Planting Days for February

[bluelacedredhead]

According to a couple of Almanacs I have as well as a great source of online info from a friend, today and tomorrow are considered Best Days for starting seeds. In 2008 and 2009, I planted by the Moon. 2008 was a great year for the garden. 2009, well, the weather and a new location didn't help, but I'm sticking with the Moon planting suggestions in 2010 and hoping for a much better harvest this year.

I'm getting started right within the hour with sowing some Tomato seeds.

Anyone else following the Moon planting schedule today/tomorrow??

[hiven]

Blue, why has to be today or tomorrow to sow (for best result) ? is it because of full moon or something ?

[bluelacedredhead]

Hiven, it's the New Moon, so new beginnings
Here's the one chart I follow, which gives explanations of each Zodiac sign and what to plant (or not).
I found germination times much faster and crops healthier in general since I began using this method in 2008.
www.ommas-aarden.net/perp_lunar_garden.htm

[hiven]

Thanks, Blue. I read it some years ago and hardly remember what and wen to sow... I would like to try it this year, thanks again !

[bluelacedredhead]

YW Hiven. I hope it works as well for You as it has for Me.

[flowerpower]

I do try to plant on the proper days. In my experience, germination is a bit quicker and seedlings are stronger.

On the link Blue provided, there is a decent chart at the bottom of the page. It tells you which signs are fruitful (good) or barren (bad) for planting. Here's a link to the farmers almanac page.

www.farmersalmanac.com/home_garden/gardening

[dirtsunrain]

I follow the Moon to the extent that it's colder around the time of the Full Moon and usually overcast around the New. I dont set out transplants near a Full, but I havent tied it to actual seed starting.

Countryside magazine has an almanac at the back that offers the weekly phases of the moon. The almanac calls this week the "Mourning Dove Moon" I guess its the week where the mourning doves return and begin to call to their mates, where ever that almanac is written. Any mourning doves foolish enough to be here right now would have their beaks frozen shut.

If you live in a place long enough, you'll begin to notice that the sandhills leave at a certain time, or the robins return faithfully around the same date every year. I'm searching for a local version of a Moon almanac. Two friends of mine of playing with the idea of a book based on this info. I'd provide the gardening input. Not sure yet, if they are going with a childrens book, but it will be in 3 languages, english, french and anishanbe. Their other books along this line have been successful.

[boggybranch]

If you go to the above Farmer's Almanac link, go up to the top right hand corner and click "Become a member for free", they will send you daily emails on what's best to do in the garden by the moon signs...and other useful info.
I always go by the "signs"...even though I, occassionally, find myself planting when I can, due to weather, health, ect.
But the days that I absolutely, positively do NOT plant on are "barren days".

[bluelacedredhead]

I planted Monday and Tuesday of this week, but I found that where I had placed the tray was chilly overnight, so I moved it on Thursday. This morning (Saturday) I have germination in all of the varieties, with the exception of the hot peppers, which always take longer anyway and require higher temps than tomatoes.

Happy Happy Little Maters with their Faces pointing to the Sun

[Alan]

I make a little planting calendar every year and attempt to follow it as much as possible which is not always very feasable with a market farm, but I have noticed a definite effect, even on hatching poultry as well.

The local small, family owned, hardware/seed store in Salem gives us a calendar each year with most of the information on planting by the moon that I need and I make notations, edits, and corrections as needed. There have been times when I have planted on dates which weren't good times to plant and I have regretted it.

[galina]

Here is a nice guide to planting by the moon, which gives several different systems on one page, synodic, biodynamic and sidereal.

www.the-gardeners-calendar.co.uk/Moon_Planting.asp

I follow the biodynamic system at least for sowing, trusting that people who are acknowledged, excellent, beyond-organic gardeners are bound to know something that I don't. However, I am only too aware that all three different systems clash at times.

dirtsunrain, I know what you mean. The first frost generally co-incides with a full moon, here usually the October full moon. I also makes sense that the moon pulls water at full moon (we see this with the tides), so in theory plants have more available. But my 'other brain' tells me that provided the plants had a good watering, there should be plenty available for their needs anyway.

After a while, especially around planting out time, there is just so much to do and so little time, that the calendar goes by the wayside out of necessity, I am afraid.