Lunar Planting - Gardening By The Moon

Gardening by the moon and lunar planting: As we all know, the gravitational pull of the moon influences amongst other things the tides of the sea. Lunar gardening applies the same principle to plants, arguing that the influence planting by the moon will affect the amount of moisture in the soil, which will in turn make certain activities, more or less successful. To translate that into plain English. At certain times of the lunar cycle, the ground contains more moisture. So for successful moon gardening, it is best to plant at a new or full moon, when there is most water.

That's the theory, but how does it work in practice? Well, it's not as simple as running out and planting everything at the first sign of a new moon. There is a time frame for different types of crops, and for certain activities.

For example, plants which produce a crop that is harvested above the ground, ie: cabbages should be planted during a waxing moon. This is when the moon is growing bigger. On the other hand, below ground crops, such as carrots, would be planted during a waning moon . . . when the moon is growing smaller.cyc

Within this time frame, of waxing and waning moons are further sub-divisions, based around the moons quarters. By this point you may be scratching your head and thinking this all sounds to complex. Don't worry, it is easy once you have learnt a bit about the different moon phases and how to recognize them. 

Kate Gilby lives in the UK , and is the editor of kate blogs: http://kategilby.co.uk a blog devoted to writing, web and graphic design.