Claire’s Gardening with the Moon in November 2024
Moon gazing: The Oak Full Moon
Although November’s weather can often necessitate a hasty retreat indoors, there are still plenty of gardening jobs you can do this month.
Sowing seeds
Most seeds sown now will need some protection from the elements: either under cloches, in a greenhouse, or even on an indoor windowsill. Sowing during the week before the Full Moon increases the chances of a good strong germination but you’ll still need to ensure there’s sufficient warmth and light for healthy growth.
| Moon Phases for Wirksworth, England, United Kingdom in November 2024 | |||||||
|
New Moon |
First Quarter |
Full Moon |
Third Quarter |
||||
|
1 Nov |
12:47 |
9 Nov |
05:55 |
15 Nov |
21:28 |
23 Nov |
01:27 |
Sowing broad beans this month will bring next year’s harvest forward by a few weeks after winter. Sow them on the optimum ‘fruit’ days which are the 7th or 15th. These are also good days for sowing other fruit crops such as early peas and chilli peppers. Protect these sowings from mice, birds or slugs by growing them in covered containers.
Sow hardy spring onions on either the 8th or 9th.
If you have any flowering perennials to sow such as Eryngiums, Bugle or Corydalis, the 10th is your best day.
Sow hardy leafy salads like mizuna, mustard, and spinach on the 13th.
Autumn Gold by Lynne Sawyer
Planting trees and shrubs and working with the soil
November’s a great time of year to plant bare-rooted trees and shrubs - the soil’s still warm, so the roots have time to get established before the worst of the winter weather sets in.
The descending moon this month is from the 1st – 4th and the 18th – 30th. This is when the moon appears to get lower and lower in the sky each day and it’s the best period to plant or do any work with the soil in your garden.
The optimum days to plant bare-rooted fruit trees (i.e. apples, pears, plums, and cherries) or fruit bushes (ie blackcurrants, gooseberries, and raspberries) are the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th.
November is still good for planting garlic cloves; the helpful ‘root’ days in the descending moon are the 27th and 28th. And if you happen to have any asparagus crowns to plant out, then the optimum ‘leaf/stem’ days are the 3rd, 20th, and 21st.
Flowering bulbs like tulips and crocus will benefit from being planted out on the 19th or the 29th.
Harvesting and processing
Although most crops in your garden will already have been harvested, there are still some vegetables that come into their own during late autumn/early winter. Roots like celeriac, swedes and turnips are best harvested on the 8th and 9th if you’re planning to process or store them for the coming months. Leaf crops like cabbage, celery, and sprouts are best harvested on the 13th if you’re going to process them i.e. make a ferment or freeze them.
Try to completely avoid harvesting (or doing any other sensitive work in your garden) on the 12th or 14th as there are no beneficial influences coming to earth from the cosmos.
Sometimes these unhelpful influences can explain why a sourdough or ferment might have gone wrong for no apparent reason…
Wild edges
You may notice the ivy flowering this month. If you have some growing in your garden, please don’t chop it down as it’s such an important native plant for wildlife. The flowers are a fantastic source of nectar and pollen in November for late flying insects, the berries are valuable winter food for birds and the leaves offer roosting and hibernation shelter for many species including the beautiful Yellow Brimstone butterfly. You’ve just gotta love your ivy!
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
Duir by Susan Latchford
