
When I was a kid my father and one of the more mature ladies of the church would have pretty much the same “discussion” every spring. She believed strongly in planting by the signs and Dad was determined to convince her it was not only silly, but un-Christian to do so.
As far as I know, neither one ever came around to the other’s way of thinking. I suspect it would have spoiled the fun they had talking about it every spring.
There are still plenty of folk who plant by the signs in Appalachia. Here’s a quick primer, in case you want to give it a try this spring:
- Plant ABOVE ground crops when the moon is waxing (getting bigger). Things like peas, lettuce, tomatoes, squash, etc.
- Plant BELOW ground crops when the moon is waning (getting smaller). Things like potatoes, carrots, turnips, etc.
That’s the BASIC rule. Now, let’s look at the signs. Each month, the moon passes through each of the 12 signs of the Zodiac, which can be divided into four elements:
- Water – Cancer, Pisces, Scorpio
- Earth – Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn
- Fire – Leo, Ares, Sagittarius
- Air – Gemini, Aquarius, Libra
Water and Earth are FERTILE elements while Fire and Air are BARREN elements. Generally speaking, you want to plant in one of the fertile signs and cultivate, prune, and harvest in the barren signs. Of course, you’ll also want to match the phase of the moon to the particular sign. (E.g. Plant potatoes in a fertile sign while the moon is waning.)
Of course there are a few caveats as well. NEVER plant on Sunday, a fiery, barren day. And don’t plant while the moon is full, new, or in one of its quarters regardless of the sign.
Got it? Good. Now go plant something. But only if it’s after the last frost date for your region. (FYI–You should plow a late snow into the soil–it’s known as poor man’s fertilizer.)
For more information (like the proper sign in which to set fence posts or shingle a roof) check out Planting by the Signs, a blog that figures it all out for you.
Too much trouble to work all of those “rules” around to weather conditions that allow one to plant! 🙂
It does make the window pretty small!
The Savior taught Peter,”When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren”.