Emerging beets planted at the right time!
What does our moon and my garden have in common? A lot it seems due to a recent enlightenment. One of my goals this year is to improve my gardening skills. I’ve been a hit or miss gardener the last couple of years. What I mean is that I plant seeds and seedlings in the spring and winter when I have a free weekend and good weather. Most of my plantings have been successful but a few of my major and much anticipated veggies have been thwarted and delivered less than spectacular results. For instance last year my tomatoes were non-existent and my beets struggled. I could not figure out what had gone wrong except for our excessively hot summer. A recent gift of a calendar that utilizes the moon cycles to determine the best times to plant is my new guide. Did I plant my tomatoes in a “no plant” moon cycle? Here’s how it works.
When a moon is “waxing” or growing, it is signaling a time to plant and grow. A “waning” moon tells us to slow down and let the energy of our garden go underground. This is a time of maintenance and in certain quarters of this waning moon, a time to plant root (underground) vegetables like potatoes, turnips, beets, onions and garlic.
Healthy broccoli. I looked back on when they were planted and the timing was right!
There’s a bit more to this than meets the eye. Each waxing or waning moon has “quarters” to decide in which week to plant or weed. My calendar specifies these days as well as times to fertilize and prune trees. Although, to you nay-sayers, this might seem a bit far-fetched, I urge you to consult with the Farmer’s Almanac which has been around since 1792, and is calculated based on ancient Greek celestial events and weather. The 2015 Farmer’s Almanac coincides with my calendar exactly!
These are the healthiest and most beautiful beet greens I have ever grown. Just had to share.
I’ll chart and post my successes or failures for this year and at the end of 2015 will evaluate the validity of this method of gardening. For now, it just seems like the right thing to do and a lot of fun too!
May your garden grow with abundance!
Love, Mary
P.S. Many garden stores carry moon cycle planting calendars that are specific to your location. The Farmer’s Almanac is also a great resource.
