Best Days to Sow or Transplant in March

[barkeater]

Gardening by the Moon Calendar from the Farmers' Almanac
The Farmers Almanac Gardening by the Moon Calendar is determined by our age-old formula and applies generally to regions where the climate is favorable.


March 2013
6th-7th Any Root Crops That Can Be Planted Now Will Do Well.
8th-10th A Barren Period, Best Suited For Killing Pests. Do Plowing And Cultivating.
11th-12th Good Days For Planting Aboveground Crops. Fine For Vine Crops. Set Strawberry Plants.
13th-15th Cultivate And Spray, Do General Farm Work, But No Planting.
16th-17th Favorable For Planting Crops Bearing Yield Above The Ground.
18th-19th Seeds Planted Now Tend To Rot In The Ground.
20th-22nd Best Planting Days For Aboveground Crops, Especially Peas, Beans, Cucumbers And Squash Where Climate Is Suitable. Plant Seedbeds And Flower Gardens.
23rd-26th A Most Barren Period, Best For Killing Plant Pests Or Doing Chores Around The Farm.
27th-28th Favorable Days For Planting Root Crops, Fine For Sowing Hay, Fodder Crops, And Grains. Plant Flowers.
29th-30th Excellent Time For Planting Root Crops That Can Be Planted Now And For Starting Seedbeds. Good Days For Transplanting.
31st Poor Planting Day.
April 2013
1st Barren Day. Do No Planting.
2nd-4th Favorable Days For Planting Beets, Carrots, Turnips, Radishes, Onions, And Other Root Crops.

[Tonio]

Thanks Bark,


Question on: 29th-30th Excellent Time For Planting Root Crops That Can Be Planted Now And For Starting Seedbeds. Good Days For Transplanting.

I can understand its a good time to sow root crops, but confused about the transplants? Root crops are not transplanted in general, so are they refering to transplanting above ground crops during the waning phase?

[Doug9345]

It's off by 6 weeks to two months for around here. The garden soil is only sort of thawed and if I planted anything out there right now anything that didn't freeze would need scuba gear to not drown.

[barkeater]

Originally Posted by Tonio

Thanks Bark,


Question on: 29th-30th Excellent Time For Planting Root Crops That Can Be Planted Now And For Starting Seedbeds. Good Days For Transplanting.

I can understand its a good time to sow root crops, but confused about the transplants? Root crops are not transplanted in general, so are they refering to transplanting above ground crops during the waning phase?

Yes. Probably because it is still so close to the full moon and in a great water sign, Scorpio. Still, they didn't say it was the best, or an excellent, or a favorable time, but just a "good" time.

[Tonio]

According to the Almanac :April 7th-9th Favorable Days For Planting Root Crops, Extra Good For Vine Crops. Set Strawberry Plants. Good Days For Transplanting.

Ephemeris is charted for Pisces on the 6th, yet the almanac says:5th-6th Excellent Time To Kill Weeds, Briars, Poison Ivy, And Other Plant Pests.

[TightenUp]

curious if most members here use the almanac as a guide or who just ignores and plants based purely on weather?

i'll be looking for a 10 day forecast with the lows above 40(or hopefully higher) within a week or two of the average last frost. then i'll pick a day with some cloud cover or mostly sunny. last year i planted in the sunniest hottest day because of my schedule and the plants did great but i'd rather some clouds.

[Alfredo]

Yeah I agree with what Doug9345 stated, the Almanac is off this year for some reason, I used it last season, and it worked well for me...but it seems like the dates posted online at the Farmer's Almanac this year are off a month or so compared to when I remembered sowing everything last year in ground.

I think its definitely generally safer to go by the forecast of weather TightenUp (that's what I've always done for the past 10 years gardening). Or at the very least use a variety of several sources to come to a safer conclusion. For New Jersey, the following is a good link to use where you can call up a hotline to speak with a certified Master Gardener for each county:

http://njaes.rutgers.edu/mastergardeners/helplines.asp

For a listing of the Cooperative Extension Services for each state:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coopera...ension_service

~Alfredo

[Doug9345]

The temperatures don't seem to be tracking as well this year as they have in the past. In a typical winter it's clear and cold on the full moon and snowy on the first and third quarter. The new moon is typically colder than the quarters but warmer than the full moon. It's not bad to realize that your weather is influenced by the moon and therefore your planting times somewhat follow the moon.
The thing that I think is important to understand is that it's only part of the picture. Being observant of what the trees are doing, what the animals are doing, what the long term weather forecasts look like( I'm talking about the 1 to two week ones), and how your own microclimate is different from those around you are more of the picture.

[barkeater]

If planting based on the moon and what sign the moon is in, the Farmers Almanac calender is behind by a whole day! For example, the FA says best time for tomatoes is 3/20-21-22, but the second quarter moon is in the water sign Cancer 3/19-20-21 according to the calenders at www.zodiacarts.com and www.throughnightsfire.com.

Then again, the FA says their's is a "proprietary formula", so maybe they think differently. So, sorry about posting the Farmer's Almanac version. Use the other two sites if you wish to plant by the moon.

[Doug9345]

Don't be sorry. Thanks for posting it. Anything that leads to reasoned discourse is good.

[Tonio]

+1 not your fault Bark. I used to go by the FA, then stumbled on the other moon phase gardening sites, and they didn't match.

[casino]

I plant by the moon but I do not use the farmers almanac. I purchase the Stella * Natura Biodynamic planting guide and calendar. You get a 12 month calendar and each day is broken down to the exact hour on when to plant a leaf, flower, root or fruit crop. Very detailed and no thinking required. Just look at the day and do what it says. easy easy

http://www.stellanatura.com/

[tjg911]

i plant when it's convenient for me, when the weather is favorable is very important. i time starting seeds to coincide with when they need to go out, the phase of the moon has nothing to do with it any more than whether there is a half or full bottle of ketchup in the fridge. i do watch the full moon in may tho because a frost or freeze can be serious and for whatever reason i have observed the coldest weather often coincides with the full moon in may.

tom

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by tjg911

i plant when it's convenient for me, when the weather is favorable is very important. i time starting seeds to coincide with when they need to go out, the phase of the moon has nothing to do with it any more than whether there is a half or full bottle of ketchup in the fridge. i do watch the full moon in may tho because a frost or freeze can be serious and for whatever reason i have observed the coldest weather often coincides with the full moon in may.

tom

Tom, I've never taken note of the May full moon and the weather. I'll have to keep any eye on it this year as that's the month when I do a lot of planting out.

I have a neighbor who swears by the moon cycles for planting his garden, but then he's retired and doesn't have the problem of trying to fit the planting schedule in around a full time job! I set out last year to give it a try, but between my work hours and the weather, it was just impossible. I don't know if it would make for a better season if I followed it, but I do avoid looking at it so I don't stress out over the fact that I've sown seeds during barren times!

[tjg911]

Originally Posted by Father'sDaughter

Tom, I've never taken note of the May full moon and the weather. I'll have to keep any eye on it this year as that's the month when I do a lot of planting out.

I have a neighbor who swears by the moon cycles for planting his garden, but then he's retired and doesn't have the problem of trying to fit the planting schedule in around a full time job! I set out last year to give it a try, but between my work hours and the weather, it was just impossible. I don't know if it would make for a better season if I followed it, but I do avoid looking at it so I don't stress out over the fact that I've sown seeds during barren times!

i'm retired too so time is not an issue, i can do whatever whenever.

my take on this is before everyone had calendars at home and maybe just saw them at the general store they used the moon to track time. i have planted root crops and above ground crops at the "right" and "wrong" times over the years and i never really see any difference. things have almost always done well so i don't see any use to planting by the moon. there are enough variations in weather that it would be hard to really say unless i purposely planted the same crop to monitor them and i don't have the space to waste or frankly the desire to test it.

that may full moon thing really is something to watch. i picked up on this several years ago when we had snow on may 10th (kinda late tho last frost date is 5/31 here) and started to see a pattern. i always hope for a full moon in the 1st half of may. one year it was late around memorial day and i was worried about what might happen as they were calling for really cold weather and it coincided with the full moon by a day or two before or after the full moon.

tom