Gardening and Planting By The Moon
Checklist for Using the Calendar
Annual crops
Follow the
four-element rhythms, sowing as near to the centre of the relevant sign as
is convenient. The same element-sign (Root, Leaf, Flower, Fruit-seed)
reappears every nine days, so if you miss the appropriate period the next
may still
be convenient.
Grafting and transplanting
Try to do this kind of activity under a waxing Moon
Harvesting
Fruits picked
at New Moon will store better, whereas fruits to be eaten fresh are best
picked at Full Moon. Crops should be harvested in the same Moon-sign
element in which they were sown if you wish to obtain seeds for next
year's crop.
Perennial crops, shrubs or trees
Try to take advantage of a Saturn-Moon aspect when planting. If a
tree or bush is fruit-bearing, you can also try to plant or graft it on a
Fruit-seed day.
Pruning and gelding
The
lunar water uptake cycle is relevant here and near Full Moon is not
recommended for pruning; try to time such activity for the waning
Moon.
Sowing times
Sow and
plant as close to the hour of Moonrise as possible, with adjustments to
your longitude and latitude. Avoid sowing for a few hours either side of
the nodes, the perigee or an eclipse. Where drought is a problem, note
that seeds tend to
absorb the greatest amount of
water on the days prior to the Full Moon, so sowing at this time should
lead to optimal germination.
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