Welcome to Suzanne Summer's gardening by the moon. Garden by the Moon helps you plan when to sow, plant,  water and harvest on a monthly and seasonal basis. Buy online now or buy direct from Suzanne at gardener@clear.net.nz

                                    July

Virgo            The moon is in it's first quarter when it comes under the influence of Virgo
on the 24th of the month. Spend this time considering the most important component of
your garden your soil. Correct watering is vital to the health of your soil whether it is
sandy (water little and often) or clayey (water less and put more on). If you have puddles
which don't go away after a couple of minutes of the hose being turned off then you are
over watering and flushing nutrients from your soil. 
   

Scorpio                      The moon is ruled by Scorpio twice in July on the 1st and again on
the 28th. These dates are both good to plant your bare rooted deciduous fruit trees in.
This very fertile sign will help the trees form good fruit buds and prolific crops in the
Summer and Autumn. Dig a hole plenty big enough to hold the root ball and tease out
the fine roots. Drive your support stakes before you plant the tree so that you won't
damage the roots. A few heavy stones on the filled hole will also give support.

Aquarius                Spring, the busiest time in the gardener's year , is almost upon us.
When the moon moves into Aquarius on the 8th of the month it's time to check over all
your garden equipment. Sharpen spades, check forks, hoes, and rakes replacing handles where necessary, repair the mower. If a piece of equipment is really no use then replace it with either a new or second hand one. Clean and oil the whole lot. It is amazing what a difference well maintained garden equipment will make.  

Virgo                       With all your garden tools in great working order you will be well
prepared to work on your beds when the moon moves to Gemini on the 18th. Pull weeds and despatch to the compost heap unless the are really horrible ones like couch. If your
ground is not too wet then aerate the soil with your push hoe. It is not a good idea to
work up the soil if it is wet and muddy as this will merely compact everything and have
the reverse effect – squashing the air out.

Cancer                      Well it's the height of Summer. Temperatures are warm and your
garden needs to be checked regularly to see if water needs to be applied. Cancer rules the
fourth quarter moon from the 20th this month. Water is best absorbed if applied during a
waning moon and in one of the three water signs (Cancer Pisces and Scorpio). Obviously
this is not always practical but it pays to check your soil's water requirements in dry times
when the moon enters a water sign.                    

Aries                        Days are long and the flower garden is rich with colour and
fragrance. What a beautiful time in the garden. In the vegetable garden produce is ready
to be harvested. All your hard work is finally paying off so if the weather is really hot
put your tools down and spend time just enjoying your garden. The zodiac sign Aries
into which the moon moves on the 13th is ideal for picking produce in so spend a leisurely
walk around your garden harvesting the very best. Give surplus to friends and family.

Gemini                      This month the moon is in Sagittarius twice, on the 3rd and again on
the 30th. Time to think of holidays. The Sagittarius moon provides the ideal time for us
to plan or take off on a well earned time out. Be sure you have your garden organised to
cope with your absence for a little while. Your neighbours may be able to help out with
watering but, if you don't want to return to a swathe of weeds apply a deep mulch to all
your beds before you go away.  

Gardeners have been aware for centuries of the cyclic effects the moon has on the growth of plants. A few people (Culpeper for instance) were aware of the influence of the zodiac signs. Today this knowledge is undergoing a type of renaissance as people delve through old records and find that many ideas and techniques which had fallen into disuse have a place in today's way of life. Basically the trick is to sow and plant when the moon is both waxing and in a fertile sign and cultivate, weed and eradicate pests and diseases when the moon is waning and in a barren sign. This means that there is an optimal time in each lunar month to perform each type of gardening activity, sowing, planting, harvesting, seed collection etc. By following the phases of the moon and its progression through the zodiac signs it is possible work in harmony with nature to achieve maximum enjoyment from the garden.

The basic activities in the various phases of the moon are :-

New moon brings in an upsurge of energy so we sow, plant, and transplant annuals which produce above ground crops. We avoid harvesting as rot sets in more quickly and we mow and trim if growth is to be encouraged.

1st quarter - the sap is still rising so carry on with more or less the same activities as in the new moon.

Full moon sees a peak in electromagnetic energies - the sap begins to flow downwards towards the roots so it is a favourable time to plant anything for which good root growth is important. We also harvest at this time as there is less chance of rot setting in.

4th quarter - is the barren time of the lunar cycle so it is an optimum time to weed and cultivate as well as harvesting. It is not a good time to sow and plant although transplanting can begin about 3 days before the new moon arrives.

In addition to all this the moon is always in one of the 12 zodiac signs and this adds to the formula as it is better to sow and plant when the moon is in a fertile zodiac sign, harvest in a fire or air sign etc.

Other very important considerations are climate, soil temperature, and season not to mention the fact that each set of rules has its set of exceptions.