Gardening by the Signs

Moon Waxing, Moon in Taurus

I planted much of our small terrace garden in the past week or so. With the moon in Taurus, a very fertile sign "number one for all root crops; second best for plants bearing above the ground" according to T.E. Black's Planting by the Signs chart (found in Foxfire, volume 2, I think). Well, the plants I put in were of the "bearing above the ground" variety, but I didn't want to wait until moon in Cancer rolled around. I transplanted cabbage and lettuce that I bought from an Amish lady, then planted a bunch of rows of spinach and finally a long row of Swiss Chard. I do love my greens! I also planted some herb seeds: dill, cilantro and rosemary.

The plan is to pay close attention this year to what I plant when, whether the moon is in the first and second quarter, full, third and fourth quarter, new moon, and what astrological signs are prominant on those days. I'm curious to see if this works. I expect it will and hope it will as well. I started a garden journal to help me keep track of it all.

What I'm wondering is what to plant underneath the black walnut tree, if anything. Right now, I've left the weeds in that section of the terrace garden, but I want to plant something there. I did a quick google search and found a webpage that discuss this, plants that will tolerate the jugalone of the black walnut tree: lima beans, snap beans, beets, carrots, corn, onions, melons, parsnips and squash. Hmmmmm. I might put a couple of melons there and see what happens, melons or beets, I think. The next really fertile days will be the 28th (which is also the full moon) with the moon in Scorpio. We'll shoot for then.

I've also been foraging, this being a wonderful spring for it. Since poor Fred is still recovering from his broken leg, I've been making him dandelion broth regularly. That is, I gather lots of dandy leaves and roots, yellow dock leaves, chickweed, plantain, clover leaves and wild onions and brew them up in a pot of water, simmering for 30 minutes or so and then straining out the greens, which go into the compost heap. Good dandelion broth and also some bone broth, is bound to help by providing lots of minerals and vitamins for his body to heal with. We see the doctor on Monday and hopefully he'll start having Fred put weight on the leg and getting his muscles back into shape. Lord knows, the poor guy is really TIRED of sitting around and reading. People need to move around--it is how our bodies know we are still alive :)

I've also been harvesting that marvelous garlic mustard and making pesto with it. That's what most foragers tend to recommend doing with garlic mustard as the plant is quite pungent, a little more than most folks will appreciate in a plate of greens. But it makes a superb pesto--here's the recipe I use, from Prodigal Gardens, one of my favorite foraging sites. I just noticed some horsetail growing on the other side of our little lake here, so I'll be gathering that as well for tea.

Spring has been absolutely lovely so far. Nice warm days, cool nights, lots of sunshine and now some rain to water those little plants in the ground. It's a blessing to be alive!
Onwards,
HM

More on Planting by the Signs

In Foxfire's first volume, there's a chapter on Planting by the Signs. I've posted about this already. In that chapter, there is a really neat chart from T.E. Black's Lifetime Planting, Business and Fishing Guide: Information in regards to everyday affairs compiled from 13 years experience. While I cannot reproduce the chart in this post, here's a few tidbits to help you get a little more info:

3rd Sign, Gemini, The Arms
This is an Air sign. I find it one of the second best signs for planting and transplanting All Crops, root crops and crops that bear above the ground. Favors talking things over with people. Also favors making jelly, preserves and pickles.

1st Sign, Aries, The Head
Known as a very fiery sign. Hot, dry and barren. Very good for planting beets, onions and tobacco. Not good for planting and transplanting other crops. Favors welding, getting hair waved, all cooking, making preserves, pickles and jelly. Also destroying weeds and bushes. Good for hunting, fair for fishing.

2nd Sign, Taurus, The Neck
An Earth Sign. No. 1 for all root crops. Peanuts, potatoes, and etc. Transplanting all plants, second best for all crops bearing above the ground and all flowers. Favors buying, attend sales, deal with creditors. Very good for fishing, making pickles and canning.

4th Sign, Cancer, The Breast
A Water Sign. No. 1 top sign for all flowers, planting and transplanting all crops that bear above the ground. When I say bear above the ground I mean cotton, corn, cane, tobacco, peas, beans, peppers, watermelons, squash, cucumbers, okra, wheat, rye, oats and etc. all cover crops, all grasses, all leaf crops. This sign also No. ! for all root crops. Biddies hatched in this sign for laying hens, pigs born for males and brood sows. Good for all cooking, changing jobs, momving, cut hair to stimulate growth. Good for fishing, making potato beds and seed beds.

6th Sign, Virgo, The Bowels
An Earth sign. Doesn't favor planting nor transplanting no crops. Barren sign, but very good for business.

8th Sign, Scorpio, The Loins
This is known as a Water Sign. No.1 for all crops that bear above the ground. Also for flowers. Second best for all root crops. When I root crops, I mean all potatoes, peanuts, chuffas, onions, beets, carrots, turnips, rutabagas, etc. Setting out plants, biddies for laying hens, pigs for males and brood sows. Set out fruit trees. Flower bushes and vines. Good for fishing and hunting.

10th Sign, Capricornus, The Knees
Known as an Earth Sign. No. 1 for all root crops. Second best for all flowers. All crops that bear above the ground, all transplanting. Pull teeth, mark hogs, prune trees and vines. Good for business. Fair for fishing. Canning.

12th Sign, Pisces, The Feet
Water Sign. No. 1 for planting and transplanting above-ground crops. And all flowers. Second best sign for all root crops. Biddies hatched for laying hens, pigs for brood sows. Best for pulling teeth, makring hogs, prune and set out trees, bushes and vines. Good for fishing. Wean babies and animals.

11th Sign, Aquarius, The Legs
Air sign. Very good for planting crops that bear above the ground. Except that seeds are apt to rot. This is a friendly sign. Exchange ideas, seek help from friends, favors dealing with all types of people in all types of business. Favor sports and pleasure.

5th Sign, Leo, The Heart
Fire Sign. Barren Sign favors no planting nor transplanting. Good for destroying bushes and weeds and deading trees. It favors sports, pleasure, love and romance. Ask for jobs. Good for hunting. Get hair waved, baking cakes.

7th Sign, Libra, The Kidneys
Air Sign very good for crops that bear above the ground. Favors friendship and business.

9th Sign, Sagittarius, The Thighs
This is a Fire Sign, fairly good for planting onions and cucumbers. Favors all business affairs. Ask for jobs, deal with lawyers, judges and bankers, work on future plans. Good for hunting. Get hair waved, bake cakes, make candy, preserves, jelly and pickles. Don't transplant anything.

***********************
At The Gardener's Calendar, you can always check to see both the phase of the moon (which quarter, waxing, etc.) and the moon sign. So check first, then pull those teeth! :)

And if any of you are going to try planting by the signs this year, keep in touch and let us all know how it turns out. I'll be reporting on my success and failures here as well.
Onwards,
HM

Foxfire: Planting by the Signs

This is all excerpted from Foxfire, called The Foxfire Book. I believe it was the first one, published back in 1972. My copy cost $3.95 new back then, if that tells you anything about inflation. :)

Anyway, this is from a chapter called Planting by the Signs. There are a couple of charts that I can't reproduce here, unfortunately. I'll try, but can't guarantee anything on one of them.

Sign Symbol Body Part Planet Element
Aries Ram Head Mars Fire
Taurus Bull Neck, Throat Venus Earth
Gemini Twins Arms, Chest Mercury Air
Cancer Crab Breast, Stomach Moon Water
Leo Lion Heart, Back Sun Fire
Virgo Virgin Bowels Mercury Earth
Libra Balance Kidneys Venus Air
Scorpio Scorpion Loins Mars Water
Sagittarius Archer Thighs Jupiter Fire
Capricornus Goat Knees Saturn Earth
Aquarius Waterman Legs, Ankles Uranus Air
Pisces Fish Feet Neptune Water

OK, well I just took at look at the Preview function, and the charts a mess to read. But if you read across the first line, you see the headings: Sign, Symbol, Body Part, etc. The signs line up under that and you can sort of read it. Best I can do here I guess.

Here we go. Begin Excerpt.

How it Works
Every day of the month is dominated by one of the twelve signs of the zodiac. Each of the twelve appears at least once a month, and then for a period of either two or three days. All good planting calendars label each day with the sign that rules over it (depending on which constellation is foremost in the sky at that time), the part of the body and the planet associated with the sign, and the element it is most closely akin to. The chart (above) summarizes this information. The signs always appear in sequence, beginning with the Ram or Head and working their way down to Pisces, the Fish or feet. Following Pisces, the Ram appears beginning a new sequence.

Each of the signs is known as being either masculine, feminine, airy, dry, barren, fiery, earthy, moist, watery, fruitful, or very fruitful. In general, any activity that requires a dry atmosphere, such as painting, should be done in one of the dry signs; and an activity requiring moisture, such as some planting, should be done on one of the moist or fruitful signs.

The best time, of course, to conduct any activity is when a day falls on both an ideal sign and a good phase of the moon.

Over the years, a most specific set of rules has grown up around the zodiac which governs such activities as planting and harvesting. These rules take into account both the sign governing the day and the phase of the moon on that particular day. At the beginning of the planting season, for example, the farmer consults his calendar, picks out one of the fourteen favorable days that occurs every month, and plants only on one of these fourteen "fruitful" days. Should he miss and plant his crops on one of the unfruitful days, his crops will not produce at half their ability, say the believers. T. E. Black even goes so far as to say that a few hours can make the difference between success and failure, and many of his followers agree.

The Rules
The following rules were gathered both from interviews (with the older folks in the community), and wide reading. They do not represent a complete set, but they should serve to give the reader a good idea as to the nature of this system. We also included rules for butchering, cutting hair, killing weeds, pulling teeth, and others to give some grasp of the scope of the subject.

Planting---Planting is best done in the fruitful signs of Scorpio, Pisces, Taurus, or Cancer (when the signs are in the loins, feet, neck, or breast).
Plow, till and cultivate in Aries.
Never plant anything in one of the barren signs. They are good only for trimming, deadening, and destroying.
Always set plants out in a water or earth sign.
Graft just before the sap starts to flow, while the moon is in its first or second quarter, and while it is passing through a fruitful watery sign or Capricorn. Never graft a plant on Sunday as this is a barren, hot day (the sun's day).
Plant flowers in Libra, which is an airy sign that also represents beauty. Plant them while the moon is in the first quarter unless you need the seeds, in which case use the period between the moon's second quarter and full.
Corn planted in Leo will have a hard, round, stalk and small ears.
Crops planted in Taurus and Cancer will stand drought.
Plant beans when the signs are in the arms (Gemini).
Root flower cuttings, limbs, vines, and set out flower bushes and trees in December and January when the signs are in the knees and feet.
Never transplant in the heart or head as both these signs are "Death Signs." (Aries and Leo)
If you want a large vine and stalk with little fruit, plant in Virgo "bloom days."
Don't plant potatoes in the feet. If you do, they will develop little nubs like toes all over the main potato. The best time is a dark night in March.
Plant all things which yield above the ground during the increase or growing of the moon, and all things which yield below the ground (root crops) when the moon is decreasing or darkening.
Never plant on the first day of the new moon, or on a day when the moon changes quarters.
In the fourth quarter turn sod, pull weeds, and destroy.

Reaping and Harvesting
Pick fruit like apples and pears in the old of the moon while it is decreasing or shrinking. This will cause the bruised spots and blemishes to dry up rather than rot. They will rot if the fruit is picked on the increase or rising of the moon, or on the new moon.
Harvest most crops when the moon is growing old. This will cause them to keep better and longer.
Dig root crops for seed in the third quarter of the moon. They will keep longer and are usually drier and better.
Gather root crops in the last quarter of the moon when the signs are in the knees or feet.
Can vegetables, cook preseves and jelly, and make pickles in the right sign during the last quarter of the moon.

Miscellany
Cut timber in the old of the moon. It will dry better and not become worm-eaten.
Set fence posts in the old of the moon to prevent loosening.
The part of your body governed by a particular sign is more sensitive when the moon is in that sign. People with heart trouble, for example, will have more trouble in Leo's sign, and lovers are more successful at this time. In Taurus (throat) an operation on this part of the body will be unsuccessful. Conversely, if tonsils are removed and teeth pulled when the signs are in the knees or feet, there is less soreness, loss of blood, and danger of infection. You can easily figure out others for yourself.
Paint houses or cars in a dry sign like Leo or Aries.
Wean a child or animal when the moon is in a sign that does not rule the vital parts of the body (Capricorn, Pisces, Sagittarius).
Set eggs to hatch in a fruitful sign like Cancer. The chicks will mature faster and be better layers.
Quit habits on the second day that the moon is in Sagittarius, or on the new moon, or in Pisces.
If you cut your hair in Libra, Sagittarius, Aquarius, or Pisces, it will grow stronger, thicker, and more beautiful.
Purge will pills in Pisces and with liquids in Sagittarius.
Bake and cook in Aries.
Hunt in Taurus.
Lay foundations in Capricorn.
Don't nail shingles or boards on the growing side of the moon, or the ends will draw up and curl and go crooked.
Destroy weeds, kill trees, turn sod in the barren signs of Gemini, Leo or Virgo (especially if the moon is in the last quarter).
Slaughter while the signs are in the knees or feet, and in the last quarter of the moon.

************************************ End Excerpt.

Hmmmmm. Guess if I really want to do this, I'll need to get my hands on the Old Farmer's Almanack. You can find the Ol' Farmer's Almanac online, and Best Days info here. You can find more info on planting by moon signs at the Gardener's Calendar. Keep in mind that this is a UK website, so the info on planting in January may not work for where you live. :) Me, I'm going to get a copy of the Old Farmer's Almanac, so I can have the info at my fingertips if the Web goes down. I'm very curious to see if this works as well as I think it might.

The Foxfire book then goes on to talk about those who believe (older mountain people, etc.) and those who don't (agricultural school grads, etc.) but it is an ancient "science" handed down wisdom from our ancestors and we might just want to give them a listen these days. Obviously, our new-fangled shiny knowledge has been enough to really screw up the world as we know it. Might as well listen to other folks who just might know better after all.

I'll be looking into this more. If any of y'all have any other info or good websites or books, please let me know via email or comments. Thank you!
HM

Planting by the Signs

I've got a question for you all out there. Does anyone out there and reading this blog know anything about planting by the moon signs, i.e., whether the moon is waxing toward full or waning toward new moon. Or planting such and such when the moon is in Cancer or Taurus, etc. Foxfire 1 has a fascinating article on it (which I'll share excerpts from one of these days), and I'm thinking I want to plant our garden by the signs this summer, see if this stuff works.

You see, the moon goes through a bunch of moon signs every month--hell, maybe all of them for all I know right now. As you can probably tell, I'm about to research this in depth, but haven't done so yet. And I'm curious. Some of the mountain folk in Foxfire swore by it, others say it is old wives tales. It'd be interesting to know if it does work, because if it does, it sure could improve garden productivity and yield. Anyway, any of you have any experience with this?

I'll try to post the Foxfire info tomorrow to let you all know a bit more about what I'm talking about. Thanks!
HM