Growing with the Moon in August 2011

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Tips for growing with the Moon in August

Plant your flower bulbs whether in pots or the garden on 6 – 7 August

Use a proprietary organic garlic compound diluted and sprayed on your brassicas to encourage strong growth and to deter pests. Remember that a strong plant can survive an attack of caterpillars whilst a weak one will succumb

Mulch on 10 – 13 when the moon is waxing and in an Earth or Air sign.

On a fruit day remove the old canes from summer fruiting raspberries and dig out strawberry plants that have fruited three times leaving the runners to take their place.

Once you have harvested your new potatoes sow a green manure crop such as mustard or field beans, or any dwarf bean seeds you happen to have left over! Remember to sow on the correct leaf or fruit day.

In August sow and hoe the land at the following times:

Roots: Sow seed on 3 (pm) – 5, 12 – 13, 21 (pm) – 23 (am) and 31 – 1 Sept. Radish, onion and Milan turnip can all be sown in the open ground, best sowing day is 22.

Fruits: Sow seed on 10 – 11, 19 (pm) – 21 (am) and 28 – 29. Runner beans can be sown in the open ground (up to mid August); best sowing days are 1 and 10 – 11.

Leaves: Sow seed on 7 (pm) – 8, 16 – 19 (am) and 26 (pm) – 27. Spring cabbage and Chinese leaves (until mid August), endive, lettuce and salad greens, parsley and spinach (after mid August) can all be sown in the open ground; best sowing days are 8 and 26.

Flowers: Sow seed on 6 – 7 (am), 14 – 15 and 24 (after 10am) – 26 (am). August is a good time to sow many ornamental flower seeds either in trays in the greenhouse or directly in the open ground; best day to sow is 10.

Harvesting in August

Various factors influence the quality and preservation of fruit and vegetables after harvest. As a general rule, choose an ascending Moon for harvesting plant parts that grow above ground and a descending Moon for parts that grow below ground, but avoid the perigee, lunar nodes and stormy weather. Fruit and vegetables that do not store well will last much longer if you avoid harvesting during Water signs and constellations (Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces).

Remember if you’re harvesting to immediate use you can do so on any day other than the perigee the ascending node and the descending node. Follow the information below if you are harvesting for storing/freezing.

Harvest your root vegetables on 1 – 2 (before noon), 4 – 8, 24 – 30 (before noon) and 31 – 1 Sept., when the Moon is descending.

Harvest all other vegetables on 10 – 23 (am) when the Moon is ascending.

No work or harvesting should be done in the garden on afternoon of 2 and morning of 3 perigee, 9 ascending node, 23 afternoon descending node and 30 after 10am perigee.

3 Aug, 2011
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Comments

Scotsgran

Thank you for this MG. I have not been following a moongrowing system but I am interested. I have already harvested quite a few of my new potatoes which have been grown in pots. If I plant mustard seed in those pots can I use it as green manure in the pots and when? or do I need to compost it in the compost bin.

3 Aug, 2011

Resi

thanks MG i will keep this blog as a reference.
i dont always follow the moontimes as the ground is often too hard to get into it at the right times but if poss i do it.

3 Aug, 2011

Moon_grower

Hi Scotsgran I would compost the soil from your potato pots, sowing a green manure on the open ground helps to feed the overall soil this doesn't work as well in a container as you still need to add fresh fertiliser etc.

Resi it can be a challenge to work biodynamically, just do the best you can.

3 Aug, 2011

Drc726

Hi Moongrower, Planting flowering bulbs in early August is that because you are colder earlier in Scotland? It seems that any bulbs like tulips I plant before October - I never see again.
Also can I ask what green manure you grow?

3 Aug, 2011

Moon_grower

Copy and paste the link below to get to a great site for growing by the moon!

http://bit.ly/oA9Xka

3 Aug, 2011

Scotsgran

Thank you MG. I usually add the soil to the garden as a mulch and put some in the compost bins to help with the process in them. Drc I plant tulip bulbs in October too and do not have a problem with them. We are 120 miles as the crow flies south of Mg.

3 Aug, 2011

Moon_grower

Hi Denise

I wouldn't plant tulips now but any other spring bulbs yes and we've been un-potting a lot of the bulbs in pots and will repot over the weekend. We use Phacelia and also leave the roots of all legumes in the ground overwinter so that the nitrogen nodules are fixed back into the soil.

A friend has advised me there can be problems with mustard causing club root if sown where you are then going to grow brassicas - so perhaps caution is needed there.

B is experimenting with 'catch-crops' this year. So when a row of early potatoes was all lifted he dug the soil over and sowed carrot seed. We wont get huge carrots from but they will still be good and edible.

3 Aug, 2011

Drc726

Thanks for that MG

3 Aug, 2011

Iansimmo

thanks MG

just looking into lunar growing. Finding it fascinating. Will follow your Aug calendar and give it a go

3 Aug, 2011

Moon_grower

Have fun Ian and remember there is always another year when growing crops.

3 Aug, 2011

Bulbaholic

If you are spreading used potato compost on the garden or adding it the compost bin, sieve through it very carefully to find all the tiny potatoes. Every one that you miss will grow just where you didn't want it to!

3 Aug, 2011

Moon_grower

Very true!

3 Aug, 2011

Scotsgran

I have had that problem Bb. They are easily pulled out though. They must be very small, my eyesight is pretty good. I have grown Sarpo Axona this year for the first time and when I was bringing in potatoes tonight I noticed what looked like long seed potatoes with foliage already growing on them. I had read these are the kind that grow forever if you leave them alone and wondered if that is one way of propagating them. I never plant potato apples but I have popped these in to a pot to see what sort of plant results from them.

3 Aug, 2011

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