‘The Art of Timing’ and both include quite a bit about gardening but also when to get your haircut, how different foods effect your body, health conditions etc effected by the waxing and waning moon

    Reply to nic@nipitinthebud's comment

  16. Beekeeping on December 8, 2009 at 9:28 pm

    Honestly, I haven’t heard about this idea, planting by the moon. But because of your blog, you arouse my curiosity. If I can be of help, I’ll try to search about it also and share to you afterward.

    Reply to Beekeeping's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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