Phenology vs. Lunar Gardening.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Phenology is the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate.

Astrological Gardening (also referred to as lunar gardening, lunar planting, moon planting, planting by the signs, planetary planting) is a term given to the belief that gardening or farming practices that rely on the timing of different phases of the moon, stars, planets and various astrological signs of the Zodiac can result in the growth of crops of superior quality and quantity. Astrological gardening is thought to have been practiced for centuries, and is still used today by some gardeners and farmers.

I am determined to have a great GREAT garden this year.  I always have high hopes and big dreams, but reality never comes close.  It probably has something to do with that watering thing.  Or, the fact that I don't keep up on weeds and succession planting.  You know - those annoying little things you're supposed to do to keep your garden growing.

Well, this year I'm determined not to fail.  And, I'm blogging about it.  I have to do well.  

I don't remember where I first heard about Lunar Gardening, but I have been reading anything I can get my hands (eyes?) on to learn everything I can about it.  Opinions range from "hokey mumbo-jumbo" all the way to "it's-an-exact-science-down-to-what-time-of-day-during-the-phase-to-plant".  Whew!  I guess I'm somewhere in between.    I'm going to plant by the basic idea that you plant root crops (radishes, potatoes, etc) as the moon wanes from full to new, and above-ground crops (lettuces, beans, etc) as the moon waxes from new to full.  I took out my calendar, recorded the moon phases, then planned each sowing (along with all succession crops) through to the fall.
Then I started reading more about phenology.  Dang!  Now I might have to re-do my whole planting schedule.  Phenology uses signs from nature to determine when to plant.  (Plant tomatoes when the Lily of the Valley is in full bloom...)  Here is a list of some ideas I have gathered:

PLANT:
Peas when the Crocuses, Forsythia, and/or Daffodil bloom.

Swiss chard, spinach, beets and onions when Daffodils are in bloom.

Potatoes when the first Dandelion blooms.

Beets, carrots, cole crops, lettuce, and spinach when the Lilac is in first leaf.

Beans, cucmbers, and squash when the Lilac is in full bloom.

Tomatoes when Lily of the Valley is in full bloom.

Melon and pepper transplants when Irises bloom.

Corn, beans, and cucumbers when apples blossoms start to fall.

Tomatoes, melons, peppers, corn, and beans when Flowering Dogwood is in full bloom.

Tomatoes, melons, and eggplant when Peonies flower.

Fall crop cabbage and broccoli seeds when Mock Orange flowers or after Dogwoods have dropped their flowers.

I suppose at this point I will use my lunar calendar as a guide, but I will definitely be keeping an eye on the other plants at the same time.  It will be interesting to see how it all turns out.

Here are a few of the best links I found:
http://www.gardeningbythemoon.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Llewellyns-2011-Moon-Sign-Book/dp/0738711330/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
  (This book will also tell you when to get your hair cut, when to make an investment, or when to go fishing!)
http://www.farmersalmanac.com/calendar/gardening/


I'd like to know if anyone else uses phenology or lunar planting, and what kind of success you've had.  Please leave a comment!

Getting ready for Spring

I spent a few days last week planning this year's vegetable garden.  I have BIG plans!!  I'm even going to try my best to start most things from seed this year.  I've tried many times before, and for various reasons it has not worked well.  Like watering, for instance.  Did you know that plants don't grow if you don't water them?  I can't tell you how many flats of seeds I've set on top of the refrigerator and forgot about.  Not watering is not good.  Last year I invested in a seedling heat mat and it worked quite well.  I was able to leave the flat on the counter in the laundry room, where I actually saw it, and remembered to water it.  Things were looking up!  Then, apparently the next flat I used had a small hole in it.  After a few days, I wasn't seeing much condensation build-up on the inside of the plastic dome.  I lifted up the flat, and the mat was sitting in a puddle of water.  Cold.  Damn.  I'm lucky I didn't burn the freakin' house down!

  So, when I decided that this was the year I was going to make my seed-starting a success, I started looking at seedling mats again.  They're danged expensive!  A one-flat size mat is $30.  And I had already decided that it wasn't big enough and needed one that would warm two flats.  $50 bucks.  Then I found this.  I could make that!  So, I gathered what I could, went to Home Depot for the rest (a piece of plexiglass and a sheet of foam), and got to building.

 First, I built a small wooden box out of some thin, light weight wood I had.  The piece of plexiglass was 18x24, so I made the box 17.5x23.5 to avoid last year's debacle with pooling water.  I used wood glue and finishing nails to hold it all together.

 

 

The finished box

Next, I cut a piece of foam to fit the inside dimensions of the box.

 Then, I cut the sides and glued all the the foam pieces to the inside of the box.

I used clothespins to hold it all together

Then, instead of using rope lights, I decided to use Christmas lights.  I don't know why I thought of it, maybe because I've been stepping over THIS since Thanksgiving...

The broken strands of lights that have been sitting in a pile on the dining room floor since I decorated the tree.  I was going to sit down, inspect each one, and replace the broken bulbs to make them work again.  You can see that hasn't happened yet.  One of the extra-long strands in the pile had about half its' lights working.  The rest went in the trash.

The finished box, on my kitchen counter

I set the plexiglass on top, and it was done!  From start to finish, the whole project took about an hour and cost a total of $11.  And, it holds two flats at a time.

I still needed to test the temperature, though.  I had no idea how many Christmas lights I would need.  So I set a thermometer on top of the box and kept watch. 

64 degrees!  Yay!

However, 15 minutes later this is what I found...

80 degrees!  Too hot!

So I set up my little greenhouse flat and put the thermometer inside to get a truer reading of what the soil temperature will end up being.

 After half an hour...

74 degrees - Just Right.

And there you have it!  A two-flat heat mat for $11 instead of $50.  Gotta love it.