I was once a bit skeptical about “moon gardening”, and all that “permaculture stuff”, but I was intrigued when a chicken breeder buddy told me how her grandfather advised her to put her chicken’s eggs in the incubator on the day of the full moon instead of any other day. I said to her “OK so let’s do it next time and see what happens!”.
So next full moon we both co-ordinated with each other to put our chicken eggs in our 75-egg incubators on the full moon day. The results were astounding, we both had 100% success rate with our hatch where previously there would always be a 5% failure rate.
The results are equally astounding with permaculture gardening by the moon, bringing good health and vitality to your vegetable crops! According to the gardening gurus at permaculturenews.org, here are the basic guidelines for gardening in sync with the cycles of the moon … this general pattern can be divided further into the quarterly moon cycles as follows:
The new moon phase (from new moon to first quarter) is most suited to sowing or transplanting leafy annuals, where we value or eat the leaves or stem. Plants like lettuce, spinach, cabbage and celery.
The first quarter phase is most suited to fruiting annuals (not fruit trees) where we value or eat the fruit or seed bearing part of the plant. Like tomatoes, pumpkins, broccoli and beans.
The full moon phase (from full moon to the third quarter) is most suited to sowing or planting out root crops as well as decorative or fruiting perennials. Like apples, potatoes asparagus and rhubarb. It’s also a good time for taking cuttings and dividing plants.
With a waning moon, when the light is decreasing as the moon changes from a full to a new moon, the sap flow is drawn down. This focuses the energy towards the roots, which is more suited to root crops and perennials, plants that live longer than two years.
It’s also a good time for applying solid fertilisers, pruning dormant plants and harvesting, as there is less likelihood of rotting.
The last quarter phase is a time to avoid planting and focus on improving the soil, by weeding, mulching, making compost and manure teas as well as digging or ploughing.
The one caveat for this method is that 12 hours before and after the transition time from one phase to the next is when sowing, planting and pruning is best avoided. Use this time instead to improve your soil.
This method of moon planting is illustrated with daily icons and moon phase times in the 2015 Permaculture Calendar https://permacultureprinciples.com/permaculture-calendar/moon-planting-guide/
Read full article here: https://www.permaculturenews.org/2015/01/26/moon-planting-guide/
From the experts at permaculturenews.org
Complied by Minister Sharon Q.
