The Ancient Art of Moon Gardening
As handed down by
R.John Harris ~ Head Gardener
"Do you ever look at a couple and wonder, 'what do they have in common, how on Earth can they stay together?' Well, plants are just like people. Some are good bed-mates, they get on well together, and some are poison to each other, and do one another no good at all!" John Harris
The phases of the Moon dictate what I do in the gardens I tend. The first few days of the New Moon, when the moon is just a sliver of a crescent, pointing to the left, I plant all seeds which develop their fruits below the ground, i.e., carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, potatoes and the like. In the Second Quarter of the moon's life, I plant all the seeds which produce their fruits above the ground, i.e., peas, beans, tomatoes, squash, eggplant and so on. During the Full Moon you will find me harvesting my crops, as this is the time of the Moon's life when the moisture content is at it's highest, producing the best tasting vegetables. There is no rest for the Moon gardener, as the last quarter of the Moon's life finds the gardener applying fertilizer, cultivating, cutting the lawns, digging, and weeding. I also do all clipping and pruning during this time also, because the moisture content is dropped to it's lowest point and any cuts on plants bushes and trees bleed less and heal more quickly. For centuries, this phase of the Moon's life has been the one in which all digging and cultivating of fields was performed because the ground had less moisture in it, therefore it is a lighter job for the horses employed to drag
the cultivator, or as you say in America, the plow. John Harris
Plant These Together
Asparagus: Tomatoes, all beans and parsley
Beans: beans, borage, buckwheat, all the members of the cabbage family, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, leeks, potatoes, squashes, strawberries, sweet corn, sweet peas and turnips.
Beets: onions, kohlrabi,lettuce and cabbage.
Broccoli: wonderfully fragrant herbs such as camomile, dill, peppermint, sage rosemary are helpful to broccoli, as well as kohlrabi, onions, beets and potatoes. *Broccoli hates beans, strawberries and tomatoes.
Cabbage family: plant with all beans, cucumbers, most herbs and marigolds.
Carrots: all beans, chives, garlic,leeks, lettuce, marigolds, onions, parsley, peas, sage and turnips all help carrots. In my garden Wormwood and Scott's Prize marigolds deter the carrot fly.
Cauliflower: all beans
Celery: with all beans, dill, leeks, all peas and potatoes.
Corn: with all beans, lettuce, peas, potatoes, pumpkins, squash and cucumbers
Cucumbers: love all beans, the cabbage family, chives, peas and potatoes.
Dill: with celery
Eggplant: all beans {which help deter the Colorado potato beetle}, tomatoes,*eggplant helps atract the hoverfly
Kale: potatoes and cabbage
Kohlrabi like beet-roots and onions
Leeks: carrots, celery, lettuce, peas and turnips
Lettuce: with carrots, strawberries, leeks,peas, turnips radishes, sweet corn
Melon: sunflowers and corn
Onion: carrots and kohlrabi
Peas: with all beans, carrots, celery, cucumbers, leeks, potatoes, radishes, sweet corn, and turnips
Potatoes: with all beans, the entire cabbage family, celery, cucumbers, horse radish, marigolds, peas, radishes, strawberries and sweet corn
Swiss Chard: borage and fennel
Tomatoes: with asparagus, basil, and parsley.
Turnips: with all beans, carrots, leeks and peas
~Herbs~
All herbs are good companions, and they are very beneficial to many plants. Here is a list of suggestions to incorporate into your garden plan~
Basil: with tomatoes and eggplant,
Borage: Swiss Chard
Dill: with tomatoes,peppers, eggplant
Fennel: tomatoes, Swiss Chard
Marigolds: tomatoes and use as a border for all vegetable beds
~ Comfrey ~
Also knows as knitbone and healing herb, is one of the most beneficial herbs for the garden. Comfrey contains high amounts of Nitrogen,calcium,
potassium and phosphorus, as well as the A and C vitamins. The leaves of comfrey, put into an equal parts mixture
with water in a covered non-metallic container and allowed to steep into a tea for a month, creates the most perfectly balanced liquid feed for your garden. It is used reguarly on the plants in the walled kitchen garden at Tresillian.
~Flowers~
All flowers are compatible, however there are specific flowers which really do benefit certain vegetables and herbs.
Marigolds are one of the best because their fragrance deters many winged pests, above and below the ground.
For instance, the lovely fragrant Stocks repel the nuisance Cabbage Moth which can ruin your crop in no time at all. For more information on specific flower and vegetable combinations, please refer to John Harris's manual Moon Gardening, or in America the widely available Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte.