Tuesday 5 March 2013

Moon gardening

Full moon   Jon Haylett
As the moon orbits the earth, on average every 27.3 days, the sun illuminates the that half of the moon facing the sun.  On Monday 11th the moon will be between the earth and the sun and will be "new".  I checked in my ,"Tide Tables". This is the phase of the moon when I should be sowing lettuce and brassica species. Because, according to the ."moon gardeners" the moon's gravity pulls water up in the soil and aids seed germination.

Beeson in an extensive review; The Moon and Plant Growth, Nature, 158, 572 - 573, 1946, found no such effects exist or that if they do, they have no value in agricultural practice.

I have always thought that this is a load of unscientific baloney, "faith based gardening" if you like. You could achieve the same end with a watering can and warm soil.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

So...Einstein discovered that without our first 'intending' to see an atom, it does not exist. In other words, there is a direct relationship between the material world and our conscious perception of it. Rationalist, empirical science, which measures quantity with no method of quantifying 'quality' creates a paradigm which, without doubt, cannot find any 'scientific evidence' for moon gardening. I think however, that if we were to enter into the newer, 'quantum paradigm' we might find some interesting relationships between man and matter...we know that happy chickens lay tastier eggs, so perhaps the relationship between a gardener and his garden yields different results if he invests a more holistic intention into his activities?

Anonymous said...

No idea what she was saying but on balance I think she has you on the ropes with this one Tom
TP

Anonymous said...

How do we know when hens are happy? Has someone done a double blind randomised test of egg taste?

Unknown said...

Double blind randomised trials are a perfect example of reductionist, quantifiable evidence-gathering...you can't measure a rose with a ruler...there needs to be room for 'interpreting' quality.

You're right though..I've no idea if a hen is happy or not...but I can say from experience, that eggs which are laid by hens kept in good conditions and fed well do taste better...but even that's a subjective experience.

Hurrah for debates...if you really want to hang me out to dry, then I could tell you that i'm a homeopath...that'll get the scientists out there really hot under the collar!