"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
Oh well I think I'll give it a go for one year, it won't be too life
destroying if things don't go too right but it would be nice to bring a
bit of order to my planting and sowing. My gardening tends to be more of
the ilk of going down the garden with the compost, then seeing a few
weeds, then perhaps taking a few cuttings and tying stuff up that I
actually nearly trip over, etc etc.............

Janet

You never know, there just may be an element of truth in it somewhere, and
like you say, you've nothing to lose. I tend to be very doubtful of this
sort of thing personally - I did degree level sciences and that both gives a
"feel" for the way nature and the universe in general works, as well as
dispelling lots of superstitious nonsense too. However, having said that,
some of these "old wives tales" etc do have an element of truth in them. The
only way to be sure with this moon phase planting stuff would be for
controlled scientific based planting tests to be done by suitably qualified
and experienced scientists without bias. Crops grown in such a way would
need to be "evaluated blind" - i.e. a large number of adjacent plots
(patchwork) some planted by moon phase and others planted normally, some
before and some after the moon phase. The plots would be known only by
letters A, B, C etc and the scientists evaluating the crops of each would
not know which plot was which until all the test results (yields etc) were
in and analysed. There would need to be a statistical analysis of any
variance between the different plots to see if there were any statistically
significant differences.
--
David
.... Email address on website http://www.avisoft.co.uk
.... Blog at http://dlts-french-adventures.blogspot.com/

In article , Janet Tweedy
writes

Oh well I think I'll give it a go for one year, it won't be too life
destroying if things don't go too right but it would be nice to bring a
bit of order to my planting and sowing. My gardening tends to be more
of the ilk of going down the garden with the compost, then seeing a few
weeds, then perhaps taking a few cuttings and tying stuff up that I
actually nearly trip over, etc etc.............

You and I should get on Janet as I do the same thing. However, if
anybody coming to me expects to see lovely gardens, don't come. 9 years
ago we bought this house and the garden was just a third of an acre of
field. I have hedged it off with one perimeter of mixed shrubs,
(evergreen and deciduous,) most of them taken from cuttings. I am not a
knowledgeable gardener, I grow things that look pretty but aesthetically
it is not laid out like some of your gardens. I hope we will meet as
friends, you will be well fed and watered but the garden leaves
something to be desired.
--
Judith Lea

Judith Lea wrote:
You and I should get on Janet

Please, take this via email .... LOL!

On 26/9/06 16:04, in article , "Judith
Lea" wrote:

In article , Janet Tweedy
writes

Oh well I think I'll give it a go for one year, it won't be too life
destroying if things don't go too right but it would be nice to bring a
bit of order to my planting and sowing. My gardening tends to be more
of the ilk of going down the garden with the compost, then seeing a few
weeds, then perhaps taking a few cuttings and tying stuff up that I
actually nearly trip over, etc etc.............

You and I should get on Janet as I do the same thing. However, if
anybody coming to me expects to see lovely gardens, don't come. 9 years
ago we bought this house and the garden was just a third of an acre of
field. I have hedged it off with one perimeter of mixed shrubs,
(evergreen and deciduous,) most of them taken from cuttings. I am not a
knowledgeable gardener, I grow things that look pretty but aesthetically
it is not laid out like some of your gardens. I hope we will meet as
friends, you will be well fed and watered but the garden leaves
something to be desired.


Sounds like the basis for a perfect friendship to me!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

On Tue, 26 Sep 2006 16:04:36 +0100, Judith Lea wrote
(in article ):

In article , Janet Tweedy
writes

Oh well I think I'll give it a go for one year, it won't be too life
destroying if things don't go too right but it would be nice to bring a
bit of order to my planting and sowing. My gardening tends to be more
of the ilk of going down the garden with the compost, then seeing a few
weeds, then perhaps taking a few cuttings and tying stuff up that I
actually nearly trip over, etc etc.............

You and I should get on Janet as I do the same thing. However, if
anybody coming to me expects to see lovely gardens, don't come. 9 years
ago we bought this house and the garden was just a third of an acre of
field. I have hedged it off with one perimeter of mixed shrubs,
(evergreen and deciduous,) most of them taken from cuttings. I am not a
knowledgeable gardener, I grow things that look pretty but aesthetically
it is not laid out like some of your gardens. I hope we will meet as
friends, you will be well fed and watered but the garden leaves
something to be desired.


Sounds like my perfect garden :-)

Ours is much the same. We bought an acre of brickyard spoil 6 years ago,
started working on it while the house was being built in 2001, and are
somewhat surprised ourselves to see how it has evolved. Most people thought
we were quite mad with what we bought, and many think we had some vast
overall plan. No - it just grew, a bit at a time, in the sense of *wouldn't
it look good if we put a pond over there?* and so on. I think it's the best
way to garden. We know some people who had an exact plan with a new garden,
all laid out on graph paper. I really don't think we could be bothered
(personally) to do it that way, but one of the nicest things about gardening
is that every garden is different.

And we feel we have ended up with a slice of paradise.



--
Sally in Shropshire, UK

In article , "David (in
Normandy)" writes

You never know, there just may be an element of truth in it somewhere, and
like you say, you've nothing to lose. I tend to be very doubtful of this
sort of thing personally - I did degree level sciences and that both gives a
"feel" for the way nature and the universe in general works, as well as
dispelling lots of superstitious nonsense too.


Oh I agree to some extent David. However it was just for 1 year out of
interest.
I wonder whether 1 day you'd be able to sign up for mobile phone
messages to tell you/encourage you what to do in the garden every day

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
...
In article , "David (in
Normandy)" writes

You never know, there just may be an element of truth in it somewhere, and
like you say, you've nothing to lose. I tend to be very doubtful of this
sort of thing personally - I did degree level sciences and that both gives
a
"feel" for the way nature and the universe in general works, as well as
dispelling lots of superstitious nonsense too.


Oh I agree to some extent David. However it was just for 1 year out of
interest.
I wonder whether 1 day you'd be able to sign up for mobile phone messages
to tell you/encourage you what to do in the garden every day

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk


Might be an idea to sow half of you crops using the moon phase and the other
half out of phase

See what comes up best

barry

La Puce wrote:
Mike Lyle wrote:
Not that two weeks either way usually makes a big difference, but I
think you're right: these ideas may simply date from times when people
didn't have calendars, and couldn't have read them if they had. I can't
imagine any mechanism by which the moon would significantly affect
plant growth*.

I'm surprised at you. It has nothing to do with prehistoric calendars -
there are significant scientific explanations and proof that it does
work. It's not complicated - it works like photoperiodism works and the
effect of the light of the moon as well as it's effect on water, sap
rising and tides. There's been lots of good experiments: thousands of
years of planting by the moon in my region. I myself is influenced by
the moon every months )

I'm surprised to learn there are reputable scientific studies: I'd love
to see the references. Thousands of years of tradition may or may not
be evidence -- tradition used to tell us to believe in evil spirits,
and signally failed to reveal even quite simple things like the
circulation of the blood. I'm not sure that the extremely variable
amounts of already very weak light from the moon could form the basis
of any prediction.

As for tidal effects, if they operate at all at the cellular level
(where, if I understand correctly, capillarity and osmosis are the key
forces) I'd expect them to be cancelled out and often reversed by puffs
of wind or vapour pressure. I won't dispute your observations of your
personal synchronisation with the moon: but I'll believe in a causal
link only when you show that the effects are similar for a large
proportion of other people -- or when you let me know of changes when
the moon starts behaving differently! You'll then need to show me that
your physiology closely resembles that of a plant.

*(And I'm always fascinated to think that people who reject religions
which have been carefully thought out by first-class minds over
hundreds of years can be tempted by primitive superstitions and such.)

Religions carefully thought out by first class minds?! LOL!!! You're
jocking aren't you )

No, I'm not jocking. You don't have to believe in religion to know that
people like Aquinas and the Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist thinkers had
first-class minds. In fact, the traditional views of the physical world
wouldn't have enslaved us for so long if these minds had applied
themselves to scientific questions instead.

--
Mike.

"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
oups.com...

[La Puce wrote about being affected by the moon]

As for tidal effects, if they operate at all at the cellular level
(where, if I understand correctly, capillarity and osmosis are the key
forces) I'd expect them to be cancelled out and often reversed by puffs
of wind or vapour pressure. I won't dispute your observations of your
personal synchronisation with the moon: but I'll believe in a causal
link only when you show that the effects are similar for a large
proportion of other people -- or when you let me know of changes when
the moon starts behaving differently! You'll then need to show me that
your physiology closely resembles that of a plant.


Come on, even *I* knew what she meant!

(I think)

Uncle Marvo wrote:
"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
oups.com...

[La Puce wrote about being affected by the moon]

As for tidal effects, if they operate at all at the cellular level
(where, if I understand correctly, capillarity and osmosis are the key
forces) I'd expect them to be cancelled out and often reversed by puffs
of wind or vapour pressure. I won't dispute your observations of your
personal synchronisation with the moon: but I'll believe in a causal
link only when you show that the effects are similar for a large
proportion of other people -- or when you let me know of changes when
the moon starts behaving differently! You'll then need to show me that
your physiology closely resembles that of a plant.


Come on, even *I* knew what she meant!

(I think)

Was I being unfair? Sorry. But a sample of one isn't significant
evidence.

--
Mike.

In reply to Mike Lyle ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

Uncle Marvo wrote:
"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
oups.com...

[La Puce wrote about being affected by the moon]

As for tidal effects, if they operate at all at the cellular level
(where, if I understand correctly, capillarity and osmosis are the
key forces) I'd expect them to be cancelled out and often reversed
by puffs of wind or vapour pressure. I won't dispute your
observations of your personal synchronisation with the moon: but
I'll believe in a causal link only when you show that the effects
are similar for a large proportion of other people -- or when you
let me know of changes when the moon starts behaving differently!
You'll then need to show me that your physiology closely resembles
that of a plant.


Come on, even *I* knew what she meant!

(I think)

Was I being unfair? Sorry. But a sample of one isn't significant
evidence.

You've obviously had more luck with ladies than I have :-)

Janet Tweedy wrote:
In article , Nick Maclaren
writes

The mistake people make is to use the wrong moon, because they are
thinking geocentrically. Thus comfrey, which is a herb governed by
Saturn, should be planted when Titan is waxing.


Ah but how would I know? Thank goodness I've got the book now to tell me
the dates

Goodness me! Nick quite unaccountably omitted to mention the
numerological factors. "Comfrey" yields the number "85", which of
course calculates back to "you are" and "silver". I normally charge a
modest fee for these consultations, but this case is so simple that it
should be obvious that comfrey will succeed only if planted, under a
waxing Titan of course, on the 13th of September, in soil which
contains the correct balance of uranium. Of course it will often _grow_
if planted at other times and in other conditions, but it just won't
have any profound virtues: for example, it won't cure shingles or
enable you to speak with the spirit world. It's all there in
Nostradamus and Joanna Southcott.

--
Mike.

"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
oups.com...

La Puce wrote:
Mike Lyle wrote:
Not that two weeks either way usually makes a big difference, but I
think you're right: these ideas may simply date from times when people
didn't have calendars, and couldn't have read them if they had. I
can't
imagine any mechanism by which the moon would significantly affect
plant growth*.

I'm surprised at you. It has nothing to do with prehistoric calendars -
there are significant scientific explanations and proof that it does
work. It's not complicated - it works like photoperiodism works and the
effect of the light of the moon as well as it's effect on water, sap
rising and tides. There's been lots of good experiments: thousands of
years of planting by the moon in my region. I myself is influenced by
the moon every months )

I'm surprised to learn there are reputable scientific studies: I'd love
to see the references. Thousands of years of tradition may or may not
be evidence -- tradition used to tell us to believe in evil spirits,
and signally failed to reveal even quite simple things like the
circulation of the blood. I'm not sure that the extremely variable
amounts of already very weak light from the moon could form the basis
of any prediction.

As for tidal effects, if they operate at all at the cellular level


Tidal effects are a response to cyclical gravitional fields. Moon
phases affect tides. Gravity affects plants through a mechanism
identified earlier, and further studed by Darwin, called gravitropism.
Superficially gravitropism only affect the direction of growth -
shoot tips grow upwards, root tips grow downwards. But maybe the
suggestion is that the strength or changes in the strength of the
gravitational field stimulates changes in growth rates in shoots
and roots. A quick scan of zero gravity experiments to test the
feasibility of growing plants in space doesn't appear to either
support or refute this idea. But that's not what they were looking
for, just examining the gravitpropism mechanism itself.

michael adams

....



(where, if I understand correctly, capillarity and osmosis are the key
forces) I'd expect them to be cancelled out and often reversed by puffs
of wind or vapour pressure. I won't dispute your observations of your
personal synchronisation with the moon: but I'll believe in a causal
link only when you show that the effects are similar for a large
proportion of other people -- or when you let me know of changes when
the moon starts behaving differently! You'll then need to show me that
your physiology closely resembles that of a plant.

*(And I'm always fascinated to think that people who reject religions
which have been carefully thought out by first-class minds over
hundreds of years can be tempted by primitive superstitions and such.)

Religions carefully thought out by first class minds?! LOL!!! You're
jocking aren't you )

No, I'm not jocking. You don't have to believe in religion to know that
people like Aquinas and the Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist thinkers had
first-class minds. In fact, the traditional views of the physical world
wouldn't have enslaved us for so long if these minds had applied
themselves to scientific questions instead.

--
Mike.

In article . com, Mike
Lyle writes

It's all there in
Nostradamus and Joanna Southcott.



Haven't you heard of "organic box" schemes?

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

On Mon, 25 Sep 2006, Uncle Marvo wrote:

"Late crop spuds should be planted on Good Friday" is an adage by which I
have had much success with spuds. Good Friday occurs by dint of cunning
calculation by the church, and I believe that phases of the moon might have
something to do with that, so perhaps there is some truth in it all?

Nothing to do with that. Good Friday was traditionally a public holiday
and, in bygone days, was one of the few holidays that workers had.
Therefore it was often the only day they could plant their potatoes.

David

--
David Rance http://www.mesnil.demon.co.uk
Fido Address: 2:252/110 writing from Le Mesnil Villement, Calvados, France