spuds ruled by the moon !

[Dalrimple]

yesterday I was down the lottie digging up some spuds for the weekend and my new bessie mate and gardening guru an octarian Italian neigbour told me that I should only dig my potatoes for stooring overwinter when the moon was at least a half moon going to full!
well iv'e never heard owt like this before but it got me thinking here's a good gardener that takes at least 3 veggies every day of the year home for food for him and his wife to eat ! he's got to be doing something right so what do the greenfingered growers on here think about his ideas ? atb Dal

[Potstubsdustbins]

Sounds daft BUT, it can't hurt....... and if it can't hurt it can only do good.

[Jay-ell]

It may work, but you'll have to store twice as much to find out, some using this method and some going the total opposite to see if either is more successful.

Sometimes it's easier to remember things which have gone one way and totally forget the times when it went the other. The last three years doing this has been successful therefore doing this is successful, I forget that I've been doing this for 8 years and the first 5 were terrible.

It's also possible that you think I'll harvest some spuds to store - but wait, the moon is waxing I need TO WAIT till its waning. It could be that in waiting that extra week or two the spuds have a chance to harden off more, thicken their skins, write to loved ones or cancel the milk and it may not matter what the moon is up to at that time.

[veggiechicken]

I don't pretend to understand moon gardening, as everytime I read about it, it confuses me more However, is it something to do with the moon pulling up the water into the spuds before a full moon and letting it out again afterwards.

As I said, I know nuffink

[lmayhow]

Don't know about the potato thing but one of my fellow allotment friends was telling me that parsnips should be sown on a full moon

[Yasai]

My dad told me that his dad (a farmer) used to sow/plant stuff in line with what the moon was doing. He couldn't tell me any more than that unfortunately. Would love to have heard more about it.

[Darthcider]

Cue X Files music.....

[Baldy]

Must work cos "http://gardeningbythemoon.com/" has a user who they quote thusly:
“I've been an astrologer since 1974 and have used moon phases and signs since that time for planting. I can tell you that it works! I have planted at various times and the difference is rather amazing. I have your calendar and it's great! One of the best investments I have ever made.”

More specifically, https://farmersalmanac.com/calendar/gardening/ says:
"July 2017
14th - 16th
A barren period.
17th - 18th
A barren period.
19th - 20th
Poor days for planting, seeds tend to rot in ground.
21st - 22nd
Plant seedbeds and flower gardens. Good days for transplanting. Most fruitful days for planting root crops.
23rd - 26th
A most barren period. Kill plant pests and do general farm work.
27th - 28th
Sow grains and forage crops. Plant flowers. Favorable for planting peas, beans, tomatoes, and other fall crops bearing aboveground.
29th - 31st
Start seedbeds. Extra good for fall cabbage, lettuce, cauliflower, mustard greens, and other leafy vegetables. Good for any aboveground crop that can be planted now."

So I'll be putting my feet up for a bit...

[Baldy]

I should add that when I took my plot on about 4 years ago Mrs Balders was allotted a patch in which to grow 'biodynamically' - I can attest that after 2 years her biodynamic couch, dandelion, docks and creeping buttercup had indeed proven the concept, I can heartily recommend it to all!

According to https://www.biodynamics.com/content/...namic-research : Rudolph Steiner - a leading proponent of this carp apparently "called for a holistic scientific approach, encompassing both outwardly experienced material phenomena and inwardly experienced spiritual realities." which is one of the most/least interesting statements I've ever come across.

I may have come across a little skeptical...

[Nicos]

I think it's one of those things you just have to try, probably over a few years to see if it works for you.
It is very, very popular in France, so lots of people must feel it works for them.
I have no time to wait for specific dates to sow and harvest certain crops-just when I have a few minutes/half day spare, so I've never been able to try it out.

*Mod note.....We've had several threads like this before and they all have sadly ended up dissing and mocking this method of growing.
I really think it's a matter of trying it out for yourselves and respecting other people's belief's.
Bit like religion and politics

Positive comments only from now on unless you've really tried and tested it please