PLANTING BY THE PHASES OF THE MOON.

I mentioned in one my last post that I was going to plant my vegetable garden this year according to the Phases of the Moon.

It sounds pretty radical, but in actual fact it makes a whole lot of sense once you figure it all out.

I watched my Dad do this every year, and he always had productive gardens and high yields in his vegetable crops.

If you want to give it a try this year, there are a few things you have to know first - and that's where the Old Farmers Almanac comes in.  You can purchase the book, just about everywhere - the books are specific to each country - so mine is the Canadian Edition - and they are also available online.

The Canadian Version online is Almanac.ca

It is a good idea to first make a list of the crops you want to grow - actually make 2 lists... one for crops grown above ground, and one for below ground crops.

Next you must determine the "Area" you are gardening in.

I am in Area 3.

There are really only 2 rules to follow.

1. ABOVE ground crops (annuals, vegetables) must be planted during the light or waxing of the moon ( from the day the moon is new, until the day it is full).

2. Flowering bulbs, biennial, Perennial and vegetable crops that bear crops BELOW the ground must be planted in the dark or Waning of the moon ( from the day after the moon is full until the day before it is new again).

That's pretty much it - except not quite.

So here's an example for my own planting.  I will be planting my vegetable garden in May.

in May the New moon is the 15th day, and the Full Moon is the 29th day.

Tomatoes (above the ground crop)  can be planted any time between the 15th and 29th of May.
But there is one more thing to consider - frost.
According to the Almanac the last spring frost for our area will be May 22.

So now... I will plant my Tomatoes between the 23rd and the 29th of May.


For May, the New Moon is May 15th, and the Full moon is the 29th.

Carrots (below the ground)  day after full moon is 30 and 31... and the new moon is early in May,

so the only days in May that I should plant my carrots are May 30 and May 31.
Frost will no longer be a consideration.

I have gone through my list of vegetables and determined when the best time to plant every one of them, and marked it down on a calendar.  So we will see how this goes...

Dad, if you are watching from up there.... no laughing!