Gardening by Moon phases

[Oliver]

Ha, I can’t say any seeds have germinated in my garden, yet - but I did do a successful test of my garden speaker system with a 24vDC truck amplifier and a Bluetooth receiver, this evening - so I can get my guests to stream their own music.

I will probably need a few more days to finish up the electrical work (my neighbour is also helping me mount some long strings of LED lights along the eaves of the roof, so the place looks like a German Christmas market stall when the lights are on!) - but I’ll try and start my planting on the 8th of April (I might just about have managed to finish everything off over the Easter weekend), and we’ll see what effect an Aries solar eclipse has on the growth rate!

 

[warbler]

how long do those seeds take to germinate?

Morning glories of any variety should germinate within a week, sometimes just a few days. Datura and Hibiscus take a bit longer, but not much - some of each have started to germinate already in my starter boxes.

I'm not sure if I'll bother with hardening the baby Datura and Hibiscus plants, though, especially with the weather being so wonky. I mostly wanted to be sure my seed stocks were still viable and planting depths I used would work out OK

 

[Roman H.]

I’m usually too impatient to wait up to 2 weeks for a waxing moon. My morning glories usually need 2 weeks.

 

[jaceymay]

Here is a great one, its EST. Think flower is something that produces from the flower like broccoli or peas. Lead obviously more spinach and lettuce, root being carrots, beets, radishes etc.

 

[etherea]

Here is a great one, its EST. Think flower is something that produces from the flower like broccoli or peas. Lead obviously more spinach and lettuce, root being carrots, beets, radishes etc.

Yes, I would agree with that - and what a great little chart

There is also the crop rotation to consider, to avoid soil-based pests destroying the crop:

Beans
Root
Greens
Fruit​

(and happily, this little memnonic does rhyme, so is easy to recall)

I have had a plethora of snails and slugs everywhere, which I assume is from our watery context of Neptune and associated excessive rainfall. In fact, it has been Slug-a-Geddon, with the destruction of a lot of my effort and planting input, despite having put measures in place around them. They are clever little beasts. Mental note: get on with the copper wires, tapes and other sundry things.

I am learning now about BioChar, have bought some un-treated charcoal, and getting ready to "feed" it with Nettle tea, Comfrey tea, kelp, compost slurry, etc. Here is an excellent channel for this topic, and others (he has a few videos on this topic):

I don't have a tamper - will use wellies!! And straw from the pet shop (they sell it for bunnies).

My project this spring is to improve the soil - this is about as Jupiter/Taurean as it gets and since we are passing FM after today, this is the best use of time in the waning Moon period.

Moon going into Scorpio, so I might just test out planting some flower seeds to see how that works out.

My issue about this time of year is that lots of things need to be started now, so it's a bit of a time/space crunch and therefore, I am keen to get things done even if in less than perfect conditions. I totally get @Roman H. 's perspective on that.

 

[jaceymay]

@etherea
Interesting process he does. Since I started beets, I've really benefited from “Rock dust” also. When you say beans, root, Greens, fruit, is it literally in that order? So where I had beans I now plant Root crops? My cheat, since my beans posts are hard to move, is I get several yards of top grade compost, add fertilizer (w/kelp & dolomite lime), rock dust, and Greensand.

Those nasty slugs I use a contrainer of beer, they drink it, get drunk and drown. I figured at least they are in a drunken state when they die

Dolomite lime was a big one I learned years ago, help most crops flourish. Instead of worm castings, the works we have are plentiful because of the compost.

What exactly does the charcoal add?

 

[etherea]

@etherea
Interesting process he does. Since I started beets, I've really benefited from “Rock dust” also. When you say beans, root, Greens, fruit, is it literally in that order? So where I had beans I now plant Root crops? My cheat, since my beans posts are hard to move, is I get several yards of top grade compost, add fertilizer (w/kelp & dolomite lime), rock dust, and Greensand.

Those nasty slugs I use a contrainer of beer, they drink it, get drunk and drown. I figured at least they are in a drunken state when they die

Dolomite lime was a big one I learned years ago, help most crops flourish. Instead of worm castings, the works we have are plentiful because of the compost.

What exactly does the charcoal add?

The charcoal acts as a long-lasting repository for all the stuff you feed it with - nettle/comfrey tea, seaweed feed, compost/manure slurry, etc. - and the plants can benefit from all that for a very long time (I have heard 25 years.......!!). (There are other channels, with other suggestions for feeding the biochar, and how amazing it is - I have no doubt there are lots of variations on the theme ). If, for some reason, you don't feed it prior to putting onto your soil, then for the first couple of years it will leach nutrients out of your beds. I shall be adding willow tea, plus fish/blood/bone granules, as well as the above, and straw. Willow contains Auxin, which is a growth turbo-charger, and now is the time of year to gather the shoots to use for that.

The rotation - yes, in that order: root crops after bean crops. I can see the issue with the more permanent bean posts. I move mine around (re-make them from hazel, if necessary). The beans fix the nitrogen into the soil (and, with the very rainy weather, a lot of the nitrogen is what is being washed away), from which other plants can benefit.

Might be worth using that bit of the garden and the support for something else, from time to time....? And planting your beans on a temporary wigwam as you move them around? But your cheat sounds good, too

That fixing of nutrients, including minerals, is very Saturn in Pisces - the stalwart attempt to prevent erosion by Neptunian dissolution, and to provide something substantial, something usable. The biochar is long-term, so that's another Saturn influence.

The beer - I was avoiding doing that, but I think there is little choice with the weather conditions (Nirvana for slugs) we're getting.

Dolomite - oooh, interesting. I have also seen suggestions for epsom salts (magnesium).

 

[jaceymay]

The charcoal acts as a long-lasting repository for all the stuff you feed it with - nettle/comfrey tea, seaweed feed, compost/manure slurry, etc. - and the plants can benefit from all that for a very long time (I have heard 25 years.......!!). (There are other channels, with other suggestions for feeding the biochar, and how amazing it is - I have no doubt there are lots of variations on the theme ). If, for some reason, you don't feed it prior to putting onto your soil, then for the first couple of years it will leach nutrients out of your beds. I shall be adding willow tea, plus fish/blood/bone granules, as well as the above, and straw. Willow contains Auxin, which is a growth turbo-charger, and now is the time of year to gather the shoots to use for that.

The rotation - yes, in that order: root crops after bean crops. I can see the issue with the more permanent bean posts. I move mine around (re-make them from hazel, if necessary). The beans fix the nitrogen into the soil (and, with the very rainy weather, a lot of the nitrogen is what is being washed away), from which other plants can benefit.

Might be worth using that bit of the garden and the support for something else, from time to time....? And planting your beans on a temporary wigwam as you move them around? But your cheat sounds good, too

That fixing of nutrients, including minerals, is very Saturn in Pisces - the stalwart attempt to prevent erosion by Neptunian dissolution, and to provide something substantial, something usable. The biochar is long-term, so that's another Saturn influence.

The beer - I was avoiding doing that, but I think there is little choice with the weather conditions (Nirvana for slugs) we're getting.

Dolomite - oooh, interesting. I have also seen suggestions for epsom salts (magnesium).

I love the mountains of knowledge, I am a fellow obsessive gardener, always learning. I see the point about the charcoal, my in-laws use charcoal but they just mix in the soil randomly, they are not enthusiasts. I will pass on that knowledge and video.

I do also have slug bait, sometimes I just like to know how many slugs are eating my vegetables.

Have you ever used “greensand?” I use it and I'm told its good, I think for size and flavour yet not 100% on that.

I always would-be scared to use molasses due to ants, what are your thoughts?? They also eat my plants.

The organic fertiliser I use has a whole bunch of stuff in it, I should look since I need more. Thi k there is kelp, dolomite lime and several other things. My friend as a master gardener recommended it. Thi k it's a 6-4-4

 

[etherea]

Have you ever used “greensand?” I use it and I'm told its good, I think for size and flavour yet not 100% on that.

I always would-be scared to use molasses due to ants, what are your thoughts?? They also eat my plants.

The organic fertiliser I use has a whole bunch of stuff in it, I should look since I need more. Thi k there is kelp, dolomite lime and several other things. My friend as a master gardener recommended it. Thi k it's a 6-4-4

I hadn't heard of it before you posted, and it looks good so thank you for that.

Molasses and ants - possibly, but I suppose there is only one way to find out, i.e. do a mini-separate portion and test it out by leaving some in a pot (without a plant), and see what happens. Please report back!!

With the addition of lime etc, there is the issue of PH balance of the soil, so best to get a testing kit and keep on top of it. My way of doing that is that, for example, if I add tea-leaves or wood ash (slightly alkaline), I will also add coffee grinds (slightly acidic), to maintain the existing PH (slight alkalinity).

Moon in a waning phase now, so if you are following the phases for this, now is a great time to soil-prep. Sign-wise, Moon in Scorpio also bodes well for "regeneration" for a couple of days

 

[jaceymay]

Thanks @etherea i don't worry about the pH, I have a quick pH post that tells moisture, pH, ph, and sunlight. With tons of rain the soil is almost always acidic. Berries, and beans are fine in acidic, but not the other crops.

 

[etherea]

I found this, which I shall apply and see how it works out:

As copper is correspondent to Venus, and as Uranus is currently in Venus-Taurus, this utilisation of technology (Uranus) looks like a good fit for the astro-times

Separately, am getting ready for planting on the NM, 8 May.

Anyone else?

Edited to add: the site is currently out of stock of the copper disks, which is why they are not listed at the mo.

 

[jaceymay]

May planting

 

[etherea]

May planting

@jaceymay
thank you for that - wonderful

Here is another biochar video:

and the guy is awesome - really explains the reasons behind using it, provides illustrations, the science (fascinating about the Amazon Rainforest, for example, and how their soil measures when tested). My neighbour has just mowed his lawn, so I shall be using the resulting grass clippings for some of the charging, gearing up for using it ASAP.

He does note that crumbling it up is not a good idea for your main gardening, but is a good idea for your seedlings.

(I suppose that when the Moon is going through fire signs, it's a good idea to do the early stages of prep for this - maybe even when the Moon is in Capricorn, ref. the carbon).

Since the Taurus NM is but a couple of days away, and then the Moon will go into Cancer - both great times for planting - I am getting as much done today as possible.

Some veg, some flowers...we have had a cold Spring, so it has not been great for propogating and then planting out, so some of my veg has failed (damping off - thank you Neptune) and some are becoming 'leggy'. But this is my second chance to have good bounty this year, and I am using all available modalities and info. Will be planting lots of scented annual flowers - sweet peas (deep burgundy and flamingo pink) amongst the runner beans, plus night-scented stocks, night-scented phlox, etc. this year, plus tons and tons of one of my favourites, calendula (found some great seeds for really vivid, bushy bright orange ones - Neon - and some cactus-type vivid yellow, and a very unusual peach/apricot colour), to go near dwarf sunflowers in pots, with Salmon Baby nasturtiums trailing beneath.

I utilised the Moon in Aries energy yesterday to fix up the wigwams for the legumes, plus watching the biochar video.

Another neighbour's cat has decided my newly improving soil (I dug out a lot of stones) is great for a "deposit", so a trick I learned last year about that is to get some wooden picnic forks and stick lots of them upright a few inches apart in a grid, to deter kitty's little paws marauding the space.

Has anybody here used the Mexican Marigold plant to get rid of weeds (ground elder, etc.)? Did it work?

 

[etherea]

How did everybody's gardening go?

Here, well, the garden crops (runner beans, leafy greens. potatoes) did badly as we had such a wash-out with perpetual rain (Neptune in Pisces......) and thus, what wasn't drowned out/rotted was eaten by slugs. Whatever the Moon phase was doing was superseded by weather conditions. That's a learning curve, all on its own.

My greenhouse did better - handsome tomato plants, copious amounts of sweet peas and prolific peppers.

During the year, I discovered this excellent youtube channel:

Garden Like a Viking

The time is now to reawaken the spirit of our ancestors and grow food using ancient techniques that enrich the land instead of depleting it. Send Packages To: Garden Like A Viking P.O. Box 9101 Fort Wayne, Indiana, 46899

www.youtube.com

He has one video showing how the Vikings would boost their germination and seedling growth by cutting willow shoots at the beginning of the year, chop them up, soak in water to cover for a few hours, drain and use diluted with water. He also suggests using powdered kelp. Video here:

It certainly worked for me to get things going.

Nasturtiums did well, as did fuschias, etc.

I am raring to get going in Spring (choppety-choppety-chop), but using the time now during the lull between Xmas and New Year for planning what to plant when the time comes.

However, I was listening to someone over the summer who had planted her beef tomatoes in her conservatory during late January, and they did exceptionally well. I might take a leaf out of her book (so to speak...) and get some of those seeds in early. I am tempted to do it directly after this Capricorn NM but not sure Cappy is a sign that would be helpful for that. I might try - Saturn in Pisces is also in sextile, which I suppose would be good for sturdiness of the cellular structure. I have had recommended to me the Costoluto Fiorentino beef tomato variety (Mr. Fothergill's supply seeds in the UK). No harm in trying a few in the heated propogator, now, is there?

I can always try planting more during Pisces NM season but since we have Neptune there until late March when Neptune moves into Aries, might be worth saving some seeds for a late sowing, also, to see how that works out.

I have also over-wintered some Sweet William (Elektron) seedlings, and started some pansies in the autumn which appear to be taking size now, and received several packets of very exotic-looking Coleus (stunning leaf shapes and colours) so am hoping for Eye-Candy at least.

Heritage and heirloom seeds (some beauties, and you can download a .pdf catalogue for free) here:

https://www.plantsofdistinction.co.uk/heirloom-varieties

Please share your garden experience over the last year - what went well, what didn't, what you plan for this year (or not), how you tackled any garden challenges, etc.

 

[Oliver]

It was a disaster. I think I produced more biomass than actual vegetables, and most of it was turned into compost. All apart from one little ear of corn, so small and deformed that I saved it for the birds to eat.

Maybe I need to bury a few bodies in that garden, to help the plants grow a bit better.

 

[etherea]

It was a disaster. I think I produced more biomass than actual vegetables, and most of it was turned into compost. All apart from one little ear of corn, so small and deformed that I saved it for the birds to eat.

Maybe I need to bury a few bodies in that garden, to help the plants grow a bit better.

At least it wasn't just me, then.

I shall be planting bulbs today, too (within range of the NM) - the only way to get them to actually flourish is for me to shield them with 1) chicken-wire anchored by bricks to stop the infernal squirrels from digging them up and eating them and 2) smearing any and all pots with Tabasco sauce mixed with vaseline and peppered with cayenne, which squirrels hate.

All garden pests seem to have an I.Q. of a gazillion genius units, because they totally know how to get at their target without being caught. It's either that, or getting pest control out (my neighbour has lots of centuries-old trees that provide habitat for loads of them) which seems a bit unfair - it is their terrain. I just wish they'd find other food sources, like the walnuts in the tree where they live, ditto the acorns, pine-nuts, etc. and leave my garden alone..!! Vermin crossing boundaries and proliferating, destroying harvest/crops = Neptune.

I am wondering though if, later in the year when Neptune moves into Aries, that we have something of a drought. Currently, it is a perpetual rain/mist/fog water cloud (more than usual) but that could all change at end of March, the peak sowing/growing/planting season. I shall probably be investing in a couple of water butts for that reason. That, and planting drought-hardy plants (lavender, etc.) rather than too many water-guzzlers. Neptunian weather conditions may just dry up and fizzle out, especially when Saturn joins the party - water shortages......??

Electroculture also helps plants survive less-than-perfect conditions and it is interesting that has re-surfaced from past centuries as Uranus is in the sign of agriculture, Taurus. The wire used is copper (ruled by Venus which of course rules Taurus) and is also a prime conductor of electrical impulses and, if one accepts the concept of aether, that too.

 

[etherea]

Being brave, I planted seeds early this year, just prior to the lunar eclipse.
I was going to try the bio-dynamic methods, but decided I wasn't fully subscribed to buried horns, etc. so am leaving it. May try another time.
Please share if you have tried this and seen good results by comparison to what you were doing prior.

For reasons of availability of time, I had to sow some seeds whilst Moon was in Leo, and did the final sowings in the dark evenings whilst Moon was in Virgo. Also took apart one of the supermarket herb pots (parsley) and put separate root systems into individual pots. Even in the sub-zero temperatures, they are doing ok (about 45 of them - plenty of parsley for summer ).

It will be a good experiment to see what comes up from the sowings. If they don't work, then April's FM is a fall-back position, with Moon in Virgo probably seeing a lot of time with seed packets prior to the Libra FM (which occurs on Spica, by the way).

Am trying onions this year (heritage variety, Rose de Roscoff, very sweet flavour) in raised beds as generally, the soil type (reasonably chalky) in the area means onions don't do well, plus chilli peppers, outdoor mini-cucumbers, tomatoes (minibel, black russian), potatoes, runner beans, courgettes - keeping it simple.

For flowers, I over-wintered Sweet William and pinks (plus ornamental cabbages for later in the year), and have about eight varieties of sweet pea in pots, plus frilly pansies. Later on, dwarf sunflowers, calendula, phlox, night-scented stock and lobelia for containers, plus different varieties cosmos for borders.

My compost heap is now sizeable, will be using the Moon in Scorpio (usage of transformed garden refuse) days to mulch, as well as the same days for putting manure and worm castings on some of the beds.

Yesterday, I bought a copy of Charles Dowding's book, "No Dig", which is just excellent. It seems a much more intelligent way to garden, in harmony with what nature does on its own, no energy wastage.

I need to take down two fruit trees this year, also. The increased Aries energy this season will help - lots of chopping back, cutting things out. This will make more space and light for new raised beds (which I shall reserve for flowers).

What are other forum members doing in their gardens this year? New plans? Tried and tested old friends?
For UK gardeners, how are you getting on with peat-free compost?

 

[Ladybeau]

I've never gardened by Moon phases, so I just went ahead willy nilly as usual. I planted some tomato seeds, courgette seeds and spring onion seeds on 8th March. Just checked and it was a Cancer Moon Waxing Gibbous. The seeds have gone nuts and are a tad leggy, so hoping they gain some strength going forward.

 

[etherea]

Try putting the seedlings into another pot with soil just under where the leaf is - they can then set more roots along their stems into the soil and end up being quite strong little plants.

 

[Ladybeau]

Try putting the seedlings into another pot with soil just under where the leaf is - they can then set more roots along their stems into the soil and end up being quite strong little plants.

Thank you.