Thanks Dave for your prompt response to the request for this forum.
Now, since I was the one who initially asked for the forum, I am asking those knowledgeable about reading and interpreting the almanac to step forward and help all of us learn to use it.
Then go spread the word on other forums, so that we will get the maximum exposure and begin this exciting quest for information.
Those who know how to read an almanac
I alway purchase a Farmers Almanac each year. I have tried to figure out how to read it for use in the garden.
I love the articles, quotes and comments.
Great idea for a forum Bonnie. I am adding this to my watch list....
Me, too - I'm excited to learn (sorry, I know nothing so can't be one of the teachers!)
Im with Murmur.. I know nothing, except it worked wonderfully for my Grandparents, but boy am I eager to learn. Anything that will help things grow better here... I am all ears.
I can't wait to learn how to do this! It seems anytime I've met someone who gardens by the moon gets great results. My sister gets her hair trimmed by the moon phases and it always looks great too, hmmmm!
Sorry can't help with this question. The only gardening by the moon I've done was after I read somewhere that tulip bulbs should be planted at the dark of the moon. Those who knew I did that made fun of me, then had to concede I had the best flush of tulips in town.
This something I'm read a tiny bit about and looking forward to learning more
What a great forum Defoecat.
Wow, this was quick, now we just need to find a person who actually knows how to read an almanac.
Come on somebody step up and help us.
Here are a couple of links that tabasco put on the thread in the voting booth. Thanks tabasco, they make a good starting point
http://www.gardeningbythemoon.com/phases.html
oops lost the second one, will go and search
Wow, Philomel - thanks for those!!! Maybe if we don't get any "experts" per se, we can all read and make suggestions as to what we might want to do at a certain time?
I'm really excited about this - I had read about it recently in a GreenPrints publication and I was given a Farmer's Almanac for Christmas this last year . . . I hadn't done anything yet, but maybe this forum/thread will get me going.
Very interesting Philomel! Thanks for the links.
You're welcome - they were really tabasco's links. I'm a beginner at this, but have been following the general principles when I can.
Well then, thank YOU too, T!! :)
I will be happy to help once I get a new copy of the Almanac...I didn't bother to get one this year since I knew there would be no planting in this yard this year due to the demolition...
Being Native American, my family has only ever planted according to the sun and the moon..Waxing or Waning does indeed make a difference...I will never forget one year it was supposed to pour rain on the day my GrandFather was to plant his peas... GrandMother told him to plant them the day before since it was dry, and he threw a fit...The next day he was out in the rain, planting peas, and had a bumper crop...LOL
Thanks Marcy_1
I didn't get a copy either this year - though I had one in 2006. I shall be really interested to hear your advice and anecdotes Dusty
i don't follow the advice in the farmer's almanac. i DO but a copy every year of
'gardening by the moon' availablle online because she gives not only the moon signs, but the astrological sign. a book i have had several years interprets all those other signs, so together they work for me.
i needed a tooth pulled a few years back and would not make the appointment until i read my book for a good sign. i almost didn't even bleed enough to make the clot necessary to keep from having a dry socket, and usually i'm a bleeder in that situation.
same thing fror haircuts, fishing, calving and a host of other things. the book is 'raising by the moon'... the complete guide to gardening and living by the signs of the moon. 2 nc men wrote it years ago, jack pyle and taylor reese.
my neighbor has weaned calves with some difficulty. someone told him to do it when the moon is in a sign below the knees... never again a peep from the calves separated from their mothers.
it's interesting... my mom has always cut our hair on new moon... and that is a very commom practice in Brazil...
I have never gardened based on that... but I think is something worth looking into it!
Thank you for the links philomel and tabasco! Very interesting reading (btw I've ordered the calendar)!
Thanks Tabasco for those links. I purchased a Gardening by the moon calendar last year, and the information on it was sort of sparse. I would like to see a more comprehensive calendar, which would suggest planting times, pruning times, weeding, and harvest.
I know that we have several native americans whose families have used this practice for many years, and would like to hear more from them. Dusty, thanks for your contribution, and I could mail you my copy of the almanac, if you will help us interpret.
I would like for us to compile a calendar all our own, to share here, and it is a very doeable project, if we get input from the general population at Daves. We have approximately 6 months to complete one for 2008. I know that we can do it.
We will need volunteers to do research, and someone to receive and compile data, and then we will talk about what to do with the data when we complete that phase.
Now, lets hear from those interested in participating in this project.
did no one read my post above about a wonderful book that interprets each sign, not just moon, but all the zodiac signs whch have a GREAT infuence on planting by the moon.
or, have i become the village idiot and folks skip my posts?
We, at least I, read it darius.......but it would be so nice to have the information here in the forum, for those of us without the budget to purchase a book, but would still like to learn the art.
okay, i know my remarks above were ugly. but I have some of the VERY BEST information available about gardening by the moon, over several generations and several nationalities, and my remarks went un=noticed.
sorry, 3... it would take weeks and weeks to make sense of the information unless i copied it word for word, a no-no for copyright material.
Quoted by Darius""over several generations and several nationalities, and my remarks went un=noticed.""
How do you figure that??? Today is a Holiday, and very few are online...Including me...I've been busy moving dirt all day...
You are right .. Your remarks were Ugly... and uncalled for within a 3 hour period from when you posted them to give others time to respond....
Sorry Defoecat....I'll pass...
How about we blame all the fuss on the moon and start over on a happier note? ;-)
Kassia & Darius,
Why get your hair cut during a new moon?
(somebody had to ask)
Surgery too is better done by the "signs" as my Grandmother used to say....and you NEVER weaned babies when the signs were in the stomach.....or something like that.
Darius.....I don't suppose you had time to check the signs before you had your gall bladder out.....HMMMM....maybe that's why you had so much pain.
If you had told my Grandmother that she believed in Astrology....she would have had a hissy fit....she just called them "the signs". Jo
Darius, sorry if I offended you. I was away for several hours,and evidently we cross posted, or just didn't take the time to go back and read all of the posts. I didn't see your post until now. I didn't mean to single out any race, but just commented that most native americans have been doing this for years, and in my opinion, thought we could get some good help there. I will make an attempt to get that book from the library and read it. Since you already have a lot of information on the subject, I will ask you to be the first contributor and start us off on the right foot.
So, all sharp instruments are buried, and we will continue brainstorming.
Please anybody with any reliable information please start posting, and we will then evaluate the data and start compiling it.
thanks, bonnie. i shall start on minor notes as i begin to feel better.
jo, you are probably right about the timing of the surgery although i had no choice.
Thanks Darius, I don't want us to get started on the wrong foot. Afterall, since we are here, we all are expressing our interest in the topic, Gardening by the Moon.
Let me clarify the statement in my above post. RELIABLE INFORMATION. I know that we have all had grandparents or parents who told us that planting, weeding or some other gardening endeavor was best done in the full, dark, light of the moon. That is good information if you have it. But we want information that can be verified. Not, someone told me that... You understand. So if you give information, please be able to verify it's source. We don't want half-truths to muddy the waters.
Thanks to all for you thoughts and suggestions so far. Now lets get brainstorming and see what we can find out.
http://www.almanac.com/astrology/index.php
http://www.users.on.net/~arachne/MoonPlanting.html
i find the above links to be helpful. i hope others would too. if i am not mistaken a great majority of people in the orient do follow moon phase planting. i am sure, non of the old farmers from the Philippines have heard of almanac.com, one thing for sure their moon phase planting system has been pass on for generations.
dcat,
Great idea for a Forum. I'm definitely going to put it in my favorites. Unfortunately I know nothing about moon gardening. However I sure am interested in it.
darius,
Wasn't on all day yesterday so am just reading your post now. I will be trying to get that book from my library and if I find I can't live without it, I'll be buying it.
Well, couldn't get it from the library so ordered it from amazon.
Kelly
kelly, it's really a good book and i think you will like what ypu learn from it. i assumed it was out of print but also asumed used copies might be available on half.com or amazon.
i truly am sorry about my posted remarks yesterday, and sorry for everyone i offended. yesterday was one of the worst days (both physically and emotionally) of my life... bad enough that if i were so inclined i may have just done away with myself. i have asked admin to remove my post.
however, gardening by the moon fascinates me more every year as i learn bits and pieces and see them go from an abstract thought in something i've read into actual visual results in my garden.
i also work with the nature spirits (dusty will know) and one of my agreements is that the rabbits, deer, etc. are welcome to 10% of everything i grow. seldom do i lose any more than that eccept an unusual year of fungus.
when i start feeling better i will drag out my moon book and post some ideas.
Breathe deep, darius. We're pulling for you no matter what phase the moon is in. I'm excited about that book -- I just wonder how to tailor a calendar to utilize all the info. This will be great.
Planting by the signs is a fairly straight forward operation. You plant aboveground crops (lettuce, peas, tomatoes, etc.) when the moon is waxing (growing) from New to Full Moon. Underground crops (beets, radishes carrots, potatoes, etc.) are planted when the moon is waning from Full to New Moon. However, true gardening by the signs is a bit more complicated.
On its 29 day journey around the earth the Moon passes (from an earthling's point of view) through all 12 signs of the Zodiac. These signs are divided into four broad Elemental groups: they're either Water, Earth, Air, or Fire. Those signs classified as Water or Earth Signs are generally considered optimal for planting and pruning for growth. Air and Fire Signs are classified as Barren Signs and are generally suitable for weeding, tilling the soil, and pruning for control of growth.
one year i made my own calendar from a big desk pad calendar, one sheet per month, and marked ALL the days and even times as the astroligical signs changed (including the moon void of course). it was a lot of work and actually more information than my brain could comprehend. at least i was smart enough to color-code it so an easy glance helped to know when to weed, when to plant root crops, etc.
i should do that again, hopefully before fall crops this year.
i need to run.... been throwing up my meds for nearly 30 minutes now. sure wish i new which one is the culprit.