Sowing seeds and gardening by the Moon phases

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Following storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin the beginning of March has seen the weather calm down somewhat and at times it has felt distinctly spring like, finally. 

A few of the early flowering Daffodils in my garden have taken a bit of a beating, so mush so, and unusually for me, I have had a few in a vase in the house as they had been snapped by the winds whipping round the garden. 

The conservatory fills by the day and currently houses Buffalosteak Tomato, Gigantomo Tomato, Runner Beans, Courgette and Leek seedlings along with the Begonia corm that I recently took out of its winter storage (in some old compost in a big pot in the shed) and have placed in said pot but on some new compost. It is covered in the tiniest of little buds and promises a real display again this summer all being well. 

I took the opportunity on a quieter Sunday afternoon this weekend to sow some Black Cherry Tomato seeds (a packet received as a Christmas present and that is all it says on the pack) and Limoncito Tomato seeds in small fibre pots. These currently reside in small seed trays, under a propagator lid, on the windowsill of my back bedroom. Any gardener will know the feeling this time of year ass every sunny spot in the house fills with seed trays and pots. 

If you haven’t already sown vegetable seeds such as Leeks and Runner Beans to start under cover indoors on a sunny windowsill now is the time. I usually plant my Potatoes in mid-March as well, I actually use the Cheltenham Festival horseracing meeting as my guide, and it works for me. I am not planning on growing any this year, but you never know................

Many will tell you that the Moon phases affect plant growth and I am experimenting with this over the coming months.

The theory suggests when the Moon is just past full, when the Moon is waning, it is the time to plant root crops such as potatoes. Coincidently the full Moon is due on the 18th March, the last day of this year's Cheltenham Festival, so I it appears I may have been accidently gardening by the Moon phases for years without realising! This last full Moon of winter is often referred to as the ‘worm moon’ a saying that comes from the Native Americans who named it after the worm trails that would appear in the newly thawed ground.   

Cheer 🍺
Location: London Borough of Havering, UK

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