Spring Planting

With the beautiful weather we've been having, it's hard to show restraint and NOT begin planting. The husband and I have used the past several weeks of warm weather to do garden chores: breaking up concrete to double the garden bed; amending soil; building a compost bin; buying seeds; studying planting by the moon. Yes, planting by the moon. I read where a gentleman in England experimented on his potatoes, planting some according to the moon (a waning moon for underground crops) and some at a different time. He said you could see the difference. Not exactly a guarantee, but it is encouraging.

In the whiskey barrel, you can see the violas that look so happy and smell so sweet, spires of red onion, and miscellaneous greenery--lettuce mix. I hope to be able to plant some cherry tomatoes in here for the summer.

We've planted another fig, and blueberries and raspberries are waiting for their beds to be prepared. Red onions are in the ground, and I planted sugar snap peas Friday. Sage is cut into mini-plants for rooting and sharing, and a few seedlings of broccoli and spinach have pushed through the soil and begun sprouting their first sets of true leaves. Today is the second day of the second quarter moon, the waxing moon; and according to moon-planters, never plant on the first day of any moon phase. I'm waiting patiently for the weekend. That is the recommended day to plant raspberries, but seeds rot in the ground. I'm a wee bit late for tomato seedlings, but my plan is to start them Sunday or Monday. It could be my eagerness to plant is ahead of actual planting, in which case, I'll be starting them right on time.

We'll see how this whole business of planting by the moon goes. I'll keep you posted. Check out Farmer's Almanac for more information about planting by the moon.