Kitchen Garden Forum

I just realised Alison explained this earlier in the thread. I must be using a Tropical zodiac while this site uses the other one.
headbanging

Having had a look at your website, I must say that there is a good deal of inaccurate information which is only going to mislead novice vegetable gardeners.
Perhaps other forum members could have a look at it and find misinformation.

I just offer the following examples:
Sow Broad Beans in June - only if you want them for green manure
Harvest tomatoes in June - if only
Sow horseradish

I know it sounds like I'm a spoiler, but this is the sort of misinformation we don't need.

Alan

This could be a tricky month for all you moon sowers and planters with a second (blue) full moon at the end of the month and an occultation of Venus on the 18th!

John

I have no idea what all that means john but it sounds ominous. I think i am going to go back to the simple moon waning moon waxing principles it is all getting just too complicated - my little brain is frying.

Agree with you Alan didn't look, at a quick glance, very acurate cultivation info to me.

Unless there is a miracle in the next two and a half weeks i won't be harvesting tomatoes (red ones anyway) from plants growing in a polytunnel in the south of france either

An occultation of Venus on the 18th!

Sounds like the embarassing things we get up to in the garden:

viewtopic.php?t=3969

I'll be on my guard

Just to fry CJ's brain further, I think it's Cuddiad Gwener in Welsh - so there.

Alan

!Cuddiad Gwener !
tried looking it up but all the answers are in Welsh so i am non the wiser. Definate sizzling up top - what is it Alan.

Sizzle no more.

Cuddiad = hiding/occultation
Gwener = Venus

I'm still wondering about Occultation of Venus

Alan

An occultation of any planet is the same as an eclipse of the Sun, ie, the Moon passes in front of the planet obscuring it from view from the Earth. They were paid attention to traditionally and seem to highlight matters to do with the planet. Nothing to worry about with Venus!!!
Cevenol, don't worry too much, you are using the planting guide I would rely on which has the planets in all the places most everyone would expect them to be. This is the one thing that really puts me off the Biodynamic movement as they use the Sidereal Zodiac. I would also disagree with their interpretations of Air signs and Fire signs being good for flowers and fruit respectively as this takes no account of the traditional understanding of fruitful, semi-fruitful and barren signs (see my earlier post on this thread). Cevenol, PM me if you get really confused and I'll try to clarify further!
June

Me again!!
Just had a look at the Nick Kollerstrom website link and the calendar for June. I think it is totally confusing and wrong, wrong, wrong!!
If I am reading the symbols on it correctly it appears to give a full Moon in Capricorn at 11:30 on the 6th. The full Moon actually occured at 1:05 am GMT on the 1st. There cannot be a full Moon in Capricorn when the Sun is in Gemini. As a full Moon involves the Moon being in the sign of the Zodiac directly opposite the Sun the full Moon in early June can only occur in Sagittarius!
I know of Nick Kollerstrom through hearing him speak at astrological conferences albeit quite a few years ago and I'm surprised someone with such a knowledge of astrological principles advocating this system.
June

I tried reading the NK site.

It's in small type and wordy and confusing .
SO the chances of my understanding it - let alone following it - are nil.

Reminds me of debates on defining "organic".

I'll get my coat,

Thanks June i will be pm you soon i think. Meanwhile i have a question i have seen different sources claim that garlic should be harvested 1. on a new mmon AND on 2. a full moon. Do you or anyone else know which is actually the more favourable New moon which i missed on the 15th or on the next full moon on the 30th June - my garlic is ready to harvest and as we are getting a lot of rain its not going to be good to leave it in the ground too long.

Ps I think i should have gone with my gut instinct the garlic looked ready - no rain for a couple of days and it just seemed right to me to harvest it on Thursday/Friday. What do you think?

i think as with any system it has to be a guide not a rigid rule. if the garlic looks ready and the weather is right it makes littls sense to wait for the right moon if that also means allowing torrential rain to arrive.

too true Richard - never throw the baby out with the bathwater
I've had trouble with my garlic not storing well so i was attempting to try this year to harvest by the moon to see if that made a difference. The rains are already here so not much i can do now. I lifted a few as a test on the day i thought best so i'll see how they store just 3 of them. BUT if the moon harvest date should have been new moon then it would have been a perfect time to harvest i just hesitated because i thought it was meant to be full moon. Get my drift?

By the way we expeiencing the wettest May and June - i have only had to water the garden TWICE this whole year one year i had to start watering in February as there had been no rain at all since the previous September. Normally at this time of year i have to water salad beds daily the others get a torturing once every 2 or 3 days depending what they are but we are getting an inch an hour rain its just pouring off the mountain.

When it comes to harvesting it is better to harvest on a waning moon rather than a waxing moon. The longer into the waining cycle the longer it can be stored.