For those who dont believe in planting by the sign

They sell sweet corn starts at our farmers mkt. Bought two or three to see how they compared against my seeded corn. No comparison. Starts were weak, fragile and two out of three flopped over and called it quits before setting any ears. Last one was huffing and puffing to the finish line, but made it. Now I know where that baby corn on the salad bar comes from

So far I have planted by the sign my back has been giving me. Can't bend- no planting. Can bend a little bit- help the kids fork the beds, draw the "planting lines" and have them plant. ... "Mommy-is this an 1/8 of a inch?" And, "you guys used how many carrot seed packets in a 4x4 bed?!?"

At least we got a sprinkle so I don't have to set up the irrigation, yet.

I've tried planting by farmers almanac, moon phases-- you name it. The main thing that seemed to matter was not hovering, not over watering, not under watering, and good amount of fertilizer. The less expectant I am about the seeds coming up, the more they pop up happily. Case in point: my husband loves basil. Tries to grow it every year. Every year there's poor germination or bugs. This past year germination was great! Right as he was about to do the butt-flap dance around them...mice. (We think) not bugs, though. Last year the only thing I hovered around was mountain spinach "orach". I got 1 seeds that germinated. 1!!! Anyway, it grew into a huge, prolific plant that just gave and gave. I saved the seeds and just planted them a couple days ago. We'll see what happens.

Corn transplants, while mainly a marketing ploy, do actually have value ... especially when dealing with rare varieties.

http://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/fac...gsweetcorn.htm

http://ipm.illinois.edu/ifvn/present..._sweetcorn.pdf

One can chase it .... but it does work and has a place.

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Going hungry ain't much of a plan

I always plant early corn, 3 seeds to a gallon pot. Remove from pot and keep intact, plant 6"s lower and hill up good. have corn the 4th of July. May not be as big of ears but nice. Corn needs lots of nitrogen....James

I always start my tomatoes and peppers the weekend after Valentine's day. Easy to remember and by then I'm climbing the walls with cabin fever. For a few weeks I check on my little babies before work and before bed.

After about a month I do replants of what didn't grow and repeat the process. I believe my wife thinks I have OCD with the amount of time and care I spend on my plants.

There's more to lunar gardening than just going by whatever signs the moon is passing through or whether or not the signs are moist, dry, fertile, barren or neutral. A lot also depends on which phase of the monthly 4 quarters the moon is in too.

Some here might find this homestead.org article about lunar gardening interesting. It's 4 short pages that explains about the lunar effects on plants during the 4 quarters and also about the influences of each of the zodiacal signs that the moon goes through every couple of days. http://homestead.org/CatherineLugo/L.../ByTheMoon.htm

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And, before anyone asks, I planted them in the right Z sign, AND in the 3rd quarter

i have read up on it and understand about the moon and gravity and how it pulls one way or the other..with the pulling toward the earth pulling roots deeper in the soil and pulling above away making plants grow better above ground..this makes sense to me..also a full moon is always a cold and frosty night this time of year..up into June..so you never want to set out tender plants when there is a full moon ahead in May or June.

so there is a lot of fact behind the moon sign planting..etc..i bought a moon sign calender this year and plan to give it a try..

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Brenda Groth
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

I use Llewellyns Moon Sign Book