Super Moon!

[Westi]

Well if I could see it maybe? For those that do Lunar planting what is the effect this is supposed to have on your plants?

Westi

[Ricard with an H]

I have a neighbour who keeps encouraging me to plant by phases of the moon and whilst she does go into detail about the established benefits and her experiences i'm embarrassed to say it goes in one ear and out the other.

Maybe next year i'll try it, as a second-season apprentice I have so much going on and so may improvements yet to make I couldn't possibly introduce moon-phase planting at a time i'm not even getting my watering right.

My broad beans are now three foot high, maybe I planted them out during the correct moon-phase.

No, i'm not being silly. All said with due-respect.

[Westi]

I received a book as a gift some time ago but it went in the charity box as it was well too complicated. It might have been I was a newbie then & didn't have a clue on anything but the reality is I'm more the chuck it in roughly when it is due in then limit myself to a small window when I'm likely to be working anyway.

I posted that as wondered whether a super moon would see your 'moon loving' plants shooting up loads overnight a bit of a triffid moment!

Westi

[Motherwoman]

My weeds are shooting up like triffids... does that count?

[Westi]

Oh it does work then Motherwoman - those weeds probably started in the right phase & benefitted enormously from it!

Westi

[Motherwoman]

Yeh!!! That's my excuse from now on... 'it's not my fault there are weeds on my plot, it's the moon!'

MW

[Westi]

I think I'll try that too! xx

Westi

[Wicky]

Very basically, it's plant at the new moon, and harvest at full moon.

[Westi]

Wicky that is very basic indeed & if the book I had given me was that simple I would have tried it but it subdivided everything into root, flower, leaf etc with different phases of the moon recommended.

I get a mag from Aussie still & it has a small table each month just giving a window of dates & what to plant or sow - so much easier! Unfortunately doesn't translate into the Northern hemisphere! It doesn't cover harvesting either.

I'm up for anything that improves my harvest but my erratic lifestyle (read into that work) means I can't commit to too much detail.

Westi

PS Welcome to the forum by the way!

[Wicky]

Hi Westi Oh yes, very basic I know - the rest is just too much faff to follow and like you say, Real Life gets in the way of fiddling around with sowing & planting out at moon phases

[FredFromOssett]

My 'regime', as far as possible, is plant, sow outdoors and harvest when it's not raining; sow indoors as and when the spirit moves me/time permits! So it seems to be more dependant on the phase of the sun and clouds than the moon.

[Ricard with an H]

And i've already gathered that if the outside temperature and enough sunshine aren't being maintained above certain levels that differ with different plants then how is the moon-phase going to help.

I've learnt (For example) that broad beans are much happier than French beans here at 'The-farmette'.

Too cold for the French beans and not enough sun on my allium plantation isn't going to be helped along by choosing a phase of the moon for planting out and and Fred has just pointed out we aren't going out planting is it's P-ing down. In the case of the far-west of Wales sideways rain and wind are to cause more problems than the incorrect moon-phase. The wind quickly desiccates green leaves even if all other requirements are met.

I'm not knocking something I haven't yet tried but I just don't have the staying power with this gardening lark if you consider the hard work, science, pests, and mother nature requirements then start adding more requirements.

[Motherwoman]

Chuck it in and if it does, it does; and if it doesn't... go to the veg shop! Moon must have been right for my Little Gem lettuce, got some little crackers at the moment.

MW

[Ricard with an H]

Chuck it in and if it does, it does; and if it doesn't... go to the veg shop!

There are so many other variables to get right first, every now and then I stumble into something. Early in the year it was damping-off, later, and now it was low temperatures. Last year slugs, this year I didn't have slugs problems though I realised my soil is on the acidic side and whilst most planting is happy some curls up and shows it's unhappy. Then my dog clears a whole row of radish, she's keen on French beans and carrot and might get a taste for broad bean.

Right now I could do with being a little more relaxed like you about my efforts, maybe even take some counselling. I've been obsessive about moles and slugs, I doub't that moon-phase planting would help my reputation for being 'persnickity'.

[Motherwoman]

I thought this was the counselling! Feels better to get your slugs off your chest so to speak.