[Swing Swang]

Some people say its a load of tosh

Some people would use much stronger language if the moderators would let them :-)

I'd like to see the results of an independently reviewed double blind crossover trial to be convinced, until then my view is that all comments are anecdotal (at best) or fraudulent (at worst) and need to be viewed with a good dollop of caution/sceptacism.

You're not in medicine are you? Thats the way I've been trained to think over the last decade!

Emma

Yes, I have a science background and have spent time actively involved in medical research at one of the large universities.

[Swing Swang]

There is a website called "Moonstrike" for anglers and it predicts when you will catch most fish. So there could be something in it.

There are other factors at play here though - for example a bright full moon is likely to have an influence on feeding/predation patterns etc. of fish as they would be able to see their food/prey in silhouette against the illuminated moon/sky. I am unable to conceive a 'light theory' theory for buried seeds/germination and the low levels of illumination from even a full moon. Also with biodynamic gardening it seems that the level of cloud cover is never mentioned in the books that I've read (so it's not the nocturnal light levels that are being advocated but 'something else') but many a fisherman will tell you that this had a significant affect on catch rates.

[Swing Swang]

....but don't understand the science at all...

That's because there probably isn't any

[Swing Swang]

Another slant on moon planting is carried out in Germany. Gardeners plant by torchlight at night so as not to expose weed seeds to daylight. Then mulch where they have dug. Whatever rock's your boat is ok with me.

But this isn't moon planting. Their theory is that light in someway 'activates' weed seeds so not exposing hidden seeds to light by doing things in the dark, then covering with mulch is their way of managing this perceived problem. It would be easy enough to test this by experiment (and probably has been).

[JayG]

I've never been able to find any reports of scientifically conducted trials which prove that moon planting works, and the basic premise that the relatively small amount of water in soil can be influenced to any measurable extent by variations in the gravitational pull due to lunar cycles, and that it would make a significant difference to plant growth anyway, is too much of a stretch for me.

Even if there is something in it, the effects must surely be minor in comparison with the right soil preparation and growing technique, not to mention the weather, (which no-one can do anything about!)

[Ice]

I remember Zak the Rabbit had some interesting things to say on this subject.

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=1102.msg9008#msg9008

[richyrich7]

Always amazes me how much controversy this subject brings up !
Why ? we all have our own ways which we try and should discuss without fear of ridicule.

Personally I'd like to see a constructive thread, without arguments but proper discussion from moon planters and the scientists amongst us.

 

[Ice]

I'd like to see a constructive thread, without arguments but proper discussion from moon planters and the scientists amongst us.

 

Compared with past threads on this subject I think this one is fairly unargumentative.  If anyone starts throwing insults around it will quickly be locked.

[Potiron]

 There was a thread on planting Garlic by the moon just over two years ago, it all got a bit wild 

  http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=27443.0

[fatcat1955]

I thought you planted garlic at night when Dracula was about.

[mumofstig]

Many European gardeners still follow the long tradition of sowing by the lunar/planetary cycles - so I wouldn't reject this out of hand...... I find if a lot of people do something - there's usually a reason for it

Quite often the weather seems to alter along with the moon cycles - something that seems to be being proved by research
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2010/10/rainfall-precipitation-moons-phase-research-weather-folklore/1

I don't see how you can trial this scientifically - how do you set up the trial? As soon as you alter the date of sowing you alter weather as well All the advice I've seen specifically relates to growing in the soil rather than in pots/compost so you can't test in the lab either.
It is surely 'bad science' to judge what the results of any trial would be before it can be carried out 

So each to their own as far as I'm concerned 

[devonbarmygardener]

Always amazes me how much controversy this subject brings up !
Why ? we all have our own ways which we try and should discuss without fear of ridicule.

Personally I'd like to see a constructive thread, without arguments but proper discussion from moon planters and the scientists amongst us.

 

Tell me about it!
Shocked by the controversy

I was only curious if anyone else did this sort of thing - I wasn't expecting quite the barrage of criticism from some

Nevermind - this post has popped back again so hey-ho!

[compo]

 .........my Bay Tree is doing really well........

[devonbarmygardener]

I thought you planted garlic at night when Dracula was about.

Heheehehehehehehehe

[devonbarmygardener]

I'd like to see a constructive thread, without arguments but proper discussion from moon planters and the scientists amongst us.

 

Compared with past threads on this subject I think this one is fairly unargumentative.  If anyone starts throwing insults around it will quickly be locked.

I didn't ask for insults or arguments - I was just curious to see if anyone had read about it/practised it etc