Gardening By The Moon
Did you check out the moon last night? The "Full Pink Moon" is the name of April's large full moon. The Native Americans kept track
of the seasons by naming the full moons. April's full moon is named after the wild growing Phlox or "herb pink moss", since it's one of the year's earliest growing widespread flowers. Did you know that you can garden by the phases of the moon. It can be tricking if you're time is short you have to work gardening into your busy work, social, and family calendar instead of just doing it when you have time. I've been gardening by the moon for a couple years now and I can' t do it 100% because of my crazy schedule but I do try to do some throughout the year, squeezing in a couple hours here and there to gain all the possible benefits.Gardening by the phases of the moon has enormous benefits to your seeds, plants, and harvests. Each phase controls the gravitational pull and the amount of moisture in the soil. Water levels are at their highest during the new and full moon. And seeds absorb the most water during the full moon. Here are the four phases of the moon and each of its benefits.New Moon- water level is high. Seeds swell and burst. It's the best time to start seeds of annual plants and plant above ground vegetables and grains such as lettuces, cabbage, cauliflower, and grains.1st Quarter-This is the time for strong leaf growth. A good time to planting and transplanting, such as tomatoes, melons, peppers, and beans.Full Moon- Moisture levels are at their highest. This is the perfect time for root crops such as beets, carrots, onions, bulbs and perennials.4th Quarter- This time has decreasing moonlight and gravitational pull. It's considered a resting period so it's the best time to cultivate, harvest, and prune plants.Pretty cool huh? Sounds like a lot of planning too, but it's definitely well worth the extra planning once you go out this summer and pick an abundance of squash, cucumbers, beans, peppers, and the best tomatoes! Think you want to try it out? Here are the phases for the month for May so you can plan ahead! Let me know what you think and how it worked out if you try it! Good Luck and Happy Gardening!May's Moon Phases:
- 1st Quarter-April 29th
- Full Mooon-May 6th
- Last Quarter-May 12th
- New Moon-May 21st