Gardening with the phases of the moon

How to plant your own moon garden
Whether you believe in the concept or not, moon gardening has proven to be a successful gardening technique for thousands of years. If you’re skeptical, why not give it a try? You might be surprised at what the moon has to offer.

Alan Chadwick, an English master gardener, was a leading innovator in the field of biodynamics, a field that studies the astronomical influences on soil and plant development during the phases of the moon. According to Chadwick, short-germinating seeds should be planted two days before the new moon. Long-germinating seeds should be planted at the full moon and up to seven days afterwards. By using a current moon calendar, determine the appropriate phase to plant your seeds. Then plant the same seeds as a control group might during an undesirable lunar phase. And, no—you don’t have to plant during the moonlight to be successful.

A few moon gardening resources
interested in trying your hand at moon gardening? Here are a few resources that may be able to help you out:

• Gardening and Planting By The Moon 2011. This book is updated each year with the newest lunar calendar and tons of tips on gardening according to the phases of the moon.
• The Gardeners Calendar, a British site, features daily moon information and a moon planting guide.
• Gardening expert R. John Harris provides his expertise on the subject of moon gardening on the Colorado Moon Garden.

Read more in Gardens and Specialty Gardens