A neighbor casually mentioned she gardens by the lunar phases and now I can't stop looking at the moon

Last Tuesday my neighbor Carol from two doors down was out watering her tomatoes at like 10pm and I asked why so late. She told me she follows a biodynamic planting calendar based on moon cycles and that she's gotten way bigger harvests since she started. I looked it up and apparently there's a whole system for when to plant roots vs leaves based on moon signs. I've been gardening for 6 years and just used the back of seed packets, so this is blowing my mind a little. Anyone else ever try planting by the moon or is that too out there even for a hobby?

3 comments

3 Comments

kimdixon10d ago

Honestly, I totally get the moon garden thing. A friend of mine got into it a couple years back and I was skeptical at first, but she swears her squash doubled in size. I tried it one season just following a basic calendar app and tbh my carrots were way nicer than usual. It does feel a little weird checking moon phases for planting, but if it works, it works. Ngl, I still don't do it every year but I keep an eye on the moon a lot more now.

fionat5510d agoMost Upvoted

Ha, right? It does feel a bit like being a gardening witch or something, doesn't it? I tried it once and I swear my tomatoes were the only ones on the block that didn't get blight that year, which is either the moon or just dumb luck (probably dumb luck, honestly). I keep meaning to do it again but then I forget to look at the phase until I'm already elbow deep in dirt at 8pm on a Tuesday.

henry_anderson547d ago

My granddad used to plant by the moon religiously and he had the biggest garden on our street. One year he got really into it and started tracking not just planting but harvesting too. He claimed the full moon made his cucumbers taste sweeter. I never had the heart to tell him I think it was just because he watered them better during that phase haha. Last summer I was helping my neighbor with her raised beds and she pulled out this old almanac from 1987. Turns out her great aunt wrote little notes in the margins about moon phases and what worked. Kind of makes you wonder if there's something to it that got lost over time.