The onions above are both amish bottle onions and are grown from fresh seed. The pot on your right was planted Jan 22nd which unbeknownst to me was a not a good lunar time to plant. It is said seeds sown at this time tend to rot. The ones on the left were sown Feb 7th which was a good lunar time to plant roots crops during the new moon phase. I'd say the lunar planting worked well in this case.
With that said, these red torpedo onions that Daphne sent were seeded on Jan 22nd. They grew fine even though they were planted during a time seeds tend to rot.Factoring in the variables I still think the onions planted by the proper lunar dates did grow much better then the ones planted willy nilly. This season I will be doing a planting chart so I can plan ahead and plant on the proper dates. I will be following the Online Farmers Almanac dates this season which are easy to decipher and they are free.
I buy a Farmer's Almanac every year when the sun is in the right position. :)
ReplyDeleteHmm...that's interesting. I think i'll wintersow a few this weekend, although I don't know if it's gonna be a good time to do it.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! I'd heard of it all, but never gave it much merit. Very cool, indeed.
ReplyDeleteI planted some seeds last weekend and Granny reminded me that the Farmer's Almanac said, "February 13th-15th. Barren Days. Fine For Clearing, Plowing, Fertilizing, And Killing Plant Pests." So I am interested to see how they grow.
ReplyDeleteRed - They deliver them by broom now too :-)
ReplyDeleteEG - They say Feb 20-21st is a good time to plant above ground crops. March 3-4th is the next good time to plant below ground crops. That is if it does any good...
Ribbit - I have always thought about it so decided to give it a go this year.
GrafixMuse - It will be interesting to see what they do. I'm not placing to much hope into it but it seems like it is worth a try. Definitely takes lots of planning ahead though.
I haven't seen a comparison test done before, if you do any more experiments I hope you'll keep us posted!
ReplyDeleteI have my FA chart all printed out, and my planting dates entered through May. The dates don't always correspond to the days I'd like to plant, but I'm going to give it a try. I'll definitely try some type of control group for comparison.
ReplyDelete@Red: LOL !
ReplyDeleteDan, I'm glad you did the comparison as the results are both interesting and inconclusive. Still I'm going lunar this year. I say why not. It definitely can't hurt !
Eliza - Will do!
ReplyDeleteGranny - I'm still working on my charts. I finished by variety list tonight, Maybe the planting schedule tomorrow.
Miss M - I think it is worth the effort too. I should really read some more on the topic. So far I have only copied the FA :-)
This is interesting. I need to do a better job of sticking to my growing schedule. Already, I'm a bit off. I will have to check out online farmers almanac. Maybe I'll get some reassurance as already, I'm starting to second guess myself.
ReplyDeleteHere in England it's traditional to plant potatoes on Good Friday and of course the date of Easter is dictated by the moon. Could this be an early example of lunar planting? I'd be interested in what your instructions say about April 2nd? Good for root crops?
ReplyDeleteI'm interested to see the results obtained from using moon planting principles. I usually fling thing in when I have time, but maybe with lunar planting the success rate would be higher? It's worth trying...
ReplyDeleteThere may be something to the lunar impacts on planting. I just don't think I can manage to add yet one more variable to factor in on my schedules of planting and setting out plants! I will watch and learn from all of you who are doing the moon phase plantings - but I am going to just chug along on my regular schedule and keep the complexity in my life down to a dull roar! :D
ReplyDeleteI have only a vague recollection of this concept. Very interesting indeed. Keep the data coming!
ReplyDeleteWe haven't have luck with cumin so far. Actually, on a guided tour through our cities botanical garden we got told that anecdote about cumin has to be planted whilst swearing like a fishwife. Did that, still no cumin. Now the moon has to prove on cumin. If that helps, another crop will get introduced to the moon. And so on.
ReplyDeleteThomas - I think all your seeds will do fine. I must admit waiting for my seeds to germinate drives me a little nuts :-)
ReplyDeleteVeg Heaven - It says April 1-3 is a good time to plant root crops as well as leafy crops. Strangely enough the 1-2 of each month usually is a barren time.
Natalie - It's always worth trying for better success rates!
kitsapFG - It must have some impact, I'm thinking it must have something to do with pressures. I should really read a book on the topic.
Sandy - Will do!
Ragnar- Well if swearing does not work I don't know what will :-) Maybe try pre-sprouting. Place the seeds in a damp paper towel, put the whole lot in a ziplock bag and place it some were really warm. Top of your fridge, tv or computer works. That should get them germinating for you. As soon as they sprout put them in the dirt.
Thanks for this tip! I will check out the almanac.
ReplyDeleteLast year, I tried planting some seedlings at a date that was supposed to be good on a lunar cycle, and they did well. I don't see why the quality and strength of moonlight would not have an effect on seedlings, as well as any liquid draw the moon might have on plants.
It's cool to see the results of your experiment.
Genie of the Shell - It was interesting to compare. I have not thought of the liquid draw, that makes sense!
ReplyDeleteI am going to plant by the moon also this year, I ordered the North American Biodynamic Gardening book, have been looking on line as well. On Feb 20th the moon was ascending and in Taurus (which is good for root crops) so I planted leeks, parsnips and onions, the moon was still in the fist quarter, and apparently it is better to plant root crops in the third quarter, but hey I figured if I had to wait for all three to be right I would never get this planting done.
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