Happy Vernal Equinox! This is the premier entry into this blog, which is intended to fulfill my hope that more people will learn to love the joys and perils of growing their own food (including vegetables, fruits, herbs and edible flowers). I hope to share as much information as possible in this blog format, as I have been collecting info (and experience) in organic gardening for many years (if not my entire life); and know that the info on seed packets doesnt always portray the full picture. We could all spend hours pouring over gardening books, but that is really winter homework, isnt it? Spring is time for action and setting your gardens up for success!
SO... the first thing I've done is prepared and posted (below) a planting calendar for seed starting your crops indoors. This calendar is geared to ZONE 3 GARDENING, so if you are in coastal BC, the Maritimes, or southern Ontario, you may not want to use these dates as your guide (or see the hint below). I will try to post a zone map in case you are not sure what your "Zone" is.
For this year's estimated Frost Free Date (FFD) - which is how we determine the timeline for seed starting - I have appointed May 20th to be the magical date after which we will no longer experience below zero temperatures in Zone 3. I picked this date because the New Moon occus on May 20, and so planting and transplanting are favourable for above-ground crops after this date; however it is a bit earlier than the typical May Long Weekend tradition in our high-country area. Most of the seedlings you will start indoors from seed will be safe to set out as of the Frost Free Date, however it is very important to look at the long range (2 week) forecast around planting time, to make sure nothing horrible is going to happen to you little plant babies in the dark and cold of the night.
Hint: If you do live in a different Zone and you know your estimated Frost Free Date, simply add or subtract the number of weeks difference (from May 20) to the entries in the calendars below, and you will be all set.
There are some other pieces to this puzzle to consider as well, so keep reading to get a more complete picture of how this calendar was put together...
The Old Farmer's Almanac (in print for 220 years) is my source for the planting parameters which use the moon's phase and astrological position to determine the most favourable times for planting (and harvesting, grafting, getting a haircut etc.) These formulas are used in the biodynamic gardening method as well. The best way to imagine how this works is to observe the large influence the moon has on the tides; and relate that to how much pull it could conceivably have on every aspect of life on Earth.
The first and most basic thing to remember is that the best time to plant crops which fruit above-ground (leafy greens, tomatoes, herbs etc) are from the New Moon and onward (waxing) until the Day of the Full Moon and on (waning), when it becomes more favourable to plant crops which have below-ground "fruit" (potatoes, onions, rhodiola etc.)
The second parameter is the position of the moon in the celestial sphere (as described in common Western Astrology). This sign changes every 2-3 days, and moves through the Zodiac (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer etc.); Signs which are also linked to the four elements of Fire, Earth, Air, and Water (respectively). The best planting dates fall on Water Sign dates, with the Second choice being Earth Sign days.
If these parameters do not seem significant to you, or maybe you (like me) just have to plant whenever you get the materials and time together in one place. If this is the case, the planting guidelines correspond roughly to the number of weeks from FFD that it will take to produce an ideally-sized transplant. If you are late, dont worry; just getter' done as soon as you can. If you want to start some things a bit early, it shouldnt matter too much to get a week or two ahead of yourself, but remember that some plants will get stunted if kept in containers too long; they may become leggy (straggly and stretched) if lighting conditions arent ideal, or get rootbound (compacted) if kept in small containers. Also remember that most plants (but generally not the woody herbs) will need supplementary fertilization with their water once they are about 3 weeks old. It is easy to find good balanced organic liquid fertilizers in garden stores nowadays. Please do not use Miracle-Grow or similar fertilizers on anything you are planning to eat.
So thats about all I'm going to share today. I hope this helps you out a bit when imagining how to get started with seeds indoors. And, if it is any consolation, know that I will be starting my first seeds tomorrow (onions) and Thursday, which is the New Moon (when I will plant tomatoes, herbs, strawberries, asparagus and lavender)... A little late but I'm confident I will have decent size babies to set out around May 20 (since we still have 10 weeks until that date). I havent hit the biodynamic dates that well this month, but maybe its all a bit of hippy malarkey anyways, right?
Bloom where you are planted.
-Bridget
By the way, I will post the May and June (and maybe July) planting guidelines on here as soon as possible. Almost everything in those months will be for direct seeding in the garden, and plugging in transplant babies. But I will probably also include succession planting info on them as well.
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