Lunar Planting Guide Helps You Calculate Best Planting Days
Wondering when to plant vegetables? Get the most out of your season by starting seeds in flats in a controlled environment, and have them ready to go in the ground when the weather warms up. This is a good way to maximize harvests when planting vegetable crops. With careful planning, planting seeds by the signs of the moon can help get early harvests and often a second one as well.
How to Calculate Your Best Days for Planting Seeds by the Signs and Phases of the Moon
Find your Average Frost Free Dates. To calculate when to start seeds for earliest planting out you need to know when your average last frost dates are. (See frost map) Remember that these dates represent an average, and you may experience frosts after these dates as well.
Counting back from last average frost date. Starting at your last spring frost date, count backwards the number of weeks you need to grow the plant to mature size. Seed packets usually have that information. Some adjustment may be necessary, pushing that date up or back to accommodate a particularly frost sensitive plant, or a warmer year than normal. (See this chart for specific plant preferences.)
Consider the plant’s preferences. Consider if the plant is hardy, able to withstand some days of freezing weather, or will need to be absolutely frost free. Adjust the date if you are planting directly in the ground, rather than in flats.
Calculate the nearest favorable phase. Next, look for the nearest favorable moon phase, remembering above ground bearing plants like the first two quarters, and root crops like the third quarter.
Find the zodiac sign that represents your plants. Find the astrological sign of the zodiac that best represents your crop. Different plants have preferences for earth, air, fire or water associations. The moon moves through a new astrological sign every 2-3 days. This info can be found in an ephemeris, which will tell you the moon ingress (when it goes into a sign) or last aspect (leaves a sign) in Greenwich Mean Time.
Calculate when to start a fall garden. To calculate when to start a fall garden, work from the first expected fall frost date, counting back the number of weeks needed to reach harvest. In mild winter areas, hardy crops need to get some good growth before the cold weather sets in, then they will reward you with a late fall or early spring harvest.Or, You Could Skip all that Work…
Let Us Figure Out the Best Planting Days for You!
If all those instructions seem too complicated just to figure when to plant vegetables, there is a better way. Our lunar planting guide gathers all the moon planting information, specific to your growing season, into one easy-to-read calendar. It makes planting seeds by the signs of the moon easy!
Customer Comments
“Yahoo! All the information I want in one attractive place! I used to have notes and lists typed out and attached to my regular calendar. I am really looking forward to receiving this resource!”
–Judy
“I was looking for moon phases so I can get specific when to plant vegetables this year, and am delighted to see that you have made it so easy! Thanks much!! I am almost going to feel guilty at not having to figure it all out myself…but not quite.”
–Kathy F.
