Age-Old Moon Gardening Growing in PopularityJohn Roach
for National Geographic News
July 10, 2003

More gardeners today are turning to the moon for sage advice on the best time 
to plant, prune, weed, and harvest. The practice, known as moon or lunar 
gardening, is cultivating a cult following. "Lunar gardening is the oldest form of 
gardening known to man," said RJ Harris, the head gardener at a private 
estate near Cornwall, England, and author of a book on the subject. The practice 
centers on the moon's gravitational effect on the flow of moisture in soil and 
plants and, to a lesser degree, the effect of moonlight on seed germination. 
Harris has gardened in tune with the lunar cycle since the 1950s, a practice he 
learned from his father and grandfather. 

Moon gardening has been growing in popularity. It is centered on how the 
moon's gravitational effect causes changes in underground water tables.

"Ever since prehistoric times, long before man ever had a watch on his wrist 
or a calendar on his wall, everything was governed by the phases of the moon," 
said Harris. He notes that the moon not only controls ocean tides but 
influences the groundwater tables beneath our feet. Understanding the latter effect, 
and timing gardening chores accordingly, is the basis of moon gardening. 
Harris gives the example that the best time to turn over a garden is during the 
last quarter of the moon because that is when the water table has dropped to its 
lowest point. "It means less moisture is within the soil. It is far easier to 
turn soil over when there is less moisture in it," he said. Moon Boom Seeking 
to preserve knowledge about moon-gardening techniques before they were 
eclipsed entirely by modern gardening practices, Harris wrote RJ Harris' Moon 
Gardening with the help of journalist Will Summers. But since the book's September 
2002 publication, Harris said he learned he need not have worried. Harris says 
he has heard from people in New Zealand, Austria, Germany, and the United 
States who use the lunar cycle as a guide for their gardening chores. And the 
Internet is sprouting with Web sites dedicated to the practice. On her Web site 
Gardening by the Moon.com (www.gardeningbythemoon.com), Caren Catterall writes, 
"Plants respond to the same gravitational pull of tides that affect the oceans, 
which alternately stimulates root and leaf growth. Seeds sprout more quickly, 
plants grow vigorously and at an optimum rate, harvests are larger and they 
don't go to seed as fast." A monthly calendar highlights the best days for 
planting and other gardening activities. Harris said the current boom in lunar 
gardening reminds him of the time organic gardening began to find a niche during 
the "hippie craze" of the 1970s. "They were the first…people to bring in 
organic gardening. Everyone laughed at them," he said. "Now people will pay a 
premium for organically-grown produce." What the moon gardening movement currently 
lacks is a body of modern scientific work that validates its benefits. 

Scientific Validation? 

John Teasdale, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural 
Systems Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, said he is not aware of any 
research on the lunar influences on agriculture, though he said an experiment could 
be established. "We know that the moon influences some natural phenomena such 
as tides," he said. "I would guess that a simple hypothesis would be that 
lunar cycles could influence meteorological cycles which in turn could influence 
crops." Michael Jawson, another researcher at the facility, said the reported 
benefits of moon-gardening practices are most likely indirect effects that stem 
from gardener's attentive care. "The indirect effect could be one simply of 
overall better management because of being careful to do good practices at more 
optimum times in relation to plant growth cycles," he said. One tangential 
relationship between the moon and agriculture was investigated by researchers at 
the Agricultural Research Service's National Soil Tilth Laboratory in Ames, 
Iowa. In 1995 Douglas Buhler and colleague Keith Kohler conducted experiments 
that showed weed seed exposure to light enhances germination for select 
species. Kohler said their findings indicated that till soiling (which brings buried 
weed seeds to the surface) in complete darkness, such as that under a new 
moon, hinders the germination of certain weed seeds—resulting in fewer weeds in 
one's garden. "Certain species, even if they receive only a flash of light, tend 
to break dormancy and basically turn on the sequence of germination and 
establishment," he said. Kohler cautioned that the research implies any light 
source, not just moonlight, could produce this effect and only indirectly relates 
to the lunar cycle. Kohler also noted that scientific research directly related 
to the lunar cycle is sparse. Meanwhile, Harris said he conducts his own 
experiments. Each year he cultivates a selection of crops in opposition to the 
best practices of moon-gardening methods. Crops planted according to the lunar 
cycle fair much better, he said. "I've got a large area in potatoes. We've got 
some planted at the right time of the moon and some crops at the wrong time of 
the moon. The difference is so obvious and there for everybody to see," he 
said. 

Moon Gardening Basics 

The moon moves through a complete cycle every 29 days. For moon gardening 
purposes, this cycle is divided into four quarters. Each quarter denotes specific 
garden chores. The first two quarters are during the waxing phase of the moon 
and go from new moon to half full and from half full to full moon. The third 
and fourth quarters are during the waning moon and go from full moon to half 
full and from half full to new moon. According to RJ Harris, the head gardener 
at a private estate in Cornwall, England, and an expert on moon gardening, the 
first quarter is ideal for planting crops that grow underground, such as 
potatoes and carrots. The second quarter is for planting crops that grow above 
ground, such as corn and peas. As the moon wanes during the third and fourth 
quarters, it is a good time to prune plants, as the water table is diminishing and 
so less sap will flow out of the cut ends. The fourth quarter is the most 
dormant period and is good for chores like weeding. Additionally, some moon 
gardeners say there are better times to harvest certain crops, such as picking 
fruit as the moon waxes, which is when it should be its juiciest. Crops that 
require storage, such as roots, are best picked during the waning moon. Harris said 
that ever since he implemented the lunar calendar at the estate where he 
works in Cornwall, "we have never had to use any artificial watering, I mean a man 
standing up with a hose, or sprinkler. If this isn't conservation then I 
don't know what is." 

    
    



    



    

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