Tips from the Potting Bench

Planting, pruning, harvesting and weeding can all be timed with the phases of the moon. The moon exerts an influence on all things that contain water including plants. Optimizing the time you choose to do a certain gardening activity with the appropriate moon phase can lead to better results and it's a great way to become familiar with the cycles of the moon. Here is a brief overview.

NEW MOON:
During this time growth is balanced between root and leaf. It's a good time to plant and transplant annual plants that grow above ground and produce seeds outside the fruit, like strawberries. Also good for germinating seeds.

SECOND QUARTER MOON:
This is time of increased leaf growth, plant and transplant annuals that grow above ground that produce seed inside the fruit, such as tomatoes, peppers etc...Mowing the lawn at this time will lead to increased growth.

FULL MOON:
This is a time of increased root growth. Seeds that take a long time to germinate are best planted now along with perennial seeds, bulbs and all root crops. This is great time for transplanting, pruning, harvesting fruit for storage and drying and mowing the lawn to slow its growth.

FOURTH QUARTER MOON:
This is a time of rest. Neither root nor leaf is growing very actively at this time but you have to keep working! It's a great time to harvest, weed, prune and start compost piles.