Moon Planting calendar

VEGETABLE PATCH: 3rd day for preparing plots where you'll plant onion, garlic, chives, Welsh onion... / If not done yet, you can still pull endives out and let them dry for around ten days, mulching them lightly to protect them from frost / Pull out and store remaining red beet, and mulch root vegetables that can stay in the ground during winter / Remove sprouts from potatoes and check that vegetables stored in siloes aren't going bad / In a cold frame, sow a last batch of baby carrots and red radish / Sow rows of chervil.

Before 2:47 PM (14:47), root day (make the most of these few hours if you're a bit late):

VEGETABLE PATCH: Plant gray shallot atop ridges in well-draining soil / Plant onion seedlings started off in August-September / Harvest all root vegetables that can't overwinter in the ground (crosnes, red beet) and mulch the rest / Pull out endive (chicory) roots without damaging them, and let them dry out (cure) for a week or two on the ground; protect them from direct sun with a cover of dry leaves or fern fronds; after that, shake excess dirt off, remove smaller roots and cut all foliage just above the crown / Thin your most recent root vegetable sprouts / Prepare plots where you'll soon be planting onion, garlic, chives, Welsh onion...

After 2:47 PM (14:47), entering a flower day:

LANDSCAPING: Bring fuchsia, plumbago and lantana in an unheated greenhouse, without watering much / Plant simple-flower chrysanthemum, bare-root peony and daylily / Clear flower beds out / Ridge young rose trees / Plant a clematis along a lattice, setting the clump on its side and burying the base of its stems / Also plant wisteria, trumpet vine, deciduous flower shrubs (weigelia for instance) / Prepare forsythia cuttings (from November to February) / If it has frozen outside already, pull out your last begonia, dahlia, canna and gladiolus tubers and store them in a dry spot / Pull out and discard dead annuals / In warmer areas, you can try sowing a few hardy flowers.

VEGETABLE PATCH: Spread compost along the base of your artichoke plants, and mulch if temperatures might into the lower 20°F (-5°C).

LANDSCAPING: 2nd day for bringing fuchsia, plumbago and lantana in an unheated greenhouse, without watering much / Plant simple-flower chrysanthemum, bare-root peony and daylily / Clear flower beds out / Ridge young rose trees / Plant a clematis along a lattice, setting the clump on its side and burying the base of its stems / Also plant wisteria, trumpet vine, deciduous flower shrubs (weigelia for instance) / Prepare forsythia cuttings (from November to February) / If it has frozen outside already, pull out your last begonia, dahlia, canna and gladiolus tubers and store them in a dry spot / Pull out and discard dead annuals / In warmer areas, you can try sowing a few hardy flowers.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for spreading compost along the base of your artichoke plants, and mulching if temperatures might drop to the lower 20s°F (-5°C).

VEGETABLE PATCH: Plant rhubarb in soil enriched with lots of compost or manure, in a sunny spot; you'll mulch the area in winter / Keep blanching vegetables that require it (frisée, chicory, branch celery, cardoon, dandelion, wild chicory) / If not done yet, cut and burn asparagus stems and clear out the base, add compost / If you've pulled endive out a few days ago, start forcing them: shorten leaves to 1 inch (3 cm) and roots to 8 inches (20 cm), and store them vertically in a crate, packed together tightly; fill spaces in-between with garden soil; water and cover / Finish transplanting lettuce sown in September / Transplant spring cabbage / Topdress with compost along salad growing beds, mulch / Chop and bury leftover mulch on free plots in the vegetable patch.

LANDSCAPING: Plant deciduous shrubs, hedge shrubs (silverberry, hornbeam, beech, privet, photinia...) and ornamental vines (Virginia creeper, crimson glory vine, ivy...) / Mow the lawn one last time, not too short.

Before 5:01 PM (17:01), leaf day:

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day to plant rhubarb in soil enriched with lots of compost or manure, in a sunny spot; you'll mulch the area in winter / Keep blanching vegetables that require it (frisée, chicory, branch celery, cardoon, dandelion, wild chicory) / If not done yet, cut and burn asparagus stems and clear out the base, add compost / If you've pulled endive out a few days ago, start forcing them: shorten leaves to 1 inch (3 cm) and roots to 8 inches (20 cm), and store them vertically in a crate, packed together tightly; fill spaces in-between with garden soil; water and cover / Finish transplanting lettuce sown in September / Transplant spring cabbage / Topdress with compost along salad growing beds, mulch / Chop and bury leftover mulch on free plots in the vegetable patch.

LANDSCAPING: 2nd day for planting deciduous shrubs, hedge shrubs (silverberry, hornbeam, beech, privet, photinia...) and ornamental vines (Virginia creeper, crimson glory vine, ivy...) / Mow the lawn one last time, not too short.

After 5:01 PM (17:01), entering a fruit & seed day:

ORCHARD: Gather raspberry offshoots to transplant them elsewhere. / You can start planting fruit trees, or at least prepare planting holes if not dug out yet / Prepare fig tree cuttings (mallet-type), once leaves have dropped / Treat fruit trees after leaf drop: removed dried, mummified fruits and burn them, spray bordeaux mixture to hinder fungal disease.

Don't garden after 4:45 PM (16:45) – moon is at apogee at 9:48 PM (21:48)

ORCHARD: 2nd day for gathering raspberry offshoots to transplant elsewhere / You can start planting fruit trees, or at least prepare planting holes if not dug out yet / Prepare fig tree cuttings (mallet-type), once leaves have dropped / Treat fruit trees after leaf drop: removed dried, mummified fruits and burn them, spray bordeaux mixture to hinder fungal disease.

ORCHARD: 3rd day for gathering raspberry offshoots to transplant elsewhere / You can start planting fruit trees, or at least prepare planting holes if not dug out yet / Prepare fig tree cuttings (mallet-type), once leaves have dropped / Treat fruit trees after leaf drop: removed dried, mummified fruits and burn them, spray bordeaux mixture to hinder fungal disease.

Before 6:05 PM (18:05), fruit & seed day:

ORCHARD: 4th day for gathering raspberry offshoots to transplant elsewhere / You can start planting fruit trees, or at least prepare planting holes if not dug out yet / Prepare fig tree cuttings (mallet-type), once leaves have dropped / Treat fruit trees after leaf drop: removed dried, mummified fruits and burn them, spray bordeaux mixture to hinder fungal disease

After 6:05 PM (18:05), entering a root day:

VEGETABLE PATCH: In warmer territories, plant gray shallot, colored onion (on ridges) as well as white and violet garlic, on a plot that doesn't have too much nitrogen and hasn't been planted with alliums in the past 4 years / Weed and thin carrot sprouts / Harvest black salsify, horseradish, common salsify, swede, leek, parsnip, crosnes, and take a few minutes to spread mulch on your crops to make it easier to harvest even when it freezes / In heavy soil, break up the ground in the vegetable patch, forming large clumps that frost and freezing will break down.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day, in warmer territories, for planting gray shallot, colored onion (on ridges) as well as white and violet garlic, on a plot that doesn't have too much nitrogen and hasn't been planted with alliums in the past 4 years / Weed and thin carrot sprouts / Harvest black salsify, horseradish, common salsify, swede, leek, parsnip, crosnes, and take a few minutes to spread mulch on your crops to make it easier to harvest even when it freezes / In heavy soil, break up the ground in the vegetable patch, forming large clumps that frost and freezing will break down.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 3rd day, in warmer territories, for planting gray shallot, colored onion (on ridges) as well as white and violet garlic, on a plot that doesn't have too much nitrogen and hasn't been planted with alliums in the past 4 years / Weed and thin carrot sprouts / Harvest black salsify, horseradish, common salsify, swede, leek, parsnip, crosnes, and take a few minutes to spread mulch on your crops to make it easier to harvest even when it freezes / In heavy soil, break up the ground in the vegetable patch, forming large clumps that frost and freezing will break down.

Don't garden before 1:50 PM (13:50) – lunar node at 8:48 AM

VEGETABLE PATCH: 4th day, in warmer territories, for planting gray shallot, colored onion (on ridges) as well as white and violet garlic, on a plot that doesn't have too much nitrogen and hasn't been planted with alliums in the past 4 years / Weed and thin carrot sprouts / Harvest black salsify, horseradish, common salsify, swede, leek, parsnip, crosnes, and take a few minutes to spread mulch on your crops to make it easier to harvest even when it freezes / In heavy soil, break up the ground in the vegetable patch, forming large clumps that frost and freezing will break down.

Before 10:51 AM (10:51), root day:

VEGETABLE PATCH: 4th day, in warmer territories, for planting gray shallot, colored onion (on ridges) as well as white and violet garlic, on a plot that doesn't have too much nitrogen and hasn't been planted with alliums in the past 4 years / Weed and thin carrot sprouts / Harvest black salsify, horseradish, common salsify, swede, leek, parsnip, crosnes, and take a few minutes to spread mulch on your crops to make it easier to harvest even when it freezes / In heavy soil, break up the ground in the vegetable patch, forming large clumps that frost and freezing will break down.

After 10:51 AM (10:51), entering a flower day:

LANDSCAPING: Plant roses; ridge young rose trees to protect the graft joint / Prune shrubby rose trees / Plant chrysanthemum, bare-root peony and daylily, and finish planting bulb flowers / Clear flower beds out / New opportunity to plant flower vines: clematis (along a lattice, setting the clump on its side and burying the base of its stems), wisteria, trumpet vine / Also plant deciduous flower shrubs (weigelia for instance).

VEGETABLE PATCH: Spread compost along the base of your artichoke plants, and mulch if temperatures might into the lower 20°F (-5°C).

LANDSCAPING: 2nd day for planting roses; ridge young rose trees to protect the graft joint / Prune shrubby rose trees / Plant chrysanthemum, bare-root peony and daylily, and finish planting bulb flowers / Clear flower beds out / New opportunity to plant flower vines: clematis (along a lattice, setting the clump on its side and burying the base of its stems), wisteria, trumpet vine / Also plant deciduous flower shrubs (weigelia for instance).

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for spreading compost along the base of your artichoke plants, and mulching if temperatures might drop to the lower 20s°F (-5°C).

VEGETABLE PATCH: Finish transplanting lettuce sown end of September / Transplant spring cabbage / Topdress with compost along salad growing beds, mulch / Chop and bury leftover mulch on free plots in the vegetable patch / Force the endive roots you dug out a few days ago / Keep blanching cardoon, branch celery, frisée chicory and escarole.

LANDSCAPING: Plant hedge shrubs (silverberry, hornbeam, beech, privet, photinia...) and ornamental vines like Virginia creeper and ivy / Prune hazelnut trees and set straight stems aside to make stakes.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day to finish transplanting lettuce sown end of September / Transplant spring cabbage / Topdress with compost along salad growing beds, mulch / Chop and bury leftover mulch on free plots in the vegetable patch / Force the endive roots you dug out a few days ago / Keep blanching cardoon, branch celery, frisée chicory and escarole.

LANDSCAPING: 2nd day for planting hedge shrubs (silverberry, hornbeam, beech, privet, photinia...) and ornamental vines like Virginia creeper and ivy / Prune hazelnut trees and set straight stems aside to make stakes.

Before 2:33 PM (14:44), as the moon is descending:

ORCHARD: Brush tree trunks clean, prune and shape trees in wind-swept areas, add compost or slow-release fertilizer along the drip line of tree canopies where most "active roots" are / Plant raspberry / Fresh opportunity to prepare fig tree cuttings (mallet-type), once leaves have dropped / Plant fruit trees, or at least prepare the planting holes if not ready yet.

VEGETABLE PATCH: Ridge faba beans sown last October.

After 2:44 PM (14:44), the moon begins to ascend again:

VEGETABLE PATCH: Collect arugula seeds for next year's sowing / If not done yet, in mild climates, sow faba bean and round pea.

ORCHARD: Stratify apple and pear pips in sand, in a pot also set along a shaded wall / Gather chestnuts / In dry weather, lather fruit tree trunks with clay plaster / If the first frosts have hit, harvest fruits that require bletting: persimmon, medlar / Keep harvesting olive.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for collecting arugula seeds for next year's sowing / If not done yet, in mild climates, sow faba bean and round pea.

ORCHARD: 2nd day for stratifying apple and pear pips in sand, in a pot also set along a shaded wall, north-facing wall / Gather chestnuts / In dry weather, lather fruit tree trunks with clay plaster / If the first frosts have hit, harvest fruits that require bletting: persimmon, medlar / Keep harvesting olive.

Before 9:37 AM (9:37), fruit & seed day:

VEGETABLE PATCH: 3rd day for collecting arugula seeds for next year's sowing / If not done yet, in mild climates, sow faba bean and round pea.

ORCHARD: 3rd day for stratifying apple and pear pips in sand, in a pot also set along a shaded wall, north-facing wall / Gather chestnuts / In dry weather, lather fruit tree trunks with clay plaster / If the first frosts have hit, harvest fruits that require bletting: persimmon, medlar / Keep harvesting olive.

After 9:37 AM (9:37), entering a root day:

VEGETABLE PATCH: Protect the soil of your vegetable patch on plots that still have vegetables: winterizing fleece in mild areas, thick mulch in colder regions; this will extend the harvest and make it much easier to pull root crops out when it freezes

Keep sowing radishes and baby carrots for regular consumption under a light cold frame (tunnel or low greenhouse) / Prune leafage off your swede / Till the soil in your vegetable patch, adding ripe manure or compost and amendments that enhance soil texture / Remove sprouts from potatoes and check that vegetables stored in siloes aren't going bad / Stratify root celery seeds by sowing them directly in the plot (they'll sprout when winter is over).

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for protecting the soil of your vegetable patch on plots that still have vegetables: winterizing fleece in mild areas, thick mulch in colder regions; this will extend the harvest and make it much easier to pull root crops out when it freezes

Keep sowing radishes and baby carrots for regular consumption under a light cold frame (tunnel or low greenhouse) / Prune leafage off your swede / Till the soil in your vegetable patch, adding ripe manure or compost and amendments that enhance soil texture / Remove sprouts from potatoes and check that vegetables stored in siloes aren't going bad / Stratify root celery seeds by sowing them directly in the plot (they'll sprout when winter is over).

LANDSCAPING: Sow dwarf or climbing sweet pea / You can try sowing begonia and pelargonium in a warm spot inside the house.

INDOORS: Start forcing hyacinth bulbs in special water-filled forcing vases for them to bloom this winter: set them in a cool, dark place until a crown of leaves appears, at which point you can transfer them to a warmer, well-lit room.

VEGETABLE PATCH: Harvest cauliflower sown last summer, and broccoli that were transplanted last summer (these can resist colds down to 25°F / -5°C: for the moment, only harvest the main head).

Before 1:02 PM (13:02), flower day:

LANDSCAPING: 2nd day for sowing dwarf or climbing sweet pea / You can try sowing begonia and pelargonium in a warm spot inside the house.

INDOORS: 2nd day to start forcing hyacinth bulbs in special water-filled forcing vases for them to bloom this winter: set them in a cool, dark place until a crown of leaves appears, at which point you can transfer them to a warmer, well-lit room.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for harvesting cauliflower sown last summer, and broccoli that were transplanted last summer (these can resist colds down to 25°F / -5°C / for the moment, only harvest the main head).

After 1:02 PM (13:02), entering a leaf day:

VEGETABLE PATCH: Sow, under a cold frame, corn salad, lettuce, spinach. Keep harvesting corn salad, spinach, winter lettuce, chicory, escarole, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, winter leek / Sow green manure on plots as you free them: rye and vetch

Chop and till phacelia and white mustard into the soil (keep rye in place: you'll cut it down early February and let it sit on the ground for 3 weeks before tilling it in).

INDOORS: Sow watercress and purslane in your lean-in or winter garden / Indoors, sprout seed mixes (ready-made mixes include edible sprouts, lentil, mungo bean, chick pea, alfalfa, beet) and sprinkle them into tossed salads for their nutrients / Check on your houseplants: they tend to suffer from the dry air our heating systems generate: set them over saucers filled with wet clay pebbles to keep the air around plants humid.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for sowing, again under a cold frame, corn salad, lettuce, spinach. Keep harvesting corn salad, spinach, winter lettuce, chicory, escarole, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, winter leek / Sow green manure on plots as you free them: rye and vetch

Chop and till phacelia and white mustard into the soil (keep rye in place: you'll cut it down early February and let it sit on the ground for 3 weeks before tilling it in).

INDOORS: 2nd day for sowing watercress and purslane in your lean-in or winter garden / Indoors, sprout seed mixes (ready-made mixes include edible sprouts, lentil, mungo bean, chick pea, alfalfa, beet) and sprinkle them into tossed salads for their nutrients / Check on your houseplants: they tend to suffer from the dry air our heating systems generate: set them over saucers filled with wet clay pebbles to keep the air around plants humid.

Don't garden today: lunar node at 11:01 AM

VEGETABLE PATCH: In mild climates, sow broad bean and round pea.

ORCHARD: In warmer climates, harvest olives if they weren't quite ready yet end of October and early November / Harvest medlar and persimmon after the first frosts, store them on a bed of straw or dried leaves in a crate. Eat them in a few weeks / Stratify apple and pear pips in sand, in a pot burried along a shaded wall, north-facing wall: these will give you healthy rootstock plants.

Before 5:03 PM (17:03), fruit & seed day:

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day, in mild climates, to sow faba beans and peas.

ORCHARD: 2nd day, in warmer climates, for harvesting olives if they weren't quite ready yet end of October and early November / Harvest medlar and persimmon after the first frosts, store them on a bed of straw or dried leaves in a crate. Eat them in a few weeks / Stratify apple and pear pips in sand, in a pot burried along a shaded wall, north-facing wall: these will give you healthy rootstock plants.

After 5:03 PM (17:03), entering a root day:

VEGETABLE PATCH: Sow a few red radish and baby carrots under a cold frame / During this quiet period, start thinking about your 2024 vegetable patch. Set up which crops to grow in each plot. Make sure you implement crop rotation and companion planting. Mark out plots that require fertilizing and those for which it isn't needed (and may even be harmful). Check out new trends in catalogs, sort your saved seeds, and order new ones.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for sowing a few red radish, baby carrots under a cold frame / During this quiet period, start thinking about your 2024 vegetable patch. Set up which crops to grow in each plot. Make sure you implement crop rotation and companion planting. Mark out plots that require fertilizing and those for which it isn't needed (and may even be harmful). Check out new trends in catalogs, sort your saved seeds, and order new ones.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 3rd day for sowing a few red radish, baby carrots under a cold frame / During this quiet period, start thinking about your 2024 vegetable patch. Set up which crops to grow in each plot. Make sure you implement crop rotation and companion planting. Mark out plots that require fertilizing and those for which it isn't needed (and may even be harmful). Check out new trends in catalogs, sort your saved seeds, and order new ones.

Before 2:11 PM (14:11), ascending moon:

VEGETABLE PATCH: 4th day for sowing a few red radish, baby carrots under a cold frame / During this quiet period, start thinking about your 2024 vegetable patch. Set up which crops to grow in each plot. Make sure you implement crop rotation and companion planting. Mark out plots that require fertilizing and those for which it isn't needed (and may even be harmful). Check out new trends in catalogs, sort your saved seeds, and order new ones.

After 2:11 PM (14:11), the moon begins to descend:

VEGETABLE PATCH: In warmer areas, short time slot before we switch to a flower day tomorrow, to plant gray shallot, colored onion (on ridges) as well as white and violet garlic, on a plot that doesn't have too much nitrogen and hasn't been planted with alliums in the past 4 years / Weed and thin carrot sprouts / Harvest black salsify, horseradish, common salsify, swede, leek, parsnip, crosnes, and take a few minutes to spread mulch on your crops to make it easier to harvest even when it freezes / In heavy soil, break up the ground in the vegetable patch, forming large clumps that frost and freezing will break down.

INDOORS: Plant or repot amaryllis bulbs indoors.

LANDSCAPING: If not freezing, plant deciduous flower shrubs, flower vines, and bare-root rose trees (remember to root-dip them) / If not done yet, ridge soil up over graft points for newly planted rose trees, or less hardy varieties; you'll clear them free in spring / Prune your rose trees (the "Christmas pruning") by cutting stems back to around 2 feet (50-60 cm). / Prune summer-blooming clematis vines / Start winter pruning for wisteria: cut all secondary branches back, leaving only 3 or 4 buds on each stump

Position new dogwood trees where you intend for them to grow; you'll graft them over the coming summer / Prune your tree mallows / Protect Hibiscus moscheutos and perennials in flower beds: mulch and cover more vulnerable flowers with winterizing fleece

Plant hellebore and chrysanthemum.

VEGETABLE PATCH: Check if your artichoke are still well protected.