7th November 2019 – Gardening by the moon

I have nostalgic memories of my Welsh grandfather waiting for the right phase of the moon before he planted his potatoes. Little did I realise that he was demonstrating the biodynamic method of gardening!

Our speaker, Nigel Start has been gardening in this way for thirty years and he proceeded to describe how working with the ‘forces of nature’ had helped him to produce better plants.

You need a lunar calendar to work out the best times for starting seeds based on the phases of the moon and astrological signs. This will show you the recommended days for planting vegetables and flowers. For instance did you know that there is more moisture in the soil at the time of the new and full moon which would encourage germination and growth of your plants? Of course you did – of course you remembered Isaac Newton’s laws of gravity which proved that tides are affected by the gravitional pull of the moon which creates more moisture in the soil.

Well done if you are still with me! There is more to come………

As you can imagine our speaker was a fan of organic gardening. These days gardeners are much more aware of the need to feed the soil and mycorrhizal fungi form a symbiotic relationship with plants, extending the root area so plants grow faster and stronger with far less fertiliser. Firms such as David Austen roses have been using such products for years. So consider buying Rootgrow or Vitax Q4.

Finally I leave you with a recipe – how about making your own fertilizer from nettle leaves? Steep some leaves of nettles in boiling water for an hour or so, then strain out the leaves and stems then toss these in the compost bin. Dilute the fertilizer and it’s ready for use. Good luck!

Mary Duff

* a footnote on a related but relevant subject – In a recent newspaper article Richard Gregory of the RSPB lamented the rapid decline of the turtle dove. We were reminded that “the way we manage land must change so that farming can deliver the food we need but also deliver more for nature” He urged farmers not to cultivate field margins and to plant crops that provide birds with winter feed. I say ‘Hooray” to that!

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