Planning out When to Sow Seeds

As we know Beltane is around the corner and even if your tradition doesn’t celebrate it, it is still the right time to plant seeds.

Typically gardening by the moon is very helpful. Plant on the new moon, fertilize during the waxing phase, harvest on the full moon and weed your garden during the wane of the moon. You can get more complex as I have and add the moon sign to your calculations.

Read your seed packets and see when to plant in terms of the germination time and when it will be ready to go in the garden. Some seeds grow quickly so you don’t want to plant them in the green house or indoors too soon. If you do, they won’t survive the transfer to your garden. Other seeds take a very long time to get going so you want to start those early.

Try to be as organized as possible so you can see at a quick glance what you’ve got growing and where it needs to be. By planning all of your seeds at once, you can get the plan out faster than if you were to break it up because you already have everything plotted.

Moon signs for planting are Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces.

New to first quarter is when to plant leafy annuals and herbs.

First quarter to full is when to pant flowering annuals, above ground veggies, fruits and vines.

Full moon to third quarter, plant perennials, root vegetables and bulbs.

Third quarter to the dark moon is when to to weed, maintain, cultivate, fight pests or disease.

Armed with this information you can be as simple or complex as you choose. Here is an example of what I have done with my packets of beans and peas. Using the info above, I know they should be planted during the first quarter to full in Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces.

May 1st is Beltane which is a traditional time for many to plant seeds, but Beltane also falls on a day when the moon is in the first quarter to full cycle so I feel it is doubly blessed and of course I will be incorporating my seed planting with my ritual celebration. I put this info on my seed packets that are applicable and use an elastic band to hold that bundle together so I don’t miss any seeds on that day.

The last thing I do is line them up in planting order in the tin I keep the seeds in so they are in order and all together in one place.

A last note, if you have started a “Garden Smash Book”, you can cut out the front of the packet and glue it into your book. You’ll have a space to make notes about the seed’s performance, where in the garden I planted it and how much water you gave it etc. so you learn and adjust for next year if you had any problems.

If you don’t have a smash book, try to keep a small note book to record the information above along with whatever other information you find relevant and important.

Once my seeds are planted, I use Popsicle sticks to label each seed patch so there is no guessing when it is time to plant in the ground. I don’t know about you but I find it difficult to identify a plant when it is only a few inches tall!

Here are a couple of pics of my seeds bundles:

DSCN0928     DSCN0927

Happy planting! May your seeds be healthy

Many blessings

Lady Black

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