All gardeners have their own ways of doing things as well as their own preferences – it’s what makes every one of them unique and results in some amazing creations that take time, love and plenty of effort to not only create but to develop and maintain. Whether it’s a certain tool or a specific kind of plant or shrub, what works for one might not work for another purely because of personal preference or the kind of garden they have.
For instance, a gardener with a small plot of land at the rear of their property might be restricted in terms of what they can and can’t grow; while someone living in the countryside with a larger garden will have less restrictions but they would share a passion for potted plants over bedded plants. At the same time, two other gardeners might have the same amount of land but one has chosen to pave or gravel theirs while the other has maintained a beautifully mown lawn with bedded plants around the borders and a beautiful log cabin from Garden Buildings Direct in one corner to entertain guests. The key here is, while all are different, one is not better than the other and each will have their own range of results determined by what they plant and, most importantly, when.
Knowing the best times to plant certain seeds and even established plants is the key to successful gardening whether you’re a fan of grow-your-own vegetables or bedded plants. One method that many use to get this right is a moon calendar which works out – according to various meteorological and climatic conditions – when it is the best time of year to plant and should, in theory at least, provide you with the best yield. Of course this is all built on trial and error over many years but will always have some skeptics saying that it can just be affected by mild winters or a specific kind of soil with exactly the right nutrients. However, millions of gardeners swear by it and it has proven results.
Some say that there isn’t a great deal of difference between planting in June and July for example, when the conditions are relatively similar, yet others will tell you that a matter of weeks can make a great difference in terms of what you harvest when you planted the seeds in April or May. There will always be experiments and arguments about whether or not planting by the moon works or not, so let’s explain a little about it so you can give it a go yourself if you haven’t already.
I need to clear up is that it doesn’t mean you plant the seeds at night. This doesn’t make much difference at all other than it’s a little chillier! The term actually relates to the location of the moon in front of the 12 constellations of the zodiac which – as any astrologist or person with a keen interest in the signs of the zodiac will tell you – are related to the four elements (air, fire, earth and water); and fans of moon calendars are advised to plant seeds that grow below ground during the earth stages such as Taurus or Capricorn.
Many will tell you that the whole thing is nonsense and that there is proof that also argues that there are no changes depending on whether something is planted at the right stage of the moon calendar; but that’s what is great about gardening – there’s no right or wrong way.
Yes, there will be times when you harvest a particularly poor yield and there will be times when you have a highly productive harvest. If the two are done at exactly the same time a year apart you will never have the same results, it’s just nature. Yet many believe in it and have taken it to their hearts, planting certain seeds during certain times of the moon calendar and they’re happy with their produce so why change it? Skeptics only exist to prove some people wrong or because they don’t believe in the methods, yet if someone has proven that there are successes, it can’t be wrong. One of the most important things to remember about gardening is that trial and error is key and unless you try, you never learn.