Gardening by the Easter moon

Last night's skies were lit by April's Full Moon - also sometimes known as the Paschal Moon as Easter falls on the first Sunday after its appearance which, in this case, is today. But that’s not its only folklore name … Native Americans know this moon as The Moon of the Red Grass Appearing - which is rather poetic, and beautiful in my opinion. 

All this moon's names relate to spring getting underway. Anglo-saxons called it Egg Moon; extraordinary how there's a link back to all these names in today's culture ... spring chicks, Easter eggs ... not too sure about Easter bonnets though! The Celts on the other hand were possibly more in tune with nature? They called this Full Moon the Budding Moon, New Shoots Moon and Seed Moon. Yep, it's the month to get sowing.  

The general idea seems to be that while the moon is going from new (no moon) towards full, it exerts a growing (waxing) influence over water and therefore plant life. That period is allegedly good for sowing or planting out crops that develop above ground - beans, chard, brassicas, leafy veg.

The reverse is true after the full moon starts to wane. The next seven days is a good time to sow seeds and tubers for plants developing below the soil ... beetroot, radish, carrots, leeks, parsnips, spring onions, potatoes (2nd early and maincrop), Jerusalem artichokes, dahlias, lilies, gladioli - you get the idea.  

I've planted up all my dahlia tubers in pots on my balcony so the next week should get them off to a good start. And I'll head out to the veg patch today to sow carrots, beetroot, another row of radish and plant more Jerusalem artichokes. 

The 'drawing down' energy is strongest straight after the full moon but fades as it wanes towards the new moon on the 30th. My almanac advises that the last week of the month is a dormant period with poor growth. Obviously my energies will be best directed towards garden maintenance - a good time to prune, weed, mulch and build supports for peas and beans.  

And with the weather here in the south of England forecast to be warm and dry, I think I should add watering to that list. 

Ginger Nuts! How to grow fresh ginger (part 1)

 

I've been trying not to get too experimental with what I'm growing this year but ginger is a staple in my kitchen (so useful for warding off winter colds).  So, for the past few weeks, I've been nurturing a root into life in the dark warmth of my kitchen cupboards.

I last tried growing ginger seven years ago, and failed. But, inspired while watching Marcus Wareing's Tales from a Kitchen Garden on the BBC, my thoughts turned to the summer warmth in my sun trap of a salad garden and I decided to try again. And on my next shopping expedition, I came home with a sturdy chunk of promising looking ginger in my basket.

I've followed the method shown in episode 8 of the show where Marcus chats to a grower about spices. And that included ginger.  Compulsive viewing for a food grower - I now know where I went wrong before! 

As the saying goes ... if at first you don't succeed, try and try again. Especially as I've now seen a tried and tested method that practically guarantees success. (I'm nothing if not optimistic.)

So this is what I've done (so far) ...

• First, sprout the ginger.  Soak the ginger chunks in water for a couple of days; that helps to revitalise it.
• Next, seal the chunks in a clear plastic tub and store it somewhere warm.  I found the gentle warmth of the cupboard near to my oven perfect.
• Finally, try not to forget about it! In a couple of weeks, buds on the ginger had started to form a tuber with visible roots (see main pic).  The whole chunk of ginger was then potted up into good peat free compost, leaving the growing shoot above the soil level and the new roots just buried. Keep the plant warm and the soil moist (never wet) and in six months or so, I should be harvesting my own fresh ginger. 
• I used a 3 litre/7.5" pot because it's what I had to hand but a 10 litre/11" pot would be even better. I'll pot mine on once it's established. 
• Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a subtropical plant, thriving in humid conditions and nutrient rich soil. It spreads along the ground as it grows (hence the need for a big pot or greenhouse bed) and will need feeding weekly. 

Snuggled into it's new home ... 

Part Two of this post will be if/when this experiment progresses ... and my next experiment will be the lemon grass stalk previously destined for a pot of Thai breakfast soup but now sitting in a jar of water on my windowsill.

Goodbye Storm Moon, Hello Worm Moon

Or to put it another way, goodbye February, hello March. And hello rhubarb, wild garlic, spring flowers and first tiny blossom on the fruit trees!

Harvested this morning - love that Peppermint Chard!