A garden in tune with the moon

Gardening with the Moon

Explore the calendar, find the coming days’ markers and look twelve months ahead to plan your garden.

Preparing the calendar…

SemiSauvage

A few keys to reading the calendar

Following the moon can give gardening a rhythm. Weather, soil and the right season remain your first guides.

Waxing and ascending: two different cycles

Waxing and waning describe the illuminated part of the Moon. Ascending and descending describe how its declination changes over several days, rather than moonrise and moonset within one day.

Four colours, four types of day

Roots, leaves, flowers and fruits are traditional lunar gardening associations. They are cultural markers, with no guarantee of germination or yield.

How are the markers calculated?

Phases are calculated with PyEphem and dated in Paris time. Daily markers are calculated at 12:00 UTC. Day types follow the twelve equal sectors of the tropical zodiac, as in our previous calendar; these are not astronomical constellation boundaries. Transitions can occur during a day. Lunar nodes, apogees and perigees are not shown.

About the ephemeris calculations