LUNAR GARDENING MAY 2012

PADS GARDEN PLAN
14.May.2012

Awful layout follows

Current situation:

Indoors...
A Mini greenhouse in the conservatory - major heat trap. Has about 10 chilli plants in the top level, a couple of which are touching the ceiling of the greenhouse. 2 of the plants need repotting but I haven't got any more large pots at the minute. All are doing well, a couple maybe struggled with the repotting, several are showing the beginnings of flower buds.

Also in the mini greenhouse are 6 tiny lettuce seedlings I repotted into individual small inserts today. In 'group pot germination' are basil, chives, parsley, rockett, watercress and another type of lettuce. I'm sure there's something else I'm forgetting. Nia's parents gave me two pumpkin seeds in pots, which have so far done nothing. Also there are 3 small lettuce plants in there that Anna Doggart gifted me. I got my chitted seed potatoes from Shiv's earlier today and have put them in the greenhouse for safe keeping. Also I got a strange pack of dirt labelled as strawberries for half price from wilkos today, I've made a little hanging basket out of a milk carton for them, have no idea what's going to happen with them.

Hovering around the conservatory/house - two tomato hanging baskets (2 plants in one, 3 in another), one is in kitchen. They seem quite content and are coming along well, one is starting to droop over the edges as intended.

Repotted (i think) 7 sweet pepper plants today which have been growing for a couple of months, they are quite nice, some still rather small. I've filled a window sill planter with compost and there are my first major basil, chive and parsley plants in there, with space for more at a later date. Looks nice, Basil and parsley are doing magnificently but chives maybe a little choked - or are they just slow?

Some spring onion seeds in germination in the conservatory and three more chilli plants that need repotting.

Nia's venus fly trap 'Lady Di' is on the windowsill, I fed her a dead wasp yesterday. The fly trap, not Nia. Also some lovely azaelias I bought for her are on the 'table'.

Outdoors...
2 planter pots with 2 onions in each, seem to be doing ok - the stems are hardening up. One planter with 3 garlics in it, nothing happening yet. One planter with nothing in it - don't know what to use it for yet. Must choose wisely!

I've dug over the three 'allotment' style beds in the garden and have got 4 of Anna's cabbages in one of them, all still covered by plastics. I mixed miracle grow into the soil in these beds.

Had a dig in a strange shallow bed surrounded by tiles. Cannot figure out what to do with it, would ideally like to make another bed but I'm unsure whether I am permitted. There is a nice flower bed by the conservatory door with spearmint and what I think is a rosebush in it, with space for more. There is a border bed on the long side of the garden with lots of spearmint and some reed like things and a little bush or two. On the north border there are 10 heavily coppiced pine trees, rather ugly and no doubt dominating the soil but there is definite potential for a bit of deep tendered soil and a flower border. Also have a large pot of mature chives Nia's parents gave to us.

Immediate plan LUNAR GARDENING
At the moment Sun is in TAURUS
Today and yesterday moon in PISCES and is in the last (waning) quarter. This then is a good time for transplanting, hence the moving about of things I've done today (chillis, lettuces, sweet peppers, chitted potatos).

However, as we're in the waning moon I'm holding off planting until the new moon, which will be in TAURUS on 18-19th May. Between then and now is the ARIES moon in last quarter - a barren sign in a good position for some weeding and garden maintenance.

So the plan for the next 2 weeks according to the luminaries is as follows...


MAY 15-17 - Last quarter, Moon in ARIES

Time to weed the shit flower beds and tidy up (if I get in the garden). Also might plant a couple of Sunflower seeds as Fire signs favour plants grown for their seeds (creative energy) like Sunflowers.


May 18-20 - New Moon, Moon in TAURUS, Sun going into GEMINI late on the 20th

I'll be planting most of my hardy root crop - Parsnips straight in the ground as I'm already a bit late with them (in the middle bed I think). Plant Carrots into the ground but maybe some in pots as controls. Beetroot - possibly some in spare pot? Definitely some in the ground, maybe between the parsnips. Also Radishes into the ground and a couple inside as controls (same for beetroot actually). Potatos into growbags and - dare I - a few into the ground for good measure?

Into the ground - Parsnips, Carrots, Beetroots, Radishes
Into bags - Potatos
Into pots - carrots, radishes

Busy day that, but very important I catch this POWERFUL POWERFUL TAUREAN new moon. Hell yeah.

May 21-23 - New Moon, moon in GEMINI
Barren, Garden maintenance time. I read somewhere that Parsley is associated with Gemini so might do a little experiment while the sun and moon are both in GEMINI see if I can make some super parsley. Would like to get some nice organic compost for that (and everything actually - in fact I just phoned Anna Doggart in the middle of writing this and offered a swap of 2 chilli plants and a sweet pepper for some organic dirt). Prepare seed trays for planting veggies in CANCER

May 23-25 - First Quarter, moon in CANCER
Time for some planting in an opportune time - A waxing moon and a water sign - perfect.
Will plant a couple more carrots and radishes, to make use of the lunar situation and back up the previous TAUREAN crop.

Lots to put into seed trays -
Tray 1: HERBS and SALADS - basil, parsley, chives. Mizuna, rockett, spinach, more lettuces?
Tray 2: VEGGIES - Broccoli, Romanesco, Spring Onions

Into the Ground: Spinach into planter pot/Ground? Same for Rockett? Runner Beans into veg patch and maybe in pot with spinach! FLEECE may be required.

MAY 25-27   
First Quarter, Moon in LEO
Have myself a rest.

May 28-30
Second quarter, VIRGO
Continue to rest, but could prepare seed trays for flowers

MAY 30-JUN 1
Second quarter, moon in LIBRA
This is when I plan to plant my first flowers!

In seed trays:
Nasturtiums
Marigolds
Cosmos
Poppies
Sunflowers



ALL THE WHILE I MUST BE LOOKING OUT FOR TIMES TO PUT THE GREENHOUSE OUTSIDE, to harden up my plants.

Looking forward: I plan to set up my worm farm in the Aquarius moon - 7 June-9 June





Lunar gardening links:
Cafe Astrology annual astrology overview
Some lunar gardening tips
Gardening by moon phases
Lunar Organics - Biodynamics and lunar planting
Lunarium

July Sky

Elderflowers and Summer

Elderflowers

Elderflower fritters frying

Celeriac chips doing the same

Elderflower fritters and a banana fritter

How to make Elderflower fritters
recipe taken from "Wild Food" by Roger Phillips, ISBN 978-0-330-28069-3, highly recommended reading

1. Wait until June/July next year (they're past it now)

2. Make simple batter
4oz flour
1 egg
1/4 pint tepid water
pinch salt

3. Dip elderflower heads into batter, hold by the stems. This batter mix will do at least a dozen elderflower heads

4. Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown

5. Optionally dress in icing sugar, they go nicely with fresh fruit like raspberries or a blob of ice cream

tip: if you have batter left over, use it to make some banana fritters as I did above ^^^, it's quite hard to run out of elderflowers when they are in season though as they grow so profusely. If you pick them next year be sure to not decimate a patch as that will limit the harvest of elderberries

Prize for figuring out what this is^

note: the dates on the pictures are all inaccurate

The Height of Spring - Wild Food

It is the middle of May and there is a glut of food in our back gardens. Dandelions are our first port of call, they are a surprisingly useful weed as every part can be used. The flowers can be eaten raw and a wonderfully sweet, especially if picked in the early morning before the bees have got to them. (click on pictures to enlarge)

The leaves can also be eaten, though if they are not very young they will be bitter. I tried one and it is bitter indeed, though not unbearable by any means and possibly something one could get used to. A solution to this problem is to 'blanch' the leaves, this is done by removing and discarding the leaves on the plant then covering the dandelion with a small dark pot. The leaves will be back in a couple of days magically mild to the taste. The roots can also be used to make a coffee substitute through a slow roasting process similar to that used to make coffee. Naturally this is caffeine free and full of nutrients. Dandelions are incredibly nutritions and can help with, amongst other things, bowel function and preventing ailments of the liver, check out what The Leaf Lady says for more about this. WARNING: Eating too many dandelions will give you the trots.

My main harvest this day was the Stinging Nettle, a plant of which people are generally very misinformed. It is incredibly high in Iron and Folic Acid (which is the cause of the sting, the same substance that ants sting with), also great for the blood, skin and ailments such as rheumatism. There is a fab little patch right on my back doorstep.

The culinary uses for nettles are many. They can be pureed into something like pesto, treated like wilted spinach or served like cabbage as a side dish. Great in stuffings, soups, wine, beer... the list is endless. My personal favourite way to enjoy them is raw straight from the plant (just make sure they're high enough that dogs can't have done wee on them).

It is generally recommended that you use gloves when picking, but with practice you can learn to not get stung so much, and feel like a hard man. To eat them raw without getting a sting in your mouth you need to ensure that you get the nettle between your molars without making any contact with your mouth. Bite down on the nettle and magically the sting is disabled via a mechanism which I could not possibly try to explain here.

Pansies pick nettles like this (below)

Tender handed stroke a nettle
And it will sting you for your pains,
Grasp it like a man of mettle
And soft as silk it remains!

The blighters pictured below are Cleavers which often grow near nettles, they're the things you used to stick on peoples backs when you were a child. They too are edible, but they sort of stick to your tongue which is disconcerting but not unpleasurable. They're not too tasty, but at least they're free.

A cleaver doing its thing on my picking bag (below)

Another fab patch of Stinging Nettles which I shall be using later this week to make lots of lovely nettle beer. Seriously, there are lots of nettles around, it is a crime not to use them.

However, it is important to remember that insects like nettles, possibly more than I do, so if you go picking make sure you don't absolutely decimate a patch as certain creatures are dependent on them, like this fly chilling (below). I forgot to mention that you should only pick the top couple of bracts (layers) of leaves as a) they are the less bitter than the larger, older leaves and b) the aforementioned reason of leaving a habitat intact.

Ducks nearby with their own nettle patch.

These blue flowers are actually Red Dead Nettles, which also can be eaten, though they are not a true nettle, they are a member of the mint family. They are very pretty and don't grow anywhere near as commonly as the Stinging Nettle, though they are surely not rare.

Another wonderful spring leaf is the relatively little known Hedge Garlic, which grows more sporadically than its Wild Garlic cousin, which grows in large stinking patches. I prefer the flavour of hedge garlic which is wonderful raw with a strong but not overwhelming garlic flavour. Great in salads or soups.

(below) A small taking of Hedge Garlic

Hawthorn is the most commonly planted hedge crop, and is indeed a source of good eating. The leaves are a bit past it now, they are best eaten as they are just budding, when they are very tender. They have a gentle lettuce-like flavour. In Autumn they yield dark red berries which can be used (carefully) for such things as Wine and Jelly.

Traditionally May Day was celebrated two weeks after the first of May, and if the Hawthorn was in bloom (it has delicate white flowers) boys would pick the blossoms and put them on the doorstep of the prettiest girl in the village. As the date has been moved in recent times, it is very rarely the case that the hawthorn is flowering before Mayday. I'll keep an eye out for the first flowers (should be any day now). Hawthorn pictured below.

The golden find of this short trip (I didn't travel more than fifty yards from my house) was Yarrow (pictured below). This unnassuming herb hides itself well in the grass beside roads, it is a wonderful herb to keep in the cupboard as it has a wonderful relieving effect on colds and flu, and is also preventative of such ailments if drunk in a tea regularly. Make sure you are certain of the species before picking as there are some dangerous look-a-like species, later in the year yarrow grows distinctive smelly white flowers which make it much easier to distinguish.

Yarrow Tea
A couple of sprigs of Yarrow
1/2 pint nearly boiling water
Teaspoon Honey
Slice of Lemon

Just leave to infuse for 12-15 minutes. Great for a cold or refreshing beverage.

Yarrow in my pot (above).

Brambles (below) I shall be collecting blackberries off these come September. Again notice the relaxed flies.

Shiny spring Tree

Nettles and Hedge Garlic getting on well together (below)

An oddly planted patch of mint and lavender at the entrance to the barns. Very lovely smelling.

Odd mint. If anyone can identify its exact species I would be grateful.

So here is todays yield, Dandelions, Yarrow, Hedge Garlic, Nettles and I grabbed a couple of dock leaves for my stings (though it is not proven that they relieve stings, some people swear by it whilst others say it is only relieving because of the coolness).

Mashing docks to make juice to wash hands in. Just mash well, add a little water and strain through a muslin. Actually makes a nice handwash, stings or no stings.

Stringing up the Yarrow for drying.

Each and every nettle knotted individually (below). You can just lay them out to dry but to hang them is a lot more efficient.

Here is a crappy shoe rack I have transformed into a wild food drying rack. Surprisingly decorative.


Here is where they shall live for a couple of days - the utility room. Nice dry heat and a not an oft disturbed room.


Hope you feel inspired to start eating your garden. More elaborate recipes on their way.