Moon Planting

Not to be confused with "Moon Dance."

Planting by the moon is an old tradition that comes from the realization that the moon plays an important role in nature. Early cultures developed most of the their natural life around the moon signs to ensure success and with the awareness that certain phases were more conducive to certain activities than other. How many of us have heard that more babies are born on the full moon? Or, that nursing homes have more confused clients during the full moon? Well, planting by the moon signs is yet another aspect of the natural world and how it is all integrated.

To plant by the moon signs, one must study: 1) the phase of the moon; 2) astrological signs (which simply indicate our orbit in the solar system and are not, for my intent anyhow, mystical for any other reason); and, 3) the season. It is believed that root crops grow best when the moon is pointing down (waning) and above ground crops do best when the moon is pointing up (waxing). And, there are some crops that do better when the moon is full.

We plan our crops around the moon signs as best we can. We have found that things actually do grow better or that weeds don't grow (which is even better!) on certain moon days. For a chart of moon signs, take a look at the Farmer's Almanac online here.

Happy planting!