Herbhome Tales ,
December 11, 2021
Welcome to the new Herbhome Newsletter!
This first Newsletter is about planting by the Moon .

There is a lot of interest in this method. We have always planted and done other farm activities by the signs and moon phases. It has worked well for us. There are several planets sharing the night sky with the moon right now, Venus is our bright beauty right now, with the crescent moon, while Saturn and Jupiter are right up there with her.

Science has shown that the moon affects our tides. It is also coming to understand that plants do learn and communicate… some through elaborate root systems, while others release chemicals and scent as well as using movement to warn of danger. My hubby, a city boy, believes it developed as a sort of calendar to give farmers a time frame to do things…

The moon has four quarters and four phases. Each of these is supposed to be good for specific activities. Then the zodiac signs come in, again each is connected to certain things to do. You then combine them …old timers often will not call them by their zodiac name but say things like “ when the sign is in the feet” meaning Pisces, to avoid any feel of paganism.

Some theories think that it works similarly to the the moons drawing of the tides… as the moon waxes, sap rises, as it wanes the sap falls…so you would want to cut cedar posts when the moon was waning so they wouldn’t rot.

Signs were considered barren or fruitful… so combined with the moons phases the farmer would know what to do.

Church holidays were timed that way as well . My granddad always planted potatoes by Easter. Easter is always celebrated on the FIRST Sunday following the FIRST spring full moon. … So a week later, April 4th is Easter. So for the earliest Easter date of March 22nd to happen, Spring and a full moon have to happen on a Saturday which would make Easter the following day since that would be the next Sunday.April.This is just about when bad frosts are over.

The old farmers almanac has a quick lookup of good and bad days for doing things…Much of it is also lore passed down… I was taught never to plant on a Sunday..it was the suns day and anything planted that day would dry up and die. We often would do our solarization ( a weed killing method) on Sundays.

Dad would taste the soil- its sweetness or sour taste would indicate PH balance, while he would also crumble a handful of soil… the texture telling him if it was too moist or too dry to till. He would only cut wood for fence posts when the moon was waning, meaning the sap would be in the ground and the post would last forever if put in the ground on a good day as well. He planted corn when hickory leaves were the size of a squirrels’ ear.
It’s wonderful to have a family member still knowing this traditions! If you know some, please share them, they are often accurate, tho the reason is not known by your generation.
Moon phases are a tradition of when to do specific activities. For us, it has always worked well. Our gardens and fruit trees flourish, herbs and veggies dried within these time frames seem to keep without mildew or rot…animals castrations during these times seldom bleed or get infected, while seeds started in the correct signs take off and grow well. I harvest my medicinal herbs by the moon, so that they will have the most efficacy and will keep well.
In order to work with the moon and the signs, it is important to learn what each is considered good for. When working with plants, look at both the moon phase and the sign. It is the combination that can work. Also pay attention to your instincts and other lore.
The moon has four phases and four quarters. There are twelve zodiac signs.Each has aspects of planting that they “rule”
Here are some basics concepts and terms:
You can tell what phase a moon is in by both the amount of her fax that is lighted, or byte time of night she is in the sky. The new Moon always rises near sunrise. The first quarter Moon always rises near noon. The full Moon always rises near sunset. The last quarter Moon always rises near midnight.
WAXING
The moon is growing, we see more and more of the moons face on her right hand side.
This is a time for beginning projects and of plants that bear fruit about ground.
Sap is rising, so it is a good time to plant for above ground fruits.

FIRST QUARTER
best for leafy greens…
Plant herbs when in Cancer Scorpio or Pisces
SECOND QUARTER
Good for planting, trees and shrubs when moon is in Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces
Best to cut Christmas trees three days before full moon

FULL MOON
…our great full face of the moon. The three days surrounding this are considered full moon. This is great for harvesting .. sap is in the tops- the fruit and seeds of the plants are ready to use.

WANING MOON
She begins to shrink in size, growing smaller on the left side of her face, working her way to the dark of the moon… I was taught that the dark of the moon was the three days of new moon. I have heard old timers call all the waning moon the dark of the moon.
This the time to weed and prune.
It is also a good time to sow roots veggies and lettuce.
Don’t sow flowers during this time.

THIRD QUARTER
Probably this is best to plant root veggies in fruitful signs.

FOURTH QUARTER
This is a time to turn soil, do clean up.

DARK OF THE MOON
is the three days where we don’t see her face. I don’t garden during this time.

THE SIGNS
are used in conjunction with the phases of the moon.. best planting times are when both the moon and the sign are fruitful.
Best signs to plant and transplant are Cancer, Pisces , Scorpio and Taurus. While good signs to harvest are Aries ,Gemini, Aquarius , Sagittarius and Leo.work on setting fence posts with Capricorn in the Dark of the moon.
Waxing moon signs which are good for pruning to encourage growth are Aries, Leo or Sagittarius. The same signs during a waning moon will discourage growth.
Hope this gives you a good basic idea of how it works! There are many great books and blogs about the subject. We use it and it has worked for us…have fun with it!