bloom where you are planted

The Farmer’s Almanac has printed a planting calendar based on the moon phases for over two centuries, but the moon’s effect on plants has been understood by mankind since ancient times.

So how do you use the moon’s gifts to their greatest potential in your garden? By understanding the effects of each phase, of course! 🌝

New Moon 🌑

During this phase, the moon pulls the moisture from the soil up towards the surface, causing seeds to swell and sprout. As the moon heads into her next phase, light levels increase with each night, stimulating root and leaf growth. Thus this is a great time for sowing seeds, as well as planting above-ground leafy veggies like lettuce, spinach and broccoli.

Best for: planting seeds 🌱

First Quarter 🌓

During the first quarter phase, the moon’s gravitational pull isn’t as strong. However, her light is growing stronger with each night, making leaves grow more vigorously. This is a great time to plant baby plants in your garden, especially in the last few days of this phase before the full moon comes, when nights are at their brightest! ✨

Best for: planting seedlings and young plants 🌿

Full moon 🌕

The gravitational pull of the moon is strongest when it is full, meaning the soil’s moisture level is at its highest for the month. This makes pulling weeds much easier! Hurrah! Important to note is that in the days between the full moon and the next phase, light levels decrease with each night, resulting in increased root growth. Why is this important? Two reasons: with roots growing faster and getting stronger each night following the full moon, weeds become harder to pull! Best to get all that you can on the day of the full moon, (or the days just before it). Another great part about this phase’s boost in root growth is that root vegetables and flower bulbs planted during this time get the best possible conditions to make themselves at home in your garden. 😊

Best for: planting root vegetables and bulbs, weeding the garden 🌷

Third Quarter 🌗

This is the resting phase. As the moon leans into darkness with every night leading to the new moon, things slow down in the garden. As such, this is the best time for reflecting on your garden as a whole. What needs tending and shaping up? What is not thriving and maybe needs to be moved or given a light feeding of fertilizer? This is a time for general maintainance before the new moon arrives and the cycle begins again.