Gardening by the Moon
“The waxing of the moon is associated with rising vitality and upward growth. Towards the end of this phase, plant and sow anything that develops crops above ground.” — Lia Leendertz, “The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2026”
I was tagged by @friend-crow to share six non-selfie photos from my phone. I’ll turn this into a theme, as I have six related pictures I want to post - my first attempt at lunar gardening! 🌱
I missed my first opportunity to sow my Solanaceae seeds at the beginning of February because of devotional New Year (the first quarter to full moon fell between 26th January and 1st February). My second and final chance - we have a very short growing season here, and if I don’t get my tomato seeds planted in February, I won’t have tomatoes at all - was between 24th February and 3rd March.
I soaked my Aleppo pepper, jalapeño, and tomato seeds in warm water overnight on 25 February, then planted them on 26 February. I don’t have a picture of it, but I covered the seed pots’ surfaces with a plastic bread bag to create a greenhouse-like effect. As of this morning, seven of the ten tomato seeds have germinated.
(I didn’t know that soaking seeds in weak chamomile tea was a thing? Apparently, chamomile has anti-fungal properties that inhibit mould and improve seed health.)
On 2 March, I realised I only had until 11:38 am the next day to get my didukh grain sown. I knew there was no way I could manage to prepare the seeds, organise their growing containers, and get everything planted and properly covered by noon on that date. So, rather than frantically doing it all first thing on the morning of the 3rd, I decided to complete the task on the 2nd, even though it wasn’t on the agenda.
Usually, I would tag others to pass the game on, but this is meant to be a secret diary, so I am cautious about attracting too much attention.
Thanks for the tag, @friend-crow. ❤️