[NatureNS] when to plant

Date: Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:41:20 -0400
From: "Paul S. Boyer" <psboyer@eastlink.ca>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
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long ways.&lt;/F

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Roland,

Oddly enough, I have worked in agriculture (a long time ago).  Though =20=

I don't claim to be really good at growing things,  I once won a first =20=

prize in a county fair for a vegetable!

I also have watched tides in Fundy, and many other places in the =20
world.  I know pretty well what makes the tides work, and that the =20
causes would not be anything competent to influence (for example) time =20=

of frost.

I suspect that the folklore about moon phases and frost-damage can be =20=

explained by two factors.  If someone asserts that planting should be =20=

done after the full moon in May, that means that they are probably =20
delaying planting, waiting for the full moon; and delaying planting =20
(on any pretext) is a pretty sure way of avoiding frost.  It doesn't =20
much matter what delays your planting: it could be waiting for a full =20=

moon, or it could be waiting for your favorite sports team to win a =20
game.  Waiting for any "sign" would work just as well, just so you =20
delay.

Also, the full moon in May would average about the middle of the =20
month, which is not such a bad time, anyway.

Second, there is a well known psychological factor, which is that =20
people mark and remember positive results more than negative results.  =20=

If we think that something is true, we tend to shove aside contrary =20
evidence.  I have observed this in gamblers: they remember clearly =20
their successes, and get confidence from them; but they suppress =20
recollections of all the times they have lost.

=97 Paul


On Jun 8, 2008, at 10:15 AM, Roland McCormick wrote:

> Iy would seem Paul that you not only have not had any experience =20
> working in agriculture, but that you have never watched the fundy =20
> tides. Someone remarked that they visited Bear River when the tides =20=

> were out and they knew why it was called Bare River. When the tide =20
> was in the water would rise to make a good lake for boating and =20
> swimming.  I believe in some areas the tide will rise on the full =20
> moon to as much as forty feet - at the new moon it is much less than =20=

> that, but slowly increases in distance as the moon increases.
>         What I have seen happen has to be believed, even if some =20
> can't believe it.
>
> Roland.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Paul S. Boyer
> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
> Sent: Saturday, June 07, 2008 10:39 PM
> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] when to plant
>
> Folks, this is magic and superstition. The moon doesn't effect =20
> plants in the way described.
>
> As for the effect of the moon on human behavior, it sounds so =20
> plausible.  The trouble is that people who actually keep the =20
> statistics report no significant correlation between phase of the =20
> moon and crime.  It's another urban myth: a modern superstition.  =20
> Day of the week makes more difference by far, because when people =20
> are off work, they tend to get into trouble.
>
> The National Geographic is just wrong about this.  You can't believe =20=

> all that they publish.  The prevalence of websites promoting such =20
> ideas just shows that modern people are just a gullible as people of =20=

> the past.
>
> The tidal effect of the moon is so miniscule that until recent years =20=

> it was undetectable in the laboratory.  On land, the tides raise the =20=

> surface of the earth about one meter from high to low tide.  You can =20=

> detect the change in gravitational attraction caused by this =20
> deformation, which moves you about one meter farther from the center =20=

> of the Earth (that is one meter out of a radius of about 6,370,000 =20
> meters!) using a gravimeter; but the actual tidal force is so tiny =20
> that you cannot so measure it.
>
> The attempt to use phase of moon as an explanation for things such =20
> as plant growth is pure superstition.  It is at attempt to give a =20
> scientific-sounding basis to ancient astrological ideas.
>
> On Jun 7, 2008, at 11:15 AM, Joan Czapalay wrote:
>
>>
>> My grandparents  ( both the maternal- Puritan ones and the paternal =20=

>> Irish ones and Lunenburg German ones) planted by the moon. The =20
>> plants growing up above the ground were best planted as the moon =20
>> waxed in late May/early June, and the ones growing below the ground =20=

>> were best planted as the moon waned.
>> Bartenders, schoolteachers, emergency room workers and the police =20
>> know that the moon influences a lot of things, including human =20
>> behavior. National Geographic News had an article on moon gardening =20=

>> July10th, 2003. This quote may be helpful:
>>>
>>> Harris gives the example that the best time to turn over a garden =20=

>>> is during the last quarter of the moon because that is when the =20
>>> water table has dropped to its lowest point. "It means less =20
>>> moisture is within the soil. It is far easier to turn soil over =20
>>> when there is less moisture in it," he said.
>>>
>>> *Moon Boom*
>>>
>>> Seeking to preserve knowledge about moon-gardening techniques =20
>>> before they were eclipsed entirely by modern gardening practices, =20=

>>> Harris wrote /RJ Harris' Moon Gardening/ with the help of =20
>>> journalist Will Summers.
>>>
>>> But since the book's September 2002 publication, Harris said he =20
>>> learned he need not have worried.
>>>
>>> Harris says he has heard from people in New Zealand, Austria, =20
>>> Germany, and the United States who use the lunar cycle as a guide =20=

>>> for their gardening chores. And the Internet is sprouting with Web =20=

>>> sites dedicated to the practice.
>>>
>>> On her Web site Gardening by the Moon.com =
(www.gardeningbythemoon.com=20
>>> ), Caren Catterall writes, "Plants respond to the same =20
>>> gravitational pull of tides that affect the oceans, which =20
>>> alternately stimulates root and leaf growth. Seeds sprout more =20
>>> quickly, plants grow vigorously and at an optimum rate, harvests =20
>>> are larger and they don't go to seed as fast."
>>>
>> PS: Many questions asked on naturens can be answered by using great =20=

>> search engines like Google and YouTube. However, it is fun to share =20=

>> personal observations and experiences. Cheers, Joan
>>
>> David&Jane Schlosberg wrote:
>>> One more thought about planting times:  I feel that later =20
>>> plantings tend to catch up with earlier ones, even if the earlier =20=

>>> ones are not harmed by extre