Age-Old Moon Gardening Growing in PopularityJohn Roach
for National Geographic News
July 10, 2003
More gardeners today are turning to the moon for sage advice on the best time
to plant, prune, weed, and harvest. The practice, known as moon or lunar
gardening, is cultivating a cult following. "Lunar gardening is the oldest form of
gardening known to man," said RJ Harris, the head gardener at a private
estate near Cornwall, England, and author of a book on the subject. The practice
centers on the moon's gravitational effect on the flow of moisture in soil and
plants and, to a lesser degree, the effect of moonlight on seed germination.
Harris has gardened in tune with the lunar cycle since the 1950s, a practice he
learned from his father and grandfather.
Moon gardening has been growing in popularity. It is centered on how the
moon's gravitational effect causes changes in underground water tables.
"Ever since prehistoric times, long before man ever had a watch on his wrist
or a calendar on his wall, everything was governed by the phases of the moon,"
said Harris. He notes that the moon not only controls ocean tides but
influences the groundwater tables beneath our feet. Understanding the latter effect,
and timing gardening chores accordingly, is the basis of moon gardening.
Harris gives the example that the best time to turn over a garden is during the
last quarter of the moon because that is when the water table has dropped to its
lowest point. "It means less moisture is within the soil. It is far easier to
turn soil over when there is less moisture in it," he said. Moon Boom Seeking
to preserve knowledge about moon-gardening techniques before they were
eclipsed entirely by modern gardening practices, Harris wrote RJ Harris' Moon
Gardening with the help of journalist Will Summers. But since the book's September
2002 publication, Harris said he learned he need not have worried. Harris says
he has heard from people in New Zealand, Austria, Germany, and the United
States who use the lunar cycle as a guide for their gardening chores. And the
Internet is sprouting with Web sites dedicated to the practice. On her Web site
Gardening by the Moon.com (www.gardeningbythemoon.com), Caren Catterall writes,
"Plants respond to the same gravitational pull of tides that affect the oceans,
which alternately stimulates root and leaf growth. Seeds sprout more quickly,
plants grow vigorously and at an optimum rate, harvests are larger and they
don't go to seed as fast." A monthly calendar highlights the best days for
planting and other gardening activities. Harris said the current boom in lunar
gardening reminds him of the time organic gardening began to find a niche during
the "hippie craze" of the 1970s. "They were the first…people to bring in
organic gardening. Everyone laughed at them," he said. "Now people will pay a
premium for organically-grown produce." What the moon gardening movement currently
lacks is a body of modern scientific work that validates its benefits.
Scientific Validation?
John Teasdale, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural
Systems Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, said he is not aware of any
research on the lunar influences on agriculture, though he said an experiment could
be established. "We know that the moon influences some natural phenomena such
as tides," he said. "I would guess that a simple hypothesis would be that
lunar cycles could influence meteorological cycles which in turn could influence
crops." Michael Jawson, another researcher at the facility, said the reported
benefits of moon-gardening practices are most likely indirect effects that stem
from gardener's attentive care. "The indirect effect could be one simply of
overall better management because of being careful to do good practices at more
optimum times in relation to plant growth cycles," he said. One tangential
relationship between the moon and agriculture was investigated by researchers at
the Agricultural Research Service's National Soil Tilth Laboratory in Ames,
Iowa. In 1995 Douglas Buhler and colleague Keith Kohler conducted experiments
that showed weed seed exposure to light enhances germination for select
species. Kohler said their findings indicated that till soiling (which brings buried
weed seeds to the surface) in complete darkness, such as that under a new
moon, hinders the germination of certain weed seeds—resulting in fewer weeds in
one's garden. "Certain species, even if they receive only a flash of light, tend
to break dormancy and basically turn on the sequence of germination and
establishment," he said. Kohler cautioned that the research implies any light
source, not just moonlight, could produce this effect and only indirectly relates
to the lunar cycle. Kohler also noted that scientific research directly related
to the lunar cycle is sparse. Meanwhile, Harris said he conducts his own
experiments. Each year he cultivates a selection of crops in opposition to the
best practices of moon-gardening methods. Crops planted according to the lunar
cycle fair much better, he said. "I've got a large area in potatoes. We've got
some planted at the right time of the moon and some crops at the wrong time of
the moon. The difference is so obvious and there for everybody to see," he
said.
Moon Gardening Basics
The moon moves through a complete cycle every 29 days. For moon gardening
purposes, this cycle is divided into four quarters. Each quarter denotes specific
garden chores. The first two quarters are during the waxing phase of the moon
and go from new moon to half full and from half full to full moon. The third
and fourth quarters are during the waning moon and go from full moon to half
full and from half full to new moon. According to RJ Harris, the head gardener
at a private estate in Cornwall, England, and an expert on moon gardening, the
first quarter is ideal for planting crops that grow underground, such as
potatoes and carrots. The second quarter is for planting crops that grow above
ground, such as corn and peas. As the moon wanes during the third and fourth
quarters, it is a good time to prune plants, as the water table is diminishing and
so less sap will flow out of the cut ends. The fourth quarter is the most
dormant period and is good for chores like weeding. Additionally, some moon
gardeners say there are better times to harvest certain crops, such as picking
fruit as the moon waxes, which is when it should be its juiciest. Crops that
require storage, such as roots, are best picked during the waning moon. Harris said
that ever since he implemented the lunar calendar at the estate where he
works in Cornwall, "we have never had to use any artificial watering, I mean a man
standing up with a hose, or sprinkler. If this isn't conservation then I
don't know what is."
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