By Jannie Vaught

This is a practice my Farming Gardening Grandparents did. My Grandfather was also a water dowser using a fresh willow branch that had a Y. He had me walking all over the garden with that branch until it finally went down on its own. And that was a big moment for me.

Planting with the Signs………

This is very familiar with mainly the older generation, but it is again coming to the younger gardeners. I will attempt to do a Nutshell of how I learned to practice this. First, get a Farmer’s Almanac, or use the Foxfire books from Appalachia. I get the condensed one from my local Feed and Seed. This is for the year 2021. This is using the zodiac signs and the phases of the moon to almost everything. There are 12 zodiac signs and 10 correlate with the human body and 2 are not. This is not to be confused with the Moon’s place which is used to calculate charts and calendars. There are charts with Moon’s Astrological places in the zodiac. This chart has each month across the top with the date along with the side and under each month the sign. I use this chart to mostly plant, till, weed, and cut my hair. The moon has 4 cycles. New moon, First quarter, Full moon, Last quarter and cycles again.

The New moon is dark and beginning to come closer to Earth as it reaches the Full stage. This is when tides are high.

The Waxing moon, this is when tides and water are lower.

The full or waxing moon is for planting items that produce above the soil line. The Waning moon is when it begins it farthest away from Earth and less pull and is for planting things that grow underground.

You can use just the Moon Phases and have great success. Or you can go further with the charts and add the Signs. Fertile signs to plant under are Cancer or as my Grandad used The Crab. This is the most fertile sign. Taurus, all root crops and everything else, Gemini which is the arms for all plants with vines such as beans and peas. These can vary according to the charts that you use. But as I stated the phases of the waxing and waiting moon are the most effective. There are Barren times Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius are Fire signs and are good for weeding and pruning. Some will not plant under this phase and Never on Sunday as it is the Sun’s day. It can be very complex. That’s why I keep this little booklet hanging near my garden. and I circle the days with a pencil that I need to pay attention to. And refer to the other signs for guidance. Corn planted in Leo will have large stalks and firm round ears according to the Foxfire book. Plants planted in Cancer can tolerate drought. Cut your hair in Sagittarius it will grow thicker and more beautiful. There are times to wean calves and children. Times to change habits and stop some. Times to pull teeth and times to grow.

I know I attempted to Nutshell this, but I really enjoy the side effects also. If you have never tried using the Almanac and Planting by the Signs give it a try, You may be happily surprised by just using the 28-day moon cycles. Up moon do above the groundwork, down moon do under the soil. If you have looked at the native plants coming up there is plenty to see. Chickweed, henbit, broadleaf sorrel, and wild lettuce. And our first flower the Dandylion. This is the first food for our bees. Do not poison these beneficial plants!!!!! We need our pollinators and they need food right now. It’s Springtime and Gardening is breaking through.

After this hard freeze and troubled time it is a Blessing to simply be outside in nature.

Growing Green With Jannie