Thought this might interest the organic lovers out there


Guide to planting by the moon
Moon planting calendar for fruit, vegetables and flowers

In ancient times when man had not quite got round to inventing the wristwatch, the most reliable source of telling the time was the sun, moon, and stars. There seems to be several opinions of who came up with the moon planting calendar first. Was it the Egyptians or the Babylonians? It is more than likely that each and every farmer had a planting calendar based on the moon phases, and there would be different variations depending on the geographical location. As their calendars where passed on through the generations they evolved to cover the different crops they tried to grow, and the more productive farming techniques used.

It was noticed that different plants grow better when they are planted during different phases of the moon. Each of these phases imparts an influence on the way vegetation grows on the planet through the rising and falling of the moisture in the ground and in the plants.

To provide more accurate records it was noted that certain crops faired better when planted whilst the moon was in a specific constellation. As the moon can take only 2-3 days to pass through a constellation, the planting calendar was a 'cutting edge' technology.

Planting was not the most important time for the farmer, harvest time also had to be recorded. If you harvest at the correct time your crops will last much longer. It is down to how the plant stores the water in the fruit/crop at different times of the Luna cycle.

Moon planting rediscovered

We in our modern and advanced civilization are rediscovering the benefits of planting by the Luna cycle and various sources are being used to generate Moon Planting systems for us to use. Some of these systems would appear to contradict each other in places, but it is important to remember they are guides for you to use and modify, they are not an exact science.

Three Moon planting methods

There are three methods for planting by the moon. The Synodic, or waxing and waning cycle, the Sidereal, and the Biodynamic cycle.

Synodic (waxing and waning) cycle

This is a simple form of Moon planting which divides the Luna cycle into four phases or quarters. This cycle takes 29.6 days to complete. It then groups plants into categories, Root Crops, Foliage, Crops with seeds on the outside, and crops with seeds on the inside. Then it assigns plants to the phases of the moon which best suits there growing characteristics.

Biodynamic cycle

Secondly, there is the more detailed method using the 12 Zodiac signs as a method of position the moon, for more accurate planting. This method was developed by Rudolf Steiner in 1924, and the Zodiac signs used where the actual positioning of the signs in the sky, when the moon passed through them. In addition to the position of the moon, Venus ans Saturn also played a large part in the Biodynamic farming calendar. Form more information see the Wikipedia Article on Biodynamics.

Sidereal cycle

Lastly the Sidereal cycle is very similar to the Biodynamic cycle except only the moons orbit around the earth is used to define the best times to sow and harvest. The orbit is divided up into 12 equal 30 degree sections to represent the position of the moon in the sky, but it may not be the same as the current moon position. The sidereal cycle takes 27.3 days to complete.

Which of the above methods is better is up to you to find out. I suggest starting with the Synodic as a general rule and whilst you record the results, read up on the other two. For more information on the Biodynamic cycle read the The Biodynamic and Planting Calendar 2006 and for more information on the Sidereal Cycle read Gardening & Planting by the Moon 2006.

If you start to use Moon Planting for your crops, keep a diary, and add as much detail as you can. Let us know how you do with your garden using the form below..

The feed for Moon planting contains a general guide to planting crops through the Luna cycle. The feed is updated once a day and is based on the GMT Time zone.

Why don`t you get a watch Rip?!

F**king hell,I thought from the title it was to warn us to stay off the moors,stick to the road,and load our mags with silver lycanthropic killing bullets

I just look out da window mate ..... now feck of yer ejet




and you feck of to ..................

That`s one quality camera you have there Rip!

So its not a werewolf warning then?

If there is an advantage to planting and harvesting by the lunar calendar then ime it is small enough to make no difference.

I've been starting 5 seeds every 5 weeks for well over a year. Some of those must have been started at exactly the correct time according to the lunar growers and some must have been started at the wrong time. They all get harvested 17 weeks after being started.


So how come I don't see any difference harvest to harvest?

I used to use a site about the best lunar times for barbel fishing I think it was moonstrike and 90% of the the predictions for big fish captures (days and times) were accurate across the country, whether lunar times affect gardening, I wouldn't rule it out.
joe

The phases of the moon are dependent on the relative angle of the earth to the moon. A quarter moon does not mean there is only a quarter of the gravitational effect as the whole moon is still there whether you can see it or not. Gravity is not dependent on what is visible from any arbitrary point on this planet.

The tides (and everything on earth) are affected by the moon, but the phases of the moon have nothing to do with this. Gravity works as an attractive force calculated upon the inverse square of the distance of two masses.

Now.... pay attention:

GRAVITY IS WEAK.

In fact it is incredibly weak. This is easy to prove because you can overcome the entire force of gravity generated by this massive planet with a 20p fridge magnet (e.g picking up a pin). Imagine how incredibly insignificant the gravtional force of an MJ plant is. In fact, it fights the earths gravity all it's life and the moon is only 0.0123 Earths and a distance of 250 000 miles away. If you were to do the math you'd realise the numbers become completely insignificant with no appreciable effects.

It's apogee (furthest point) is approx 252,950 miles away and it's perigee (closest) is about 221,600 miles away. So for this theory to even have a ring of truth then the hypothesis should be to plant at some point in it's orbit and calculate differences. However, this has been tested in many areas with no evidence to confirm it. All evidence for this pseudo-science is completely anecdotal. Actually, using the reflective mirror that Buzz and Niel left on the moon we now know that the moon is moving away from the earth at about 1.5inches per year.... perhaps that explains global warming. (<- that was sarcasm btw)

That arse-gravy out of the way, one thing that may have an effect is the lumens being thrown out by the night sky. Reading some of the testimonies from indoor growers here seems to suggest that pitch dark is best (when required). Perhaps an indoor experiment utilising similar light levels to outside at night may put this to rest one way or t'other.

Sorry for the confrontational tone... but let's have some facts here.

so you are you saying there is no geomagnetic variations that affect plant function? due to moon sun and the earth

or the simple fact that a lot of old farmers would often cut there silage around a full moon because the sugar content was higher... as my father and his father did on the family farm


have you ever seen a metric tonne of mixed worms (bio-mass)w in a sealed room on or close to a full moon would follow the course of the moon as it moved across the sky ...by starting of on one side of the bed and end up on the other to where the moon as gone below the horizon.....



when I can find my copy of this I will post it for you to read .....cited facts as you asked for


Abstract

Relatively little is known about the effects of geomagnetism on plants. Such fundamental questions as (1) whether or not plants perceive the Earth's magnetic field, (2) the physical nature of the magnetic receptor(s) and (3) whether or not the geomagnetic field has any bearing on the physiology and survival of plants remain largely unanswered. The present review examines the possibility that three classes of unexplained biological rhythms in plants may relate to the sensitivity of plants to variations in the geomagnetic field. The first section examines the possibility that a class of plant rhythms, here termed 0.2–5 Hz rhythms, may be reflections of the sensitivity of plants to Pc1 geomagnetic pulsations. The second section reviews recent evidence that plants are affected by geomagnetic storms. The third section examines the possibility that circa-weekly, circa-fortnightly and circa-monthly rhythms in plants may be reflections of the solar rotation cycle and its sub-harmonics.

riptd

wild jack would you say the order of magnitudr would be similar in effect of say air displaced by a butterflies wing and a hurrican ?

The only benefit I can see from moon planting is using the moon cycles as a reliable gardening calendar.

Yes agree but the sun is so much better.. I think

Personally I think its one of those things that we lost touch with during one of our scientific phases.

I would never make such a sweeping statement. But magnetism is infinitely more believable than gravitional effects. However, solar flares are the biggest culprits of varying magnetism. Huge EMP's being blasted at Earth every so often with effects on technology, crops, animals, weather... blah blah blah


Respectfully, this is what I meant by 'anecdotal evidnece'.


Maybe they're following the moon, unfortunately the worms remain tight lipped , but it is interesting, certainly.



Plants certainly wouldn't be alive as we know them if it were not for our magnetic field to deflect the bad radiation, they have evolved in this environment so it isn't a huge stretch to imagine that changing this environment may have some effects, maybe positive ones if done just right . As for solar rotation may I suggest some reading on the Babcock model concerning the 11 year sun spot cycle.


That would be chaotic

bedlam and the full moon springs to mind .............


the Babcock modal is a very interesting read and taken as a part of a holistic approach they all work together ... I have seen many things in many place in working within the transfer of back end technology (mainly composting commercially) to the third world that have made me think ......and that I can't explain .....other than to know it works .... and has done for many years ..



riptd

Surely the moon has no effect when you are growing indoors with artificial light and no moon ?

if you believe it has any effect then yeah it would due to the water content of the plant

i once gave it a shot planting within luner cycles that is and the results were massive , i found i had wasted my time energys and efferts as i could see any difference at all in yeilds health , vigour , female rates or well anything really