Gardening by The Moon- a discussion of the technique

[Rusty Trichome]

I haven't been able to find it in your posts, but which zodiac do you currently use for your dates...the tropical zodiac, or the sidereal? (used to be in-synch a hundred years ago, but days apart now) Which one is more accurate for use as a planting guide, and why is that? How does this affect the cusp, and does this narrow the planting phase time window?

[LolaGal]

I prefer the tropical zodiac as I think it is more accurate. Some people swear by the sidereal. Tropical zodiac is also referred to as geocentric system vs. heliocentric system used by Farmer's Almanac.

We are all living in the center of a vast electomagnetic field. Everything that occurs within this electromagnetic field has an effect on everything else within that field. The Moon and Sun are the most important of the factors affecting the life of the Earth.

C'mon Rusty, come over to the dark side........give it a try. It's fun.

[LolaGal]

Flushed last night and after last post finally got a 6.6 - 6.8 range on soil runoff. Sure am glad I used all that perlite.

This morning the girls all look happy. Dare I say, slightest decrease in leaf edge curl? Kudos to WeedHound and Daihashi! I think it WAS a pH issue. After flushing they even smell stronger and better. Will observe and see.

Hope (my molested plant) is very angry at my cat right now. However, she seems none the worse for wear after being attacked and partially eaten!

The California Orange Bud and White Rhinos are finally doing a little something something. All have at least 3 sets of leaves, but accidentally planting in wrong sign caused them to stall badly, and they have not caught back up yet. Their roots are no where close to the 3rd quarter planted Haze girls. I definitely will be planting in 3rd quarter if I want lots of roots!


Stop by anytime! The girls and I love company! :jointsmile:

[Rusty Trichome]

Ahhh. Last I heard, both zodiacs are off. Does one need to adjust the degrees on their own, or do you use one of the guides online? Do we all need to adjust degrees along latitudinal differences, or make any adjustments for latitudinal gradient differences? (the difference between where you are and star positions, or the difference in where the plants were evolved versus where they are now forced to grow)

We are all living in the center of a vast electomagnetic field. Everything that occurs within this electromagnetic field has an effect on everything else within that field. The Moon and Sun are the most important of the factors affecting the life of the Earth.

Am curious...how does the inconsistent (and cyclical) sunspot activity affect the earth's electromagnetism, yet not affect moon phase planting schedules? (as an aside) I wonder if the Northern Lights are affected by the moon phases?

C'mon Rusty, come over to the dark side........give it a try. It's fun.

Altho truly doubtful, I'll think about it.
(think, think, think)
(think, think, think)
(think, think, think, ouch)
Ok...I thought about it some more. (gave me a headache trying to justify bending to the peer pressure)
Thanks for the offer, but I'll stick with what's worked for terrestrial plants for the past 400 million years or so. (plant a seed, watch it grow)
However, if you could find the biological mechanism that would make this feasable, I'd likely be a tad more optimistic. :jointsmile:

[LolaGal]

I let the people at Llewellyn's Moon Sign Book do all the hard work plotting, etc. I've been using it for 20 years or so.....My only bitch is they used to give advice on planting hemp..but now bow to public policy and no longer list hemp. Glad I kept the back issues.

I personally, can't explain HOW it works, I just know it works for me when I use it. Who can explain the mysteries of the MOON?? (Theme from Twilight Zone plays).

It is odd how plants respond to the moon, as well as corals, etc., and that plant may not even be planted outdoors.

Here's a question for you Rusty...right up your alley. You like to scuba, so do I. You have heard, I'm sure, about the sea stars eating up giant patches of the Australian Barrier Reef, leaving them dead and lifeless. Wonder why somebody doesn't go out the night the corals spawn en masse, bring some of the water filled with er...little corals...and pump the water back in the dead reef areas. Seems like it would work to me. What do you think? Will my idea save the Great Barrier Reef?

[Rusty Trichome]

It is odd how plants respond to the moon, as well as corals, etc., and that plant may not even be planted outdoors.

Corals are classified as animals. (polyps) Granted, some keep plant-like creatures within their cells to collect, convert and share the energy from the sun. (a symbiotic relationship) Quite a shitload of 'em use the new moon as an indicator to them and their neighbors that if you want to procreate, tonite is the night. They also have the ability to adjust timng en masse if conditions are unfavorable, (storms, extreme temp fluctuations...) to the next new moon. (I believe it's the new moon...would have to double-check, tho)

Here's a question for you Rusty...right up your alley. You like to scuba, so do I. You have heard, I'm sure, about the sea stars eating up giant patches of the Australian Barrier Reef, leaving them dead and lifeless. Wonder why somebody doesn't go out the night the corals spawn en masse, bring some of the water filled with er...little corals...and pump the water back in the dead reef areas. Seems like it would work to me. What do you think? Will my idea save the Great Barrier Reef?

Likely, the best you can hope for at this time, is that the Crown of Thorns eats everything, (they only eat corals) and dies of hunger sometime down the line. This way, adult corals could be re-introduced by man, and multiply. Or perhaps some starfish birth control pills. It has been noted, tho...coral spawn can survive for years, floating around the worlds oceans, stuck in lightless/nutrient-free rock formations...waiting for ideal conditions to emerge and grow. They may be in danger now, but their outlook is far from bleak fatality.

Scientists are still trying to figure-out how to spawn corals in captivity on an industrial level. Right now, asexual reproduction is the only way the home reefer can multiply/share our stock. Like cloning a cannabis mom...cut off a piece, attach it to a piece of live rock, and let it grow. Attempting to collect the spawn, and 'grow them out' has been unsucessful to date. Too fragile to survive the nets.

The starfish isn't a coral, and different species can multiply in a couple different ways...first, is sexually, (she lays her 50 million eggs, and a nearby male comes along and fertilizes them) and the second being asexual. There is no evidence to support a mass-spawning event, such as moon phases...but likely they are more like opportunists. There's also strong suspicions that the Crown of Thorns uses chemical signals within the species to advertise the event.
I know that some species of starfish, as long as there is part of the starfishes mouth in both halves, you can cut those son-of-a bitches in half, and you get two. (after healing) But I don't remember hearing that this is the case with the COT.

Since the COT starfish has no natural predators their population goes unchecked. Divers have tried to remedy their invasion via hand removal, but the stars grow too quickly, and the task grows more daunting daily. How do you irradicate something that lays 50 million eggs at a time...each?

[LolaGal]

Once I bought a red starfish that only had 3 legs, on sale, because the fish store said it was "permanently damaged". HeeHee. He grew those legs back in about 2 months or so. I even had some damsel fish lay eggs in my aquarium, once. It was cool, but none survived the filter. Hatched in like 3 days. I wasn't ready for that.

I still think if you gathered water with coral polyps floating in it, you could repopulate that reef! Wish I could try it, can't afford another major in oceanography.

[Rock.Steady]

Lola, glad to hear your issues may be on the road to correction.
WH knows much about PH and plants, she's awesome!

its amazing how much PH can have an effect on your plants.
I suggest getting some PH UP n PH DOWN and a proper (PLANT/hydro) testing kit (should include everything) the next time you go to your supply house.
you may have to go to a hydro store, its where i get mine.

Rusty, nice to see you again. I figured you were digging into that research and thats why we didnt hear from you for a whole day. Well done! Your ability to expediently study, and offer new anecdotal questions is impressive. The more Q+A we can bring to the thread, the better the information available, which consequently builds the validity/value of the thread.
Thanks for your contribution!:thumbsup:

On to the coral discussion-
follow up question for Rusty-
altho you say capturing the lil young coral via netting has been unsuccessful (if i followed the dialog) , what about same idea, with, rather than netting, maybe taking large scoops of water, with some sort of cylindrical vessel that could be lowered to the location, opened, capture lil ones and surrounding water, close, seal, and transport to new location where you reverse the process and deposit the lil young coral-filled water near the damaged areas?
Has this method been tried?
or, is it simply too cost-prohibitive a concept?

[LolaGal]

Hey Rock, thanks for the good wishes. Hope is still mad at the cat! The cat still wants to eat Hope, Faith and Charity. At least he spared the seedlings.


Yes, I think my wonderful idea to repopulate the reef would work, that is exactly the method I envisioned. Maybe we'll get the Nobel Prize (haha).

[Rusty Trichome]

Most polyps are enviornmentaly sensitive, and can be a pain to keep alive for any legnth of time. Even in a labratory setting. Any changes can throw them into dormancy, or kill them outright, whether it's a saline or calcium difference, changes in specific gravity, usable and sustainable food sources for something that small, quantity and frequency of feedings....Research is ongoing, of course.