Moon Planting?

I just picked up a copy of Louise Riotte's Planetary Planting at my local Goodwill store today and it looks fascinating. Has anyone else read it/used it to time your actual seed starting/planting/gardening chores?

That notion fascinated me a few years back and I really got interested in it. However. There are several different versions of each years calendar. My first lunar planting calendar came from my favorite trusted pharmacy. One year he was out of them when I got around to getting mine so a friend gave me one from another pharmacy. Later I got one from the original pharmacy only to discover there was a lot of difference in planting dates between the two calendars. Needless to say my confidence in lunar planting was compromised so my next move was to look at as many different almanacs as possible at the book store. They were also not in agreement unless the same publisher did the almanacs even then they did not always agree. Later I ran across an advertisement on the internet for a lunar planting calendar to be either downloaded or sent out by mail. I bought the download version only to find further disagreement on planting dates. I emailed the lady selling that product to inquire in all the different date schemes and her reply was that some have not applied recent corrections to lunar dates. I gave up in disgust and no longer bother with worrying about when to plant except for frost dates and gut feelings. It would be nice to have something reliable to assist with planting dates but with so many different calendars figured out for each years planting and much more why even bother. If you decide to plant by lunar calendars you need to decide on which of the several out there to follow.

Wow, westie42, I had no idea it was so complicated.

I did note, however, that Riotte does discuss how calendars can vary especially about the planetary signs and making corrections for one's location. She recommends using the Llewellyn calendars, so I may try that out with the Amazon gift card I'm sure to get at least one of for Christmas!

I've used the Old Farmer's Almanac for years. It gives the compatable planting dates and the best lunar dates for your area. It also gives the lunar correction pages, if you want to do it precisely or are not in the areas.
I've used it in row gardening, but last yr, when I started my SFG, I was late, so just planted. I saw no difference, and my garden was great!
My Dad used to plant his potatoes on Mar. 17, by the 'light of the moon' that means the ole man used to plant them at night, after the moon came out. He was sort of crazy, but, he always had the best potato crop. We lived in Okla. so some years he had to scrape the snow first!

That's good to know, littlejo...I'll be sure to check it out.

I've done a bit of lunar cycle gardening in years past . Digging by the full moon because I'd not managed it before hand due to being self employed and working all hours , I've also sown and planted stuff.

My understanding of it's use is that a hundred or so years ago & earlier when a lot of people could not read or write it was easier to tie diging , sowing and harvesting to the lunar calender & state of the moon for apparently it also is involved with our annual cyclic weather systems .

I think the church calender took over at some time and as a result the information was recorded by the clerics & reviewed over the years to look for patterns of what to do .

The information would at sometime be made available to the people & they used these religious associated times with fairly consistant success

Here in the UK we think of planting potatoes at Easter for instance , getting the digging done by the light of the November full moon.

Lots of people swear by sowing their seeds according to the phase of the moon ,others just sow when they're able to. To be truthful I've not noticed any difference but I never did any scientific trials .

We used to have a government organisation called the Ministry of Food in the main staffed by some very very able horticultural scientists .

They helped keep the UK from starving from around 1934 when it was realised that there would be another war with the likes of Germany and for many years after under differing names.Now adays it is mainly in private hands .

I've read lots of their scientific pamphlets & supported book publishings from the 1940's to some fairly recent ones plus scores of books & various / thesis written by the scientists in their own right .

Nothing was mentioned as a requirement about lunar planting etc so I suspect it is another bit of gardening witchcraft / myth. But it was interesting for me whilst playing with the idea thinking I had insider knowledge that others never would have.

Perhaps Mel has sussed the conundrum for I suspect he has kept some very detailed records over the last 50 years or so .

I won't go into too much detail as a search on the forum will pull up some previous threads on this very subject. I posted some scientific studies that showed that lunar planting has merit. Whether you think it can give you an edge depends also on some other factors at the time of planting but it does dispel a myth that this is simply "hocus pocus." Everyone knows that the moon affects water (ie tides) but what was found is that the moons gravitational pull affects all water on the planet: whether it be in your body, your plant or your little seed. It can help draw water out of the seed at precisely the wrong time or help it stay more saturated and hence improve germination. Logic seems sound enough to me.