Ep. 301 - Gardening by the Moon

The little white clouds are racing over the sky,   
And the fields are strewn with the gold of the flower of March,   
The daffodil breaks under foot, and the tasseled larch 
Sways and swings as the thrush goes hurrying by. 

–Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)

In today's show we focus on Gardening by the Moon, Lunar Cycles, Astrological "Best Days" for activities such as planting, transplanting, grafting, harvesting, building fences or garden beds, controlling insect pests, plowing, weeding, pruning and more!     

There's a lot to explore with what comes from thinking about Gardening by the Moon...

...but you'll have to tune in to find out what's in store for this episode.

(HINT - it includes Permaculture!)  
 
What are YOUR experiences with Gardening by the Moon?   

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Discussion Links:

Friday, March 9, 2022

• Many other mentioned show links are contained in the above post!

Gardening by the Moon: How to Plant by the Moon's Phase

Best Days by Activity | Almanac.com

2022 Planting Calendar: When to Start Vegetable Seeds

A New Path - Arthur Haines

Les Fermes Miracle Farms – Permaculture Orchard

The Permaculture Orchard

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:03

Well, hi there, and welcome back to another episode of the All Around Growth Podcast. My name is Rob Kaiser and I am your host. You have tuned in to a show that provides insight and tools to build the life and homestead of your dreams. Today is March 9th, 2022, and this is episode number 301 of the show. Today we're going to talk about seedling potatoes, gardening by the moon, one-dish dinners, and more. All of this comes from the old farmer's almanac, along with my own experience and interests, and I have a sneaking suspicion that we are going to reference heavily the article about gardening by the moon. But I would encourage you to check out the show notes if any or all of that sounds interesting. You can learn more about all of that in the show notes. The links there. You can find out who was born on this day, what happens today in history. Questions of the day, such as, I know why the colors of a rainbow refract in the order that they do. Roy G. Viv, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, but why do the rainbows bend and why is red always at the bottom? And also, if you are curious as to whether there is really a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, or what else is at the end of a rainbow, links in the show notes will provide you with that information. Also, questions, deep, deep questions such as what goes up the hill or down the hill, and yet stands still can be answered by going to the show notes, reading information on this, and also reading information on how to leave a review, how to, well, you know how to share episodes on social media. So do that. Help support the show. Help support the show with leaving a rating and a review that definitely helps the algorithm, helps expose new listeners to the show. Do all of those things. And last but not least, join the community on Telegram at t.me slash allaroundgrowth. So there's links to all sorts of articles in the date link at the bottom of the show notes. And what I want to dive into immediately is gardening by the moon because that has always fascinated me. So let's learn how to garden by the moon's phases. And this is an article, again, that will be linked to in the show notes. I won't read it word for word, but I will reference it heavily when I am able. So gardening by the moon is a great way to plan your garden. Many of our readers follow the age-old practices of planting by the moon's phase for a healthier, more productive garden. And I'm sure that you guys know about planting by the moon or have heard of this or know someone, like maybe your grandparents that have done this. And the people that I know who are interested in gardening by the moon and actually utilize it are the ones who have the greenest thumbs. The ones with the most experience. They were also the ones that I thought were a little out there and a little weird. But hey, what does that matter? Because at the end of the day, what matters is uh is results. So apparently gardening by the moon is a growing trend according to this article, and it's uh more than just a phase, and they talk about the connection with nature and and all of those things. But so for those of us, the uninitiated, including myself who are rather ignorant about this and many things, what is gardening by the moon? So, from what we are reading, as far as I can tell, um the basic idea behind gardening by the moon is that cycles of the moon affect plant growth. Now, just as the moon's gravitational pull causes tides to rise and fall, it also affects moisture in the soil. Therefore, it is said that the seeds will absorb more water during the full moon and the new and the new moon when more moisture is pulled to the soil surface. This causes seeds to swell, resulting in greater germination and better established plants. A moon phase gardening takes into account two periods of the lunar cycle. The time between the new moon and the full moon, the waxing of the moon, and the time between the full moon and the new moon, or the waning of the moon. It is considered best to plant certain types of plants during the waning of the moon and other types during the waxing. And inside this article, there are additional links on other articles titled How to Plant by the Moon's Phases. So the Moon also impacts plant growth through geotropism, which is how plants grow in response to gravity. Okay. I'm hesitating because I want to chime in here with my thoughts on things, but I'm just gonna keep grasping bullet points from this and then do that towards the end. Now, geotropism is how plants grow in response to gravity. Roots grow downward in direction of the gravitational pull and stems grow in the opposite direction, i.e. upwards. This behavior can easily be demonstrated with potted plants. Lay one side on its, or lay one on its side, and the stem will grow upwards. Or consider a tulip bulb. If you plant the bulb incorrectly with the pointed end down, it will turn around and send its shoots upward, even though it's in total darkness. Now there are some astrological best days, and like gardening by the moon, astrological best days are based on the moon. However, instead of depending on the moon's phase, best days take into account the moon's position in the astrological zodiac. When the moon is in Taurus, for example, it is considered a good time to plant, transplant, or graft. Common gardening activities are associated with certain signs that are shown here in the link in the show notes. So check that out if you want more specifics on activities such as planting, transplanting, grafting, harvesting, building fences or garden beds, controlling insect pests, plowing or weeding, and pruning. And the associated signs of the astrological calendar when the best time for those activities. Check out the show notes to learn more on that. Now, how to plant by the moon's phases. Plant your annual flowers and fruits and vegetables that bear crops above ground, such as corn, tomatoes, watermelon, and zucchini during the waxing of the moon. From the day the moon is new to the day it is full. As the moonlight increases night by night, plants are encouraged to grow leaves and stems. Plant flowering bulbs, biennial and perennial flowers, and vegetables that bear crops above ground, below ground rather, such as onions, carrots, and potatoes during the waning of the moon. From the day after it is full to the day before it is new again. As the moonlight decreases night by night, plants are encouraged to grow roots, tubers, and bulbs. Now there's more notes with an actual planting calendar, links to that, links to a moon phase calendar, links to growing guides, and more in this article. The Old Farmer's Almanac is a wealth of information. This is just part of what we've got today in store for Wednesday, March 9th, 2022. Now let's revisit some of these talking points like geotropism and such, and I will share with you some additional little cool tips from my own experiences that may benefit you in your planting endeavors. Alright, so we're talking about gardening by the moon, moon phases, and things like that. And I think that this is really something to be taken into consideration because you know, here we are in the 21st century, the 20th century, we've lost touch with these old ways. Back in the day, we had planting by the cycles and simple journals that got us through, and we would reference those things. Now we've got technology, we've sort of lost touch with the old ways, and we are in a period that I am on board with referring to as the Great Forgetting, coined by Arthur Haynes. I will link to him in the show notes and his book called A New Path. But I believe there's validity to gardening by the moon. I believe that there is validity to the ideas of cycles of the moon and the gravitational pull and having that affect moisture in the soil. It sure does affect tides. It sure does affect a lot of things. Ask any sailor or person who lives by the coast, who's spent a lifetime by the coast, they will tell you the impact of the moon. Now, we also read that the moon impacts plant growth through geotropism, which is how plants grow in response to gravity. Yes, we understand that roots grow down and shoots grow up. Yeah, alright, there's gonna be somebody who makes the argument about vines growing from horizontally on the soil. Alright, alright, alright. But you can do some interesting things with fruit trees as well, younger fruit trees, and encouraging them to fruit through what I believe are principles related to geotropism. I first learned this through Stefan Subkoyak, who came up with some content called the Permaculture Orchard. I still believe he is creating content under the moniker or handle the permaculture orchard. I will see if I can dig up that video where he talks about this. It's unlikely that I will, but he's basically got a long movie or documentary called the Permaculture Orchard, and I highly recommend it. It is fantastic. But the premise is that with young trees, I mean, I'm talking young, you know, we're not even talking like an inch and a half at caliper, and we're talking caliper of a tree. We are looking at the caliper of the tree, the the diameter of it, umx inches above the root flare or above the graft height, not necessarily six inches above ground level, but relatively small trees. You know, something that you could put your thumb and forefinger around at the bottom. But getting plants that size to fruit, and how we encourage them to do that is by bending them over, and we can do this simply with you know, coat hangers bending the tree, and you know, young trees are pliable and flexible and very malleable, and they're forgiving, and they will do just about uh anything we want. They're capable of training, and that is something that that he did to encourage certain uh activities and behaviors to take place within the trees. Activities like fruiting or flowering. Okay, so all of these things, geotropism, they're influenced by the moon, gravity, and a lot of other interesting things that impact how our plants grow, including, but not limited to as seeds. So guys, that's about it for the show today. I hope that you enjoyed it. If you did, I would encourage you to join us, join the community, t.me slash allaround growth, and engage in the community there. As always, check out the show notes for links to much of what was discussed in today's show and more. And links to leave a rating and review, it certainly helps. I certainly appreciate it. We certainly appreciate it. And um if you have any other additional questions, feedback, and whatnot related to the show, but aren't interested in connecting through social media, you are always welcome to email me directly at RobKaiser3. I'm sorry, that's not the email address I use for the show, but you're welcome to do that too. Connect with me anywhere, anytime. I'm happy to connect with you. All around world at gmail.com is the best email for the show at this time.