moon planting and signs

[mountaindweller]

If I would be neat and tidy I would have written up all the times I did not look in the calendar and planted at a "barren" day or in the wrong phase of the moon. But I am hopeless and will never get very methodical.
On the top of it there are different traditions like the North American one and the calendar of Maria Thun, and that is very confusing. And I think there might be other traditions outside the English or European speaking community like Chinese or Indian calendars.
Who plants with the moon and who uses the signs and which tradition do you follow?n Sometimes you have only one good day to plant and can not wait until the next moon phase.
There is one calendar I find pretty good because you can put in your location: www.lunarium.co.uk/

[mnjrutherford]

I've tried to follow the Farmer's Almanac. I really have a difficult time believing the logic. I'm not going to argue with anyone who has perfect results because of using it! It just doesn't really work for me personally.

[bunkie]

same here jo. i sort of go with the weather and let the seeds/plants 'tell me' that today is the day to start, plant, transplant, gather, etc...

[mountaindweller]

I have problems believing the thing with the signs, but everyone I talked with who used the moon said it works, but it restricts you because of the weather. The farmers almanac does not apply to Australia because te time difference is just too big.

[circumspice]

My opinion on this subject is:

I believe that the moon does have some effect on vegetative growth. Since the moon does exert enough gravitational force to affect Earth's tides, why wouldn't it also affect other processes in nature?

Another example:

A woman's menses is on a 28 day cycle... So is the moon. Somehow, it seems that the moon has an effect on human biology. I don't claim to understand why. I just don't believe it is a random, coincidental effect... There must be some causal factor.

So, in effect, I believe that we could use the moon to possibly help us as a planting/harvesting guide. But I wouldn't let it be my only criteria for determining when to plant, feed and harvest my crops. I would also use personal observations of the local weather conditions, advice from local farmers, etc.

As far as my opinion on Almanacs, I believe that they are useful general guides for agricultural activities. They are a compilation of the oral & recorded observations of many generations of farmers & ranchers. Again, I would also use personal observation, advise from local farmers & common sense as a guide.

[mnjrutherford]

I agree with your assessment Circumspice. Clearly there is a cyclical effect... heck, just look at the annual processes of prep, plant, harvest.

As for the Almanacs, you know what I DID find useful was that activities are laid out in such a way that you don't go out and kill yourself doing everything all at once. One day, work with roots, one day above ground stuff, 5 days/slaughter bugs, voles, moles... ;o)

[Walk]

We used to follow the biodynamic calendar, then simplified to just using moon phases. Now everything is so out of whack weather and pest-wise, we just do the best we can, whenever we can, and hope it's good enough. The weather extremes and pests population explosions have turned gardening into a less than pleasant experience. Most gardening time is taken up with watering and dealing with one pest after another, leaving little time for more positive contributions to the garden like weeding, composting, and planting green manures. Have felt like chucking the whole shebang and giving up. But then, what would we eat???

I'm old enough to remember that when I was a kid, we tilled, planted seed, it rained, we pulled weeds and harvested. I don't ever remember jumping through so many hoops to get a crop. My parents, who were married in 1934, may have had different memories of gardening. My recollections are only from about 1960 onward.

[steev]

I can only go so far with the moon/menses thing. If there is much of a linkage, why aren't all women more in synch with the moon cycle? I accept that groups of women living together tend to synchronize, but that's not the moon.

[mountaindweller]

Yes, Walk, last summer was terrible, unripe tomatoes and rain and cold all the time.
You are right in such conditions we must use the few good days there are.

[mnjrutherford]

Steev, I once read that in VERY ancient times it was probable that entire communities were synchronized. I have NO idea how true that is. It SOUNDS plausible from my point of view though.

There have always been "things" to contend with in terms of the garden. More this and less that this year than last year. It's always existed. The difference is that in the past folks actually KNEW what they were up against because they could observe the natural signs for themselves and track the data in their minds (which, were more adapted to memory because written records were more difficult to maintain? theory). In this day and age we have no idea what we are up against because we are not always privy to what neighbor is dumping what chemicals into the air/water/soil.

Until a man realizes and actually APPRECIATES that his very exhalation has an impact on the world around him, there is little chance to get him to appreciate the unknown impact he imparts with every single other activity of his day. We ARE responsible for EVERYthing.

[bluelacedredhead]

The most important thing that I learned from Louise Riotte's "Planetary Plantings; A Guide to Organic Gardening by the Signs of the Zodiac" is that those crops planted in the proper sign will be healthier and more productive than those just planted. Doesn't mean that you will have a bumper crop in a year of inclement weather. No miracles, just better.

[Darth Slater]

Pure bunk in my opinion, myself and a few others have planted tomatoes on the wrong day with no ill effect, in fact my friend Blane has kept a log and shows plantings on bad days yielded the same amount of seedlings as on a good "Moon Day" Being half native american if I do anything by the moon, it will involve nakedness, alcohol, paint and a big fire...hehehe..so that would leave little time for planting...lol

[mountaindweller]

Last week I didn't sow and I waited for the right sign but that might have been a bad idea, because it was nice and warm and now it is cool cloudy and rainy. I thought of watering the seeds with warm water, but when the soil is wet yet there's no point. But some swear on that.

[steev]

I get that it is comforting to think one is doing things in accordance with Higher Authority, and that therefore Higher Authority has some reason to take care of one, but I really don't believe in that. I think whatever rules there are pay no attention to our interests, but just do whatever is in accordance with their nature, regardless of our desires or attempts to bribe or coerce them. I think we can sacrifice all the sheep or virgins we have, but it will not ensure a good harvest (although it may help somewhat if we use the sacrifices to fertilize our fields).

Many widely accepted systems for explaining/ordering the world are founded on nothing more substancial than hot air. The sheer number of such schemata is testimony to their lack of solid foundation. That many people believe in one system or another is of little import: there are people who will beggar their families on the turn of a card.

[circumspice]

Jun 25, 2012 23:28:31 GMT -5 steev said:

I can only go so far with the moon/menses thing. If there is much of a linkage, why aren't all women more in sync with the moon cycle? I accept that groups of women living together tend to synchronize, but that's not the moon.

Why would a woman's menses have to be synced to the moon cycle to prove that it is an influence? Isn't the periodicity enough to show a link? How many other mammals have a 28 day menstrual cycle? What other cycle coincides with the 28 day cycle? It's probably just a remnant effect anyway, with no real effect now. It's just an observation of a common phenomenon.