Germinating by the moons cycles..?

[space cadet swami]

Anyway, after some interesting debate on chat the other night, I came to the realisation that I took for granted what turned out to be a misnomer. Silly me thought that everyone, or at least the majority of the SAB community farmed in accordance with the moons phases. Not to say strict adherence in the form of say bio-dynamics, but, at least in the germination process of seeds... i.e. germinating seeds by the full moon.

So what I thought might be interesting is a poll on whether you do, or don't, germinate via the full moon & also if you live in a situation where the moons cycles are not as noticeable due to artificial lighting, in the form of street lighting.

[PositiveHAL]

damn hippies

[space cadet swami]

I felt for sure you'd vote yes for germinating by the full moon Dave...

[Sallubrious]

I use a bastardised system loosely based on a moon planting chart for my outdoor plantings but seeds started indoors or in punnets I don't bother.

I read somewhere (I think it could have been in The Secret Life of Plants) that two scientists both monitored the weather for years and they both found that rain was much more likely directly after a full or a new moon, apparently the the two papers were published side by side in a scientific journal as they were so similar in their findings and their research was done without knowledge of each others work.

I've observed weather reports for years get their forecast for rain wrong when it comes to moon cycles, many times rain is predicted the day before a new or full moon and it doesn't fall until just after.

So bearing that in mind I like to plant outdoor crops just before a new or full moon so the seedlings stay wet for a few days after germination or at least to attempt to increase the chances of that happening. It's served me quite well since I began doing it that way.

[Stillman]

SC I was looking at this site the other night when you guys were having your "debate" you might find it interesting.

http://www.the-garde...on_Planting.asp

its an English site but it explains their "science" to a point.

Edited August 4, 2012 by Stillman

[whitewind]

I usually do it when my seeds urge me too. This usually involves "Ah yes, it must be time to plant the Lycopersicon seeds now, I'll do it right now, or first thing tomorrow if it's dark.

I reckon the seeds know when to plant better than I do ;)

[Stillman]

a few years ago I was convinced my body was in synch with the weather, when I felt the need to turn a garden bed and plant out that night it would rain and water them in. Then of course we had two seasons of mass flooding and I have been to scared to garden since. lol

Edited August 4, 2012 by Stillman

[shortly]

I figure even if it doesn't help, it cant hurt. Apart from putting the seed aside & promptly forgetting all about it.

Although I've never quite figured out if a cactus is a soft fruit? a flowering perennial? or with the columnars, a tree?

[space cadet swami]

seems to be a correlation starting to appear in regards to the two questions...

Are we becoming disconnected from nature & the cycles that are going on around us, seemingly without us noticing...possibly due to the artificial world that majority of us exist in..? Hmmm

EDIT: more voting would be more conclusive people...

Edited August 5, 2012 by space cadet 101

[myco]

I've always heard alot about this and know of alot of people who do go by moon psyches and swear by it

I myself have never really looked into it much and have never at least purposely planted by moon cycles

[ThunderIdeal]

you might be assuming that moon cycles affect plants because of brightness at night time. maybe so. maybe the difference in gravity is more relevant. a think a new moon adds to the sun's gravity and a full moon opposes the sun's gravity.

i'm pretty skeptical of BD itself. the phase of moon could easily be significant to plants, although not significant enough to thwart the many farms and nurseries that ignore moon phases.

suggesting that people are disconnected from nature, because they use perfectly effective horticultural techniques without accounting for the moon phases, is a pretty long bow to draw IMHO. for arguments sake while you are inspecting celestial bodies, you could be inspecting the area for pests etc. which would be closer to nature?

[space cadet swami]

^^^ I tend to agree that this is a magnetic anomaly, IMO....the reference of being disconnected from nature was more to do with how someone in a built up area with street lighting would not know if it was a full moon or a new moon by just stepping out into the night.

I live in the bush myself, so when it's a new moon I know it is due to the fact that I can't see, as compared to the opposite on a full moon.

[whitewind]

I have never understood the reasoning behind planting to moon cycles (actually, no-one has explained it to me at all).

However, from a shamanic perspective, there are particular energies that you can bring to bear when tending your crops or planting out, and I imagine that if you believe something will work you channel those energies much more effectively then. It also means that it's just bullshit, because if you figure that bit out then you can plant whenever and it should work. The amount of moisture in the ground and light received (inc. day length) are scientifically provable methods of getting seeds to germinate, so we are better off starting with that.

[waterboy 2.0]

I had a play with it many moons ago, there was possibly some benefits to root crops and most notable with parsley when grow specifically for its root. But is wasnt power packed with enough cosmic boost for me to keep going with it.

I am with thunder on considering if any effect its based on some gravitational force, I think of tides.....

I do know some BD folk that I must admit produce some impressive produce, but there is a lot of things going on within BD production that produce advantages - although I think for different reasons than the initial claims.

These days ,I just "feel" its the right time to sow something, or the soil temperature feels about right and then there is usually not enough time for that.

[space cadet swami]

Ok...so my thinking is, that the germination process starts when the seed is impregnated with water...we know for a fact that water is affected by lunar cycles & life itself is about water & electromagnetic energies.

Science works with 4 types of forces: gravity, weak nuclear, strong nuclear & electro-magnetism...one of the major goals of science (physics) at this point in time is the unification of these four forces. Now even though science looks for something to unify these four forces, the reality is they are already unified & science just can't explain it yet.

Strangely enough for years the assumption was that a womans menstrual cycle was regulated by the moon...it is now a fact that this is not the case & the reality is that it is the sun that is responsible for this, with a 27 day solar rotational cycle.

So, is there a possibility that it isn't just the moon we have to take into consideration here. Systems thinking moves in the opposite direction to "Descartes" reductionist model, so are we over simplifying by saying it's gravity when in fact gravity is a part of a larger system of forces..?

There are quite a few anomolies within this solar system of ours. Another one being the fact that our moon is just the right distance from the earth to allow for near perfect eclipses with our sun...coincidence..? Could it be that our lunar phases fall in alignment with the above mentioned solar cycle..? Am I in fact planting by a solar phase...?

[whitewind]

That's the best introduction to this subject I've ever had! I think you may be right about solar cycles being important, I think they are significant when it comes to astrological signs as well. However, if the solar cycles are only 27 days and yet the moon planting guides are based on 28 day cycles, then surely these guides would be non-functional after a few months?

[space cadet swami]

^^^ I'm only speculating, somebody in the respective field would need to do the necessary research. Maybe they meet in the middle there somewhere...lol

[planthelper]

Another one being the fact that our moon is just the right distance from the earth to allow for near perfect eclipses with our sun...coincidence..?

 

yep, it's coincidence! the moon used to be close to earth and is moving slowly further away from the earth.

i think, it's special though, that the moon always shows us the same side, this happens because the bright side of the moon, is in a gravity lock with the earth.

full moon get's noticed by plants, a seedling which emerged shortly before full moon, might grow "towards the moon" in other words maybe more upright and straight, and stronger. daytime might "look" just very bright, but diffuse for plants, whilst full moon, is a more concetrated light (but very faint compared to the sun).

i always wanted to grow plants, only with the light of some stars, and than compare. sirius has blue light, antares a nice red.....

[Darklight]

I don't always germinate by lunar cycle- I would if I were better organised

A former colleague in tissue culture swore blind he had data that proved monocotelydons in-vitro ( bamboo I think it was ) grew synchronously with the moon's cycle

I saw his lab, and there was no way any stray light was getting in to compromise the data, it was light and temperature controlled 100%.

Haven't seen the data though

[space cadet swami]

14 votes....very disappointing..

[apothecary]

I've been researching the topic for two days since I saw the thread space cadet, don't be dissappointed!

Moon phases interest me greatly, even more than greatly, ever since I first read this.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/34271688/RBS-Equity-Special-20100707

[Bigred]

could you trick a plant with a moon cycle ie work on a electro magnet and some light

or is the phsyics behind it to hard it is a amazing subject

peace bigred

[space cadet swami]

^^^Now that would be an interesting experiment...maybe a thesis for someone doing a science degree. I would think you would have to use solar electromagnetic radiation as a guideline...

Of course the experiment would have to be done in a controlled environment, which could be a problem...you would probably have to go a couple of hundred metres underground. It seems that females under these conditions stop menstruating...Hmmmm

[Considera]

@ - #17 - regarding research. There is a collection of interesting research here and there will soon be an invitation to experiment in 2013 if anyone wants to join in. There are several planting calendar compilers who have agreed to emphasise certain dates which give good opportunities for contrasting crops. That could be worth joining in.

[Heretic]

This is an interesting thread , and some experimentation is warranted . I read somewhere that sowing by lunar phases evolved because of the increased likelihood of rain at or after certain lunar phases , which is why the ancients developed their lunar planting calendar . . . ps , Yes SallyD , I read " The Secret Life ... " also . Probably where I saw the reference to rain and lunar cycles . { fascinating book ]

Edited October 30, 2012 by Heretic