Bond got me a Farmer's Almanac this year for Christmas (she also got one for each of the Gardeners at the office). Now I can plan everything based on the phase of the moon.
So...I have to start building my new garden either this weekend, 23-25 of Jan, or 19-21 of Feb.
And then plant stuff the 5-6 and 14-15 and 24-25 of March. Of course, these planting dates don't necessarily coincide with the other table you're supposed to consult--the table of best dates to plant specific crops. I guess that gives them an out--"Oh your tomatoes didn't do well this year, and you planted based on the Outdoor Planting Table--you should have followed the Moon's Astrological Place Table." Or I guess the other way we could read this, it means that this spring is not going to be so great for sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplants, pumpkins, and tomatoes (sorry Bonnie!)
Meh. I just hope this year is better than last year for growing stuff--a whole 4 peppers from the entire 2 seasons (spring and fall) of gardening.
Speaking of growing stuff. The spinach and carrots seem to be doing well in their containers. The strawberries are keeping on keeping on. But I don't see any flowers or anything...which is fine because they're not supposed to flower until January or so anyways.
3 comments:
Hi Katina,
Planting by the moon is something I've heard about for years but never tried. The Farmers Almanac might be fun to read, but since our so-called crops suffer more from critters than weather, we'd have to get the birds and squirrels to read it, too.
Does the NW Weather Underground work for you? Our readings are sometimes closer to the one in Balcones.
Good luck with your 2009 Garden!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
You need to subscribe to Texas Gardener magazine. It's a great magazine and has real good planting guides in the front that even break planting times down to the area of Texas your in. There is also a monthly reminder of what you should be doing in the upcoming months. Great articles as well. Bob
Annie: I've never really checked between the two--I use the NW one because it's closer to my house (about an inch on the map, as opposed to 2 inches).
And I do realize that the Farmer's Almanac is superstition and conjecture. But I figure I might as well try it, what have I got to lose?
Bob, I picked up a copy of the sept/oct Texas Gardener at the fall vegetable thing that the Texas Extension Office did. I really enjoyed it and meant to put it on my Christmas list, but forgot. I'll have to look into it.
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