by Lee Reich

For no apparent reason, seedlings sometimes seem to take longer than usual to poke their first green shoots up through the soil surface. Or one day's transplants gets off to a rousing start right after planting, whereas another day, transplants sulk for a while before they grow. Fickle plants, or perhaps the problem is with the moon?

Some gardeners believe that the best times for gardening activities are dictated by the phases of the moon. No one has told me that my garden will be a flop if I ignore the moon; on the other hand, paying attention to the moon as I go about my gardening activities will "take advantage of the impetus provided by nature" (as one moon-gardener has stated). Old-time gardeners used to say, "Plant potatoes by the dark of the moon.”

Nowadays, instructions are more refined, taking into consideration the sign of the zodiac along with the phase of the moon. Planting is not the only activity covered. There are days that are ideal for fertilizing (with different days for organic or synthetic fertilizers), for mowing the lawn (depending on whether I want to hasten or retard growth), for harvesting, and even for making pickles. One year, to get the most beauty from my flowers, I was supposed to set transplants out on the sixth of June.

Detailed instructions can be simplified for those who merely want to dabble in "moon gardening." The period from two days before to seven days after the new moon is the best time to sow seeds whose germination times are either very short (e.g. broccoli) or very long (e.g. parsley). In the month or so it takes the latter seeds to germinate, they will start to grow just as the moon has gone full cycle and is ready to enhance growth. Between the time of the full moon and seven days thereafter is the time to transplant seedlings and sow seeds that take a long (but not very long) time to germinate, such as peppers and eggplants.

The basis for these instructions allegedly resides in influences of the moon's gravity, light, and magnetism. Lunar gravity, for example, is said to promote leaf growth and inhibit root growth. Hence, seedlings should establish well if transplanted during the third quarter, when decreasing moonlight and tidal pull slow leaf growth and stimulate root growth.

Is there any "scientific" basis for reckoning with the phases of the moon when gardening? No and Yes. The theory has some fundamental weak points. For instance, ocean tides occur because gravitational attraction is a function of distance, resulting in a differential pull of lunar (and solar) gravity between the side of the earth closest to, and the side furthest from, the moon. But the two sides of a seed are only a fraction of an inch different in distance from the moon, so tidal effects in seeds are negligible.

On the other hand, there is no question that the moon has an effect on such phenomenon as barometric pressure, temperature, and cosmic radiation flux. And carefully controlled experiments have detected periodicities in plants—water uptake by seeds, shoot growth, nutrient uptake, and respiration—coincidental with the lunar day of 24.8 hours and the synodic month of 29.5 days.

The periodicity of these responses is rarely in simple harmony with only lunar cycles. There seem to be other cosmic influences also at work. The zodiac, perhaps? Scientists concede that there are influences from the heavens that affect plant growth, and these "pervasive geophysical factors" (to quote a phrase from one scientific journal) probably are mediated via radiation to the earth and/or water in the plant or the environment.

To me, there seems to be a large gulf between an experiment showing water uptake by beans varying over the course of a month, and instructions that tell me that the best day to sow bean seeds is on the 17th of May. (Then again, the 17th of May surely is generally a good time, even if it’s not necessarily the best time, to plant beans around here.) The whole area of moon gardening seems worthy of further investigation, and perhaps backyard experimentation. It's a good thing our planet has but one moon.

Now, should I plant corn today, or wait for the correct alignment of the moon and sun?

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Lee Reich, PhD is a garden and orchard consultant and writer; he hosts workshops at his New Paltz farmden, which is a test site for innovative techniques in soil care, pruning, and growing fruits and vegetables. Information about his workshops and his books is available at his website, www.leereich.com.

Posted by Chris Hewitt on 11:39 AM. Filed under Culture Features . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0