Claire’s Gardening with the Moon in September 2024

Singing Moon, Harvest Moon, or Wine Moon Wine Moon, Song Moon, and Barley Moon.

Moon Phases for Wirksworth, England, United Kingdom in September 2024
New Moon		First Quarter		Full Moon		Third Quarter
3 Sep	02:55	11 Sep	07:05	18 Sep	03:34	24 Sep	19:49

September heralds in cooler nights as we head towards autumn, but even though the days are shorter, they can still be sunny and bright. Just watch out for any early frosts if you’ve got any tender plants out in your garden.

It’s always better to eat your homegrown fruit and veg as fresh as possible, but if you have a glut or need to harvest before the frosts arrive, then choosing the optimum day can make a huge difference to the keeping quality and taste of your crop. Mornings in the ascending moon (12th – 24th) offer the best times to harvest crops for processing, drying or storing as the upper parts of the plant are more vital.

Harvest fruits like blackberries, apples, pears, tomatoes, runner beans and pumpkins or squashes on the 12th, 13th, 20th and 21st

Harvest root crops like beetroot, celeriac, turnips and potatoes on 14th, 15th, 22nd and 23rd.

Try to completely avoid harvesting (or doing any other sensitive work in your garden) on the 18th and the 24th as there are no helpful influences coming to earth from the cosmos.

 

The descending moon this month is from the 1st – 11th and 25th – 30th. Afternoons and evenings during these periods offer the optimum times for planting, as the roots will connect much quicker to the soil, causing less stress to your plants. These are also good days to top dress your garden with a layer of homemade compost - but only if the soil is damp.

Plant spring flowering bulbs like narcissus, crocus and snowdrops on the 8th or the 26th. These are also good days to lift, divide and replant any flowering perennials or plant out any flowering biennials like wallflowers and pansies.

Plant out any hardy root crops like garlic or over-wintering onions on the 14th or 15th

You could pot up any leafy herbs like chives or parsley on the 10th or 11th as it’s always nice to have some fresh herbs on the kitchen windowsill.

Avoid doing any planting (or any work with the soil) from the 4th - 6th or the 25th as there are no helpful cosmic influences coming down to earth.

 

The full moon this month falls on the 18th which is also perigee (when the moon is closest to Earth) so it’s not a good day to do any sensitive work in the garden. But sowing seeds during the week before the full moon ensures a quicker and stronger germination.

Sow hardy leaf crops like winter lettuce, spinach or kale under cover on the 11th

Sow hardy root crops like turnips or radishes under cover on the 14th or 15th. These are also good days to sow any over-wintering green manures like clover and rye grass as the soil will still be warm.

Sow hardy annual flowers (like larkspur, sweet peas, Californian poppies, or cornflowers) on the 16th for an early summer show next year.

 

Try to resist the temptation to cut back and tidy up your borders once the flowers have faded. Dead and dying vegetation is an important part of your garden’s life cycle. Why not set up a log pile and watch life gravitate towards it? You’ll attract lots of different insects, fungi will colonise and rot down the wood, toads, newts and frogs may well shelter there and mosses, ferns and wildflowers will also move in. Build it and they will come!

If you have questions for me that relate to my blog - Moon and growing related - please send them to me using the Earth Pathways contact page. I would also like to direct curious readers to the UK Biodynamic Association website.

Thank you for joining me on this growing journey.

Claire Hattersley