Gardening Blog
Allotment Diary
December 9, 2008: gardening by the moon
Terry Walton contemplates the practice of biodynamics on these sparkling, frosty nights of December
The festive season gathers momentum and the time of goodwill to all is upon us. Nowhere is this more evident than that given us by Mother Nature. Yes, winter time is truly with us and these cold, frosty night and sunny days are a joy to us all.
When you open the morning curtains you gaze out on scenes that look as if they have been dusted by a large salt cellar. White frost glistens under the azure skies giving that view often found on Christmas cards. The sun may be a late riser at this time of year but boy, is it worth waiting for!
These low temperatures restore the dormancy to the garden and all plants benefit from this opportunity to rest. The rhubarb crowns love the frost on their buds and this creates energy at their deep roots which is stored and ready to explode into magnificent stalks of delicious rhubarb when the lure of spring calls.
The pesky annual weeds, which have thrived in the mild winters past, are at last no more and along with them hopefully a few pests and diseases will perish. The winter green manures have finally been checked in their growth cycle and will send all those nutrients back to their roots to enhance the fertility of the soil.
The other wonderful benefit of these clear, frosty nights is the chance to step out into the night and admire and wonder at that beautiful night sky. Look up and stare at the thousands of diamonds that shine up there. There is one object that is much larger than the rest and bathes the surroundings in its pale light. Yes that is the moon, our nearest neighbour in the galaxy.
This is said to have a major gravitational effect on our earth and controls the ebb and flow of the tides of our great seas and oceans.
However to some gardeners it controls their very actions and they grow by the lunar cycle or, to give it its technical name, biodynamics.
It is said that the new moon enhances root and shoot growth, whilst the waxing moon rests the roots and the shoots grow. Full moon has the opposite effect and roots grow whilst foliage rests and during a waning moon both roots and foliage rest.
Hey, I hope you got all that!
To take full advantage of these lunar cycles there is an annual chart which is the ‘bible’ for controlling the actions for growing crops.
So, as I understand it, sowing of seed is carried out two days before a new moon, as germination is more favourable during the next seven days.
In the seven days following a full moon this is the most favoured time to transplant seedlings as their roots flourish.
Myself I prefer to garden to the conditions of warmth and wet and use my experience of the best time to grow. If the soil is damp and warm then those tiny seeds have the perfect conditions to start life.
I also believe that in both lunar growing and using organic methods, both sets of practitioners have a good understanding of how to keep the soil alive and the most vital part of their success is the build up of stable, well conditioned growing medium.
The healthier the soil the greater is its ability to sustain plant growth and repel pests and diseases better than that produced by the quick fix chemical growing.
So never mind which method of gardening you choose it’s the belief and the successes that count, so if it works for you why change?
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My Life On A Hillside Allotment
Terry Walton is a regular contributor to The Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2 and has written a book called, My Life on a Hillside Allotment, published by Bantam Press. The book is available from Amazon
