Planting by the moon. It’s something that I have always been interested in but never seem to quite get myself organised to follow.
Why the interest?
Well, I have always found the idea fascinating and I have always had a moon planting calendar up on my kitchen wall!
Yes, there have been times where I will plant according to where the moon is at. But not that often!
But in May I actually managed a whole month where I followed the calendar and planted my leafy greens when the appropriate time was, 1st quarter of the moon and held off on sowing a root crop till the correct time – 3rd quarter of the moon. I also needed to weed a patch of kale but am waiting till the time where weeding will be most effective (during the last quarter of the moon) ….not there yet!
So we will see how long I’m able to follow planting by the moon but I will keep giving it a crack. Part of me has the idea of documenting the whole process and see what results occur!
If you have had any experience with planting by the moon, please feel free to comment at the end of this post.
Veggies that like the cooler weather are coming into play now. My lettuces keep on keeping on and the variety always leads to an interesting salad. What I also like about having different varieties is you can just pick what you need so you don’t need to buy whole bunches of all these different types.
As you know I like letting a few lettuce go to seed for what I call random seedlings to pop up in the patch. I was checking them out the other day and thought they look pretty and because they grow tall, make nice decorative plants to have.
My snowpeas are starting to take off and I love watching their progress up the little climbing structure I have made for them. I also put an old cot frame in the patch to utilise the vertical space and reckon they will love climbing up this as well. I read somewhere that snowpeas become sad if they don’t have somewhere to climb….. and I don’t want my snowpeas to be sad!
After attending a talk given by Jerry Coleby-Williams recently, I have decided to plant heaps more flowers in my veggie patch. As well as bringing a bit of colour, they will attract pollinators and the good bugs that like snacking on the bugs that like snacking on my veggies.
In May, my first little head of broccoli has appeared and I was super excited when this happened. I don’t know if you guys feel the same but when I see the first of anything produce, it’s an exciting moment for me!
Have also taken the tunnel off my broccoli, they are big and tough enough to survive some aphid attack.
Kale has been something I have been enjoying as well. My favourite way to eat it is to chop finely and add the any stir fry or curry after it has finished cooking. The heat of the meal will be enough to just wilt it. Also love kale chips, lightly spray or brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and bake at 180 degrees for 10 mins. Delish!
At the start of the month I did thin out the patch of kale and transplanted some to another part of the veggie patch. I hope that by doing this I will have an abundance of kale. I only discovered it a couple of months ago and I can’t get enough of it.
Last month I spoke about my mandys. Well May is my oranges turn to shine. There is nothing better than a fresh glass of juice after a day in the garden. Or having a house full of kids with the sniffles and dosing them up on some Vitamin C goodness.
My tangelo tree has also had a few fruit on it so I love the combination of the two juices together.
….So that’s a little about my veggie patch this month!
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Yes my Snow Peas are looking great. So high and climbing rapidly. The spinach, kale, lettuces, celery, beets and brocolli are coming along well. Something is eating the spinach, I think it is the white moth larvae, so keep spraying with dipel, but then it rains and it washes off.
I have the best lemons ever … what with all the rain and my 5 chooks hanging out and tractoring below, they are absolutely superb. Cant wait for the Washington Navel, Lemonade, Peach and Mulberries to bear next season. Just planted a pink Grapefruit. The Loquat and Apple trees are looking OK also, but we had to relocate the Plum to another spot, it wasn’t doing well at all where it was. The Hawaiian Paw Paw has lots of fruit on it, but not quite ripe yet. It is such a handsome looking tree.
Out the front the Acerola Cherry is looking quite healthy. Have just planted a Coffee Tree and and Miracle Fruit tree at the front also. We are lucky in that we are directly north facing, and get plenty of sun.
All the herbs (rosemary, thyme, dill, sage, perilla, parsley, coriander, chives, thai basil, thai mint, oregano, lemon balm, mint, chillies) thriving well. Will try again this year to grow Garlic. Didn’t have much success last year.
Wow, Janet your garden sounds awesome!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
I have been Planting & Gardening by the Moon Religiously for the past 6 months & it seems to be working well for me. I am following the book ‘Easy Organic Gardening & Moon Planting’ by Lyn Bagnall. The book is good for use up until 2017 and is very suitable for all Australian Climatic conditions. I also find if nothing else it gives you a gardening programme to follow each month. My garden has never had better care than it does now & the book even tells you when you have rest days so you can plan ahead for your social life. I keep a journal so I know weeks ahead when I am sowing seed, when I need to order the seed etc. I have ordered my Bare Root Roses for despatch prior to the Full Moon when I need to plant them. Sounds like I am trying to sell the book but really what I am trying to sell is Organic Gardening & Moon Planting. Try it you will enjoy the discipline you get from doing it.
Hi Dianne, yep I think I could really benefit from the planning aspect that moon planting gives you.
The books sounds interesting, reckon I’ll check it out 🙂