moon planting???

[multiveg]

Might be worth noting wind speeds then each day, as a lot of seeds get dispersed by the wind (others, eg those delicious fruits & berries..., get eaten and eventually dispersed when the creature has a call of nature). - who hasn't blown a dandelion clock! lol.

[multiveg]

Another thought re: weeds - they say if you let a weed set seed, then you'll have another 7 years of weeds (seedbank... some seeds can be dormant for years).

[BrideXIII]

Flippin' eck More "stuff to do". I'm talking to my seedlings and telling them how lovely they are, don't think I'll do the reading up stuff though, I'm in a lazy-stage just now (must be something to do with the moon Oooooooooooooooooo does that make me a lunatic?)

i find its easiest just to keep a diary, and write down when the plant does what, easy then to check what phase the moon was in when ....

[multiveg]

Flippin' eck More "stuff to do". I'm talking to my seedlings and telling them how lovely they are, don't think I'll do the reading up stuff though, I'm in a lazy-stage just now (must be something to do with the moon Oooooooooooooooooo does that make me a lunatic?)

Do you sleep with the curtains open and the moonlight shining on you? -> lunatic

[BrideXIII]

Do you sleep with the curtains open and the moonlight shining on you? -> lunatic

must admit, when i was in the front bedroom i did, always

[Herbie]

Would just like to say that faith in Bride is restored! If she hadn't shared we wouldn't be questioning why.

Good on ya Bride

[jimbojetset]

hey
and you thought you'd got rid of me!
maytree - the good friday thing is interesting - so does that mean the moon is always in a certain phase on good friday?
cwipnip - there are two possible answers to that - a) it doesn't b) it's a 'lost' knowledge and is begging to be rediscovered - which would mean that we have some real pioneers among us!
bride - you obviously make a lot of people very happy! yes indeed there is some wisdom passed down in old wives tales (an apple a day keeps the doctor away) there is also an awful lot of nonsense (The dried body of a frog worn in a silk bag around the neck averts epilepsy and other fits)
banana - that is interesting - but don't forget if you are going to measure growth spurts in the full phase of the moon, then you need to be aware of the other variables - ambient temperature, sunlight, rainfall etc. etc.
bride - don't know about seed shedding by moonlight, but an educated guess would be that the most important accelerants would be sufficient sunlight (anyone notice that there was distinct lack of seeds from trees this year - no cobnuts whatsoever!) water and nutrients to produce the energy rich little bundles
interesting you should mention the etymology of the word 'lunatic' (or looney or loon for that matter!) way back when they thought that the mentally ill were governed by the phases of the moon
turned out the disease just followed its own rhythm
enjoy the coming months you looneys!
(joke!)

[MaureenHall]

maytree - the good friday thing is interesting - so does that mean the moon is always in a certain phase on good friday?

Yes, Good Friday is always in a certain moon phase. Good Friday is the Friday before Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon after March 23rd, which according to Bride's moon chart is the time to sow/transplant root veg etc.

[Birdie Wife]

Oooh, interesting thread! I've only just caught up with this. May I add my tup'orth?

I think modern intensive-ish methods (fertilisers etc) have all but demolished the effect of the moon in effects on harvesting, which is why modern farming doesn't use moon planting any more. That doesn't mean that modern vegetable varities and F1 hybrids are not still subject to the same processes - they still take up water and nutrients in the same way as old varieties.

I can understand why water moves in the soil and within a plant differently according to the stages of the moon, and how that affects nutrient uptake. I can accept (though I don't fully understand why) that this means different types of plants might fare better when planted at different stages.

What I can't understand is where horoscopes come into all this!

[BrideXIII]

hey
and you thought you'd got rid of me!

interesting you should mention the etymology of the word 'lunatic' (or looney or loon for that matter!) way back when they thought that the mentally ill were governed by the phases of the moon
turned out the disease just followed its own rhythm
enjoy the coming months you looneys!
(joke!)

now i subscribe to this theory in part, due to having a child with behavioural difficulties.
i kept a moon diary at the time, and noticed a significant increase in his 'bad' behaviour around the full moon period, and he was much calmer at the slack time around new moon.
people can scoff all they want, but both I and his teacher at the time noticed a marked difference and were able to predict, and therefore head off certain behaviour patterns where possible.
the effects of the moon on his moods have lessened as he has got older, but he is still very touchy around the full moon.
have to say i have not noticed him growing hair or howling though

[zazen999]

An introduction to biodynamic gardening - Details of forthcoming course from Garden Organic

Just in case anyone really wants to get into Biodynamics, Garden Organic run this course.

[cwipnip]

cwipnip - it's a 'lost' knowledge and is begging to be rediscovered - which would mean that we have some real pioneers among us!

but it seems like it would be such important knowledge for the time, for instance i doubt if the method for creating pure hydrogen will ever be lost.

i have started my simple experiment and have started a blog for it if anyone wants to track my progress

[maytreefrannie]

I think modern intensive-ish methods (fertilisers etc) have all but demolished the effect of the moon in effects on harvesting, which is why modern farming doesn't use moon planting any more. That doesn't mean that modern vegetable varities and F1 hybrids are not still subject to the same processes - they still take up water and nutrients in the same way as old varieties.

Birdie Wife - in Nick Kellorstrom's book, Gardening and Planting by the Moon, there's a piece to the effect that fertilisers/pesticides reduce the effect of moon planting - I can't remember exactly what it says and I haven't been able to find it in a quick check of the book just now.

I guess it's a matter of balance between the elements that help the plants along - but you, clever clogs, have worked that out by yourself!

[jimbojetset]

morning (at least if you're in canada)
birdiewife - unfortunately we'll never know if modern farming has effected a relationship (if there is any) between plants and the moon - to say there is is simply conjecture and here say
yes possibly lunar shifts affect the water table and movements in plants, but couldn't this just as easily 'wash away' nutrients - i'm going to look into my old plant-soil dynamics books and will let you know what they say
and i'm so with you on horoscopes!
bridey - and i really cannot emphasize enough how i mean you no disrespect - the point i was making is that ancient doctors believed that 'lunatics' behaviour was governed by phases of the moon - we now know that this is not true, there is a rhythm to the behaviour of those afflicted by some types of mental illness - but it is not governed by the moon - it just appears to be as that was how ancient people governed time
cwipnip - my actual quote was that either a) moon gardening doesn't work or b) it's a lost knowledge - and yes wouldn't it be great if the answer was b!
look forward to seeing your results, i'm working on a model to truly test moon gardening if anyone is interested, though with my resources i don't think i'll be able to test it as stringently as i could (though i will give it a damn good go!)
maytreefannie - i would love to know what credentials nick kollerstrom has (in fact i just google him) - and i'm pretty sure this is going to come as a shock, it was to me - he was a research fellow at a london university (before they quite rightly stripped his role and denounced him) he was also an astronomer - rather than an astrologist; so he 'believes in the mystical powers of the stars' not a great start
but it gets much much worse widely described as a 'conspiraloon',
he is a holocaust denier saying amongst other things what a lovely place auschwitz was, he is also a denier of the 9/11 bombings and 7/7 bombings for that matter
in short if you were to take up the harmless pastime of lunar gardening i would implore each and every one of you not to buy mr (not dr) kollerstrom's book
please don't fund this deluded man's campaign of hate
further reading;
Nick Cohen: When academics lose their power of reason | Comment is free | The Observer

[Birdie Wife]

morning (at least if you're in canada)
birdiewife - unfortunately we'll never know if modern farming has effected a relationship (if there is any) between plants and the moon - to say there is is simply conjecture and here say
yes possibly lunar shifts affect the water table and movements in plants, but couldn't this just as easily 'wash away' nutrients - i'm going to look into my old plant-soil dynamics books and will let you know what they say
and i'm so with you on horoscopes!

Hi jimbo, probably didn't make myself clear but I wasn't saying that modern farming has affected the relationship between the moon and plant growth, just that I think we'll not see an affect if fertilisers are used because the effect (assuming there is one) is more subtle than the effect of the fertiliser. For example, moon gardening might give you a 10% increase in yields whereas feritlising might give you a 300% increase in yields (I'm not using actual figures there, just throwing those in to make a point btw!).

One could hypothesise that assuming all other factors being equal, gardening by the moon might show a 'top-up' effect, but it's a bit pointless because it's only really organic gardeners that are keen to try out biodynamic gardening in the first place. Non-organic gardeners would just think, well, if I want a 10% increase in yield why not just throw on 10% more fertiliser? So I agree, we'll never know