It's Not Just About Real Estate, Though Farming is Real Estate Related.
I'm a farmer's daughter, so I guess you could say the need to grow a garden is in my blood. Read on to get just a little info about the Farmer's Almanac and how it can help your garden.
The Farmer’s Almanac, once used as the bible for farmers, is coming back into favor among the backyard food growers and living sustainably. It’s usefulness in reminding the backyard farmer of plantings dates and other important times in the agricultural year. It’s a primer for new gardeners to discover the older, less expensive ways to get things done. It details how moon phases may dictate what to do when. The farmer of yesterday stood by this guide. The waxing moon or the waning moon determined what tasks were to be performed in preparing your garden.
The Almanac uses old symbols for the celestial goings on from day length to the sun’s position with signs of the Zodiac. The symbols were important for farmers that couldn’t read, but knew what the symbols meant. A farmers’ month is built around the four phases of the moon. The new moon is called “dark moon”. The first sliver of moon that appears after that is called the “fingernail” moon growing every night until the first quarter is complete. This signals the moon is on the increase or “waxing” – growing larger each night. This continues into the second quarter when the moon becomes a full moon. Then the moon starts to decrease and “wanes” growing smaller each night until the third quarter is complete. The fourth is when the moon comes around again to be “dark”.
An old farmer’s rule is to plant fruit that grows above ground while the moon is waxing (growing). Under a full moon is the time to plant ALL crops. It was believed that the moons strength is strongest when full and therefore brings more growth energy to seed germination. As the moon begins to “wane” (decrease) planting will continue, but only the plants that produce below the ground, like carrots or potatoes.
The fourth quarter of the moon is a time for destruction – planting is forbidden. This is the time to cut firewood, pull weeds or plough the land or harvest the goods.
Other important information in the Almanac is sunrise and sunset, tide tables and useful, handy tips and folklore from early farming. Many practices still ring true for today, such as crop rotation for the home farmer. The current edition still has it’s iconic yellow cover and is published with specific editions for certain areas. Look for it online at www.almanac.com. And Happy Planting!
