Features
Gardening Tips - Planting by the Stars
The great thing about gardening is that you get a chance every year to start with a clean slate. Your next gardening year will be different. You'll hoe the weeds earlier so they don't smother your scallions. You'll finally get around to buying that net to keep the birds from your fruit bushes and this time, you'll try a different variety of the vegetable that never seems to do well no matter where in the garden you plant it.
So while you think about some if the changes you will make next year, why not try something really different? Why not try applying some of the principles of bio-dynamic gardening and see if they work for you?
Bio-dynamic gardening
Bio-dynamic gardeners, followers of the principles of Rudolf Steiner, believe that the movements of all the heavenly bodies, moon, planets and stars have an influence on the growth and development of all plants. So the time you chose to sow, plant or even weed your plants will affect their progress. The moon, the stars and the planets all affect the development of our plants.
At first glance the idea that the stars affect our garden seems quite crazy. But then we do know that the moon can move millions of gallons of water from one side of the ocean to the other every day. We do know also that all living things, including plants and ourselves contain water. So perhaps the idea is not so far fetched? Anyway judging by the number of horoscopes in newspapers and magazines, it seems that many people accept that the movement of heavenly bodies can affect their lives. So why not on plants?
Maria Thun
Experiments were carried out in Germany in the 1950's by Maria Thun, to attempt to establish a connection between the growth of plants and the movements above us. She sowed a plot of radishes every day for an entire growing season and observed the performance of each individual sowing.
She discovered four discernible differences in the plots. Some plots produced larger roots than others. Other plots produced larger leaves. A third group produced flowers more readily than the others and the fourth group went more quickly to seed.
Root days
The plots that produces the biggest roots and therefore the greatest yields of radishes were those sown when the ascending moon was in the constellation of Virgo, Capricorn, or Taurus. Later experiments confirmed that root crops, sown at these times, would produce higher yields than those sown at other times. So bio-dynamic gardeners plant their carrots or onions when the moon is passing through one of these constellations. These times are referred to as 'root days.'.
Leaf days
The sowing dates that produced the most leafy radish plants were noted and again further experiments showed that plants which are grown for their leaves, such as lettuce, spinach, or parsley, are best planted on 'leaf days.' That is when the ascending moon is in Scorpio, Cancer, or Pieces.
Flower and fruit
The auspicious time for flowering plants is on 'flower days' when the ascending moon is in, Libra, Gemini or Aquarius. And for plants that are grown for their seed or fruit such as beans, tomatoes or courgettes, the best yields will be had by planting on 'fruit days' when the ascending moon is in Leo, Sagittarius or Aries.
By now, many readers have probably put these ideas into the 'interesting, but far too much trouble' category. And they may be forgiven for wondering if they are being asked to spend all their precious gardening time gazing at the sky before they can venture out to sow their new packet of seeds? But just as you don't have to be an astronomer to read your stars in the newspaper, neither do you have to be one to plant by them.
Bio-dynamic calendar
Maria Thun publishes a calendar every year for interested gardeners and farmers. In it are marked all the suitable days for planting and sowing for the year. Few bio-dynamic gardeners bother themselves with the complexities of the cosmos, they merely organise their sowing and planting times around the calendar.
Another interesting aspect of bio-dynamic theory is that crops harvested on favourable days will keep better than when picked at other times. Thus, lettuce cut on a leaf day will stay fresher for longer than heads picked at other times. Equally gardeners who store their carrots over the winter are advised to harvest them on root days.
Fresh flowers
We have all had the experience that some flowers seem to wilt quicker than others when cut. According to bio-dynamic gardeners, flowers cut on flower days will keep their freshness much longer than those cut at other times. This is a theory you could very easily test for yourself.
Perhaps the best thing about following the bio-dynamic calender is the fact that there are several days every month when the positions of the stars and planets are unsuitable for any kind of work in the garden. So on these days you can take it easy without feeling even the tiniest bit guilty about all the things yet to be done in your garden.
