It's gardening according to the phases of the moon. The simplest is simply the waxing phase for planting things that do their stuff above ground - leaves, flowers and fruit - and the waning for plants whose roots are of interest so taking cuttings and divisions and sowing or planting root veg.
Then there's the more complicated version using the relative position of the moon in the sky from one night to the next. When it's rising, plant or sow above ground plants. When it's descending, rooty stuff.
And finally the bio-rythmic version which takes into account the moon's passage through the zodiac - Air signs for flowers, Earth signs for roots, Fire signs for fruits and Water signs for foliage. This version also has best days for harvesting crops for keeping.
There are also days when it's best just to do garden maintenance and not sow, plant or harvest anything and days when it's best to go out and have fun or read a catalogue.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
But you don't know if it makes no difference unless you keep an "anti-moon gardening diary". I'd like to garden by the moon but like you say it's a question of having time when the weather is right. In France they give away free gardening by the moon calendars in the local gardening shops, so if a whole nation follows it, there must be something in it - mustn't there? Don't answer! Anyway for all we know if we did do everything right and followed the moon maybe the leeks would be 2 inches diameter, really tasty and tender and th tomatoes wouldn't succomb to blight - who knows unless soemone volunteers to split their garden in two - full moon and new moon.
..., there must be something in it - mustn't there? ...
Taking an objective and rational view there definitely IS a serious phenomena here.
Beliefs about the moon are, at the very least, affecting some gardeners. Gardeners are buying these calendars (apparently) and some of them are changing their gardening behaviour accordingly. This is a real socio-horticultural phenomena, which cannot be denied.
You then need to start asking where these ideas came from. And you get led to books such as one quoted in an earlier post. The eminent historian Simon Schama described that point in history as the point at which gardening became a branch of philosophy. It still is. But this is all very serious stuff, and people who just want to grow a few sweet peas and potatoes, don't really need to worry about it.
I suppose there was a time in human evolution when there were some people who believed that the tides were caused by the moon and others who thought that the gods pushed the water up and down.
What surprises me is that whilst there are a number of experiments that indicate a link between the moon and growth in plants, there have been none that disprove it.
So if you have the time, why not choose to work with nature rather than against it?
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Don't be daft! It isn't gardening by moonlight!
It's gardening according to the phases of the moon. The simplest is simply the waxing phase for planting things that do their stuff above ground - leaves, flowers and fruit - and the waning for plants whose roots are of interest so taking cuttings and divisions and sowing or planting root veg.
Then there's the more complicated version using the relative position of the moon in the sky from one night to the next. When it's rising, plant or sow above ground plants. When it's descending, rooty stuff.
And finally the bio-rythmic version which takes into account the moon's passage through the zodiac - Air signs for flowers, Earth signs for roots, Fire signs for fruits and Water signs for foliage. This version also has best days for harvesting crops for keeping.
There are also days when it's best just to do garden maintenance and not sow, plant or harvest anything and days when it's best to go out and have fun or read a catalogue.
But you don't know if it makes no difference unless you keep an "anti-moon gardening diary". I'd like to garden by the moon but like you say it's a question of having time when the weather is right. In France they give away free gardening by the moon calendars in the local gardening shops, so if a whole nation follows it, there must be something in it - mustn't there? Don't answer! Anyway for all we know if we did do everything right and followed the moon maybe the leeks would be 2 inches diameter, really tasty and tender and th tomatoes wouldn't succomb to blight - who knows unless soemone volunteers to split their garden in two - full moon and new moon.
Taking an objective and rational view there definitely IS a serious phenomena here.
Beliefs about the moon are, at the very least, affecting some gardeners. Gardeners are buying these calendars (apparently) and some of them are changing their gardening behaviour accordingly. This is a real socio-horticultural phenomena, which cannot be denied.
You then need to start asking where these ideas came from. And you get led to books such as one quoted in an earlier post. The eminent historian Simon Schama described that point in history as the point at which gardening became a branch of philosophy. It still is. But this is all very serious stuff, and people who just want to grow a few sweet peas and potatoes, don't really need to worry about it.
What surprises me is that whilst there are a number of experiments that indicate a link between the moon and growth in plants, there have been none that disprove it.
So if you have the time, why not choose to work with nature rather than against it?
same as they use to put sheets out bleach on moonlit night before good old washing powder.
