I'm curious to see some sort of "how to".
Does anyone have a link?

Did you read the posts? Mine is the second one, "I think you are not going to change her mind, it is all nonsense anyway, IMHO." Following a belief in something that doesn't work, compounded by the stated fact that she isn't even using the correct calendar, makes it seem like a bunch of nonsense to me, hence IMHO. I understand how deeply entrenched some folks are in this subject. I have a friend that bases her life on the horoscope. I have another friend that makes a good living by Fortune Telling, reading palms, etc. People really believe in this nonsense. The posts that follow are off topic to the original post. They are about different people's belief in planting by the signs.

I was not simply responding to your suggestion to buy an up to date Almanac, I was responding with an opposing comment/viewpoint to those that subscribe to the belief that seeds sprout in direct correlation to the phase of the moon. My comments are not directed at you or your comments, but to the general audience.

Please do not assume that because I think it is nonsense, that I am ignorant on the subject matter. That is insulting.

Entertain yourself. Subscribe to whatever belief you want. Write about how good it is in an open forum, expect descent.
My main thought in this is that while it may be entertainment for some, a strong belief for others, I'd hate for a new struggling homesteader to put off butchering Chickens on a day he had off work or a day that was the perfect temperature, because the Almanac said the moon was in the wrong phase to butcher. Butcher what you can, plant when the garden is ready, breed when they are in heat, fish when you've got time and put up firewood like it'll be a record setting cold.

I live in an area populated by many Native Americans. They tend to respect their elders, look to them as experts, sometimes predicting weather by the signs.
A guy asked an old Native, " What kind of winter is it going to be?" The old guy replied, " Going to get cold this winter." Well it always gets cold, but the guy told all his friends about the forecast of a cold winter. Everyone went to work getting lots of firewood cut and stacked. As it got closer to winter, the guy returned to the Elder Native. He was told that "it would be a very cold winter." An alarm went out around his friends and they prepared by cutting even more fire wood. A third inquiry produced the statement," It will be a very, very cold winter.". So, even more wood was cut, split and stacked. Finally, the guy asked what were the signs to a hard winter, was it the coloring on the wooly worms? The thickness of the fur on the squirrels? Was it the amount of poplar that the beaver had drug into their pond? What were the signs? The Native Elder replied, " White man have big wood pile, that is sign of hard winter,":)

Be careful what you believe in, then cling to it. But don't tell a crowd how wonderful your Ford is and not expect to hear other opinions.

http://rootstock.coop/solar-lunar-calendar/
Here is an easy calendar, there are more precise ones online I am sure. Oh-- here is another...
http://www.rhythmofnature.net/gardener-calendar

I have been doing it for years, as I remember my late great aunt doing it, and she always had HUGE gardens. I tried experimenting with it just these last few weeks, and the tomato seeds I planted on the full moon did NOTHING, yet the same kind, same conditions, popped right up in a few days after the new moon in a water sign. Kicked myself for wasting those first seeds, I should not have second-guessed what has worked so well for me for so many years! :lookout:

For those interested, you can order the Northern Biodynamic Calendar 2014, via Amazon. Although I respect everyone has his/her own opinions, I had excellent results utilizing this calendar and wouldn't hesitate to recommend trying it. Many years of research went into the creation of the Calendar. That said, I do not use some of their methods or ascribe to the mysticism. In addition, I have nothing to do with Horoscopes or Astrology. All I know is I am a Sagittarius born on the cusp of Capricorn and fit the profile, oddly. The former has nothing to do with the latter, where I am concerned.

As far as harvesting and butchering? You could follow a schedule, but if the time is now, you just do it. I would never hesitate to finish my planting, not weed, delay harvesting or butchering, missing the chance to do any of it...basing it solely on not meeting the exact time/date of a calendar? For me, it is a great way to schedule tasks and get great results, however, it would never keep me from finishing necessary work or tasks. Here is a link for any interested in the North American Biodynamic Calendar 2014:

http://www.amazon.com/North-American...+calendar+2014

I think you can plant by a calendar for only so long...Thats what solstice stones are for:)

If you want to get into the detailed calendar stuff, look up ancient Roman and Celtic calendars and how they had to calculate by adding an extra day in every so often.

We just buy a farmers almanac each year and use the charts in there.

I heard about this a few years back and mentioned it to my mom. She said that her family has followed the signs for years, and they are fairly successful small farmers.

The Calendar I am referring to is literally by the hour not just by the day and changes every year... I was impressed by how much research and trials were done to back up the use of this Calendar. The price was just under $12 and comes with a foldout larger calendar that can be hung on the wall. The booklet that it comes with, includes some very interesting applicable information.

For those who have had no exposure, the out of date ones are available to peruse at an even lower price.

Ok, the whole thread did make me go searching for data regarding planting by the moon. There's not a lot to be had other than anecdotal.

I also discovered that there are multiple systems of planting by the moon and they do not all agree. Hmmm.

While I still believe there may be some effects that the lunar cycle has upon plants, I have yet to find anyone who has demonstrated to anywhere near the extent that it has been given credit, the benefits of doing so.

As a for instance, I did find a person who decided to do a test of planting their beans making plantings at 2 day intervals for an extended time. There was no distinguishable difference based upon the date of planting (or the cycle of the moon). I would have thought that there should be a marked difference should planting by the cycles of the moon been that relevant.

I did hear one explanation that kinda made sense. People plant later in the spring because they wait on the lunar cycle and inadvertently are waiting as the soil warms a little more giving them a "better crop". Similarly, in the fall, they are planting earlier because they don't want to miss the lunar cycle and are planting while the weather is a little warmer. Neither have anything to do with anything the moon is doing but is causing them to move their planting dates toward warmer weather, regardless whether the reason is valid or not.

I would think that if there really were a huge impact, someone would have documented it with more hard data. Not saying there isn't some influence. But the more I study into it, the more I tend to think it's a bit of a "tempest in a teapot".

Hey, I wanted to believe it was huge. I just haven't seen data to support that. Lots of stories. Just no data.

Bellyman, How come u didn't mention my posting about cutting pigs??????????

I have used Llewellyns Moon Sign Book for 30yrs. Could never understand OFA

If I were to test the theory, I'd use a more difficult plant to grow than a bean. In fact, I'd use several different types of plants.

Maria Thun dedicated her life to the study and her research spans 50 years (Biodynamics). Her body of work cites evidence based upon literally thousands of trials (documented). Maria died in 2012, but her family continues her work.

i picked up a couple of sign planting calendars last year and used them as guide, helpful, had success where droughtdidn't kill everything..you can usually get free farmer's almanac which has ea years sign calendar

Oh when I said "for only so long", I meant hundreds of years...lol And it was directed at the OP. I just noticed that my post fell below your last post. I dont see any problems with plating by almanacs or calendars but I think the OP was talking about something else. I think your method is probably as good as it will get for modern times.

I think the OP was saying, in the long run, dates change eventually

I dont know about "planting by the moon" but research on this subject (of planting by the seasons) has already been done 2000 years ago over many centuries, not decades...

http://www.celticnz.co.nz/Coligny/ColignyPart1.htm

Now read ALL OF THAT...lol Its about a 5 year lunar calendar from 50 A.D.

[QUOTE=haypoint;6961949]I don't have a beef with The Farmer's Almanac, nor am I against Fortune Tellers. People foolish enough to believe, deserve to get their money taken. Just don't see the point in you recruiting more to the folly.


What money are you talking about?

So you would like to have ancient knowledge like this disappear from the earth? How do you know that you are so right about it? How come my ancestors and my experience counts for nothing and according to you, I am stupid to take it serious?
Don't mention science. remember, a whole heap of trouble on this earth is totally attributable to modern science. So go ahead and use chemicals for everything.

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Logging used to be done by the signs. You cut trees on certain days for certain purposes. Wood is activ. When I was a kid we had a gutter along the north side of the house, it was from a long pine and Dad had cut it a certain way. You cut a suitable tree at the right time, at the wrong time it will twist and in the case of a gutter, you wasted a tree.

I wrote it down and do not have it all in my head. but at certain times wood will form cracks easier, burn easier, and be slippery. that was a point to be considered with wood bridges. I almost fell into an icy creek once when the county renewed the bridge that had always served us well. The new one was slick as can be when it got rained on.
Pay attention to the sign when you cut wood for building a house, so you do not do it in a sign that is susceptible to bugs. People are living so far removed from nature nowadays. there was a commercial for potato chips a few years ago, it showed happy people picking potatoes off bushes. My grandmother was full of wisdom and people back then were not dumb either.

DELETE PLEASE...Double post.

[quote=Tabitha;6965493]I tend to agree with your line of thinking. Ancient celts used to use many trees to represent different times of the year. Each tree represented a month in a 13 month calendar.

Besides that, humans have been chuggin along just fine for the last 8000 years or more with planting by almanacs and seasons...

What the heck? So now because someone else says something is right, that makes them correct? Ill tend to side with 8000 years of human evolution and adaptation (not that Im into "Darwinism" or anything), most of which is not "superstition".

How about this, you do what works for you and you can believe what you want to believe and leave other people to do the same.

There will always be one or two people who think they know what is best for the bunch...

A bean seed works well to demonstrate the pull of the moon. Plant 2 each day and watch them. If, when the conditions are not ideal, the ones that are coming through the "crust" of the soil will do so faster AND be much more viable. Try it. My Grandmother planted by the moon as did her ancestors. I have all my life (or not) and have seen the difference. IF conditions are favorable, not so much difference is seen. I have 50 years of evidence and my Grandmother had 65, all in her (and my) daily journal.

For those who don't make the connection.... the moon is closer to the earth, at times, during its orbit, same as the earth is to the sun, in its orbit.

NASA saw this in its moon flights, took a lot less fuel when the moon was closer....James

So you do not respect THEIR elders because you know better and then go on to make fun of them....James

I agree. Our ancestors have been measuring the moon with a reed for millenia, thats why you will find many references to the reed and its measurements in almost any holy book that is written. The pyramids are measured and were built from the base measurement of the reed and moon.

"The Great Pyramid, which was built to be 756 feet in length, is 72 reeds long per side or 288 for a full perimeter circuit. The Khafre Pyramid, which was intended to have a design length 15/16ths the length of of the Great Pyramid, is 67.5 reeds per side or 270 for a full perimeter circuit. One of the most important functions of the reed measurement was to keep track of both the sun and moon during the Sabbatical Calendar cycle (2556.75-days...7 solar years...working alongside...2551.5-days...7.2 lunar years) or the Lunar Nutation cycle (6804-days). Before we can understand how the Druids kept track of both the sun and moon within the Calendar of Coligny counting system, we have to become fully conversant with the ages-old reed measurement and its attributes. It is the opinion of this researcher that the rods or staffs carried by the majority of astronomer Druids would have been half a reed in length (5.25 feet or 63 inches...one tenth of a Greek stadia)."

I AM going to start plant by the moon signs!!









The same time I start planting on the moon.

To each their own it does not bother me.

Don't know of anyone around here that does. Or what the 'signs' really means...

I think it may be more common in the south? Up here we have such a short growing season, we just plant if we get the chance, no one looks at a calander or moon or anything!

Paul

The distance of the moon from earth varies from about 226,000 to a max of about 252,000. No matter how big or close the moon may seem, if you hold an aspirin at arm's length, it will always cover the moon.
I understand tides, even have them to a small degree on the Great Lakes. But the water table doesn't change.
Anyone is free to believe it, just as they can believe in the Ouija board, witching for buried power lines, Zodiac signs or throwing chicken bones into a circle of stones to predict your future.

Don't forget to weed the garden by the moon,
If your canning or drying, theres different signs for both

IF you are going to peel a post, do it in a dry sign. Much easier to peel.

I wish I knew everything !

I guess I should tell all my surfer friends that they should stop planning surfing by the phases of the moon then too...lol

Do what you want. As I said, the moon effects tides. But I think it is folly to tell your surfer friends when to plant their beans by what the Farmers Almanac says. But don't let me stop you.:rock:

One can brag that they plant by the phases of the moon and have a good garden. I can show photos of gardens planted without regard to the moon that are beautiful. So what?:facepalm:

I dunno about planting by the moon, but this thread has been fun. ;)

Yes HP Garden WILL L O O K beautiful if planted out of the right sign, That's cause all their growth is going into making bushes, leaves, ect. A plant grown IN the sign actually looks in bad shape compared to one grown out of the sign cause it is putting all its growth INTO the grain/vegetable, fruit, ect.

until someone grows a same amount of seed in a same length of row, one row out of the sign, and one in, and then records the amount of crop grown, nothing will be proved.

ALSO, they have to both be weeded and watered the same.

I agree somewhat with what you are saying but I do believe, in part, that the pull of the moon might have an effect on newly planted sprouts, I cant say for sure though so I am not going to say "yes" or "no"...

I live in suburbia so I only have an 1/8 of an acre but In the future I would like to have some acreage and go back to basics. But right now, I usually just plant at a rough estimate during the seasons. I dont really read almanacs or anything. But then again, I dont plant much. Most of my produce is citrus and stone fruit, some melons. Everything else is roses and flowers and *gasp puke* FRONT YARD BURMUDA GRASS

:facepalm:

That's not how the moon works nor tides...

I always like it when someone tells someone else, "thats not true" or "thats not how it works" but fails to show how it does work.

So just for laughs, could you enlighten us all and tell us how it does work? Im sure everyone in this thread would love your explanation, considering how fun of a read it has been so far!! Join the fun!

The North American Biodynamic Calendar is different every year, which includes the dates, and even the hours change each year. Yes, I think the OP was more or less referring to just planting by the moon, instead of taking a lot more into consideration, like the NABC does. I figured some folks would be interested in it.

The few little experiments I did had me sold within a month! I used the Calendar for propagation first with great results, then with planting and harvesting.

Since reading the last post, guess I should add how it did work for my propagation as I didn't do any charts or make any notes regarding planting & harvesting. My starts rooted twice as fast when cut on the recommended day compared to the non-recommended day. What %? All of them! Then, I compared the plant growth as they rooted, which was an average of 30% bigger (the ones rooted on the recommended day verses the non-recommended day). Of course, I only rooted 100 of each variety and was told by my FIL I would need to root thousands to cite any results (what in the world would I do with that many starts...?!) :shrug:

I am always ready and willing to learn something new and even try it. Then if it works? I will integrate that into my methods. It isn't important to me why it works as much as that it DOES work for me. :hobbyhors

I do not understand the whys or hows of the signs.

I have seen one theory that if you pay close attention to the signs, chances are you are paying attention to your plants, water levels, pests, etc.

I think my main reason is that my family has always done it. Kind of a tradition to carry on, much like some have reunions, 4th of July picnics, ham at Christmas and turkey at thanksgiving - it's just always been done.

In my area, near one of the Great Lakes, the wind can slow the current, raising water levels. A wind that blows with the current can speed the water, lowering water levels. It doesn't take much natural force to effect water. There are times the moon is closer and times it is farther. There are times it is fully seen and times when much of it is shaded by the earth. But they are not one in the same, one doesn't go with the other.

Are you suggesting that the moon might be able in some small way "pull" seedlings out of the ground? Could the glow of the full moon, which is a reflection of the sun, add to the availability of ultraviolet light, increasing photosynthesis? Wouldn't all pole vaulting records be set during a full moon, utilizing the moon's gravitational pull?

Since a few have stated as proof that it works, a relative that planted by the signs and always had a good garden, if I post a photo of a productive garden not planted by the almanac, would you accept that as proof?