Moon Planting calendar of September

Before 9:36 AM, flower day:

LANDSCAPING: 3rd day for sowing flower perennials (in the growing bed for hardier ones, under shelter for frost-vulnerable ones) / Also sow biennials in a nursery / It's not to late to graft rose buds on dogrose (shield) to propagate your roses / Sow a mix of seeds to create a wildflower prairie: this is possible both in spring and in August-September.

After 9:36 AM, entering a leaf day:

VEGETABLE PATCH: Sow green manure such as rye, phacelia, vetch, mustard in plots that are now bare / Sow cutting lettuce and hardy lettuce (winter lettuce, corn salad) without forgetting spinach / In a nursery, sow white cabbage if you're in an area with a mild climate.

LANDSCAPING: If needed, fix bare patches on the lawn: clean the soil, sift fresh soil mix atop the area, press down with a roller and sow new lawn grass.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for sowing green manure such as rye, phacelia, vetch, mustard in plots that are now bare / Sow cutting lettuce and hardy lettuce (winter lettuce, corn salad) without forgetting spinach / In a nursery, sow white cabbage if you're in an area with a mild climate.

LANDSCAPING: 2nd day, if needed, to fix a bare patch on the lawn: clean the soil, sift fresh soil mix atop the area, press it down with a roller and sow new lawn grass.

Don't garden before 12:45 PM – lunar node at 7:43 AM

VEGETABLE PATCH: Harvest shell pea; store them for a few days in the freezer to kill bean weevil (cut short airborn parts, but keep roots in place: they'll top up your soil's nitrogen levels) / Try sowing one last batch of early bean. / Keep pinching tomato, melon, and other gourds for the plants to focus on making fruits larger; slip short wooden planks underneath the fruits to keep soil moisture out / Keep collecting tomato seed: select very ripe tomatoes, pour the pulp and seeds in a glass; let it mold, and then clean molded flesh away and dry the seeds.

ORCHARD: Wrap up the grafting for all stone and pip fruit trees / Also harvest strawberries and raspberries, apples and pears.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for harvesting shell pea; store them for a few days in the freezer to kill bean weevil (cut short airborn parts, but keep roots in place: they'll top up your soil's nitrogen levels) / Try sowing one last batch of early bean. / Keep pinching tomato, melon, and other gourds for the plants to focus on making fruits larger; slip short wooden planks underneath the fruits to keep soil moisture out / Keep collecting tomato seed: select very ripe tomatoes, pour the pulp and seeds in a glass; let it mold, and then clean molded flesh away and dry the seeds.

ORCHARD: 2nd day to wrap up grafting for all stone and pip fruit trees / Also harvest strawberries and raspberries, apples and pears.

Before 12:09 PM (12:09), fruit & seed day:

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for harvesting shell pea; store them for a few days in the freezer to kill bean weevil (cut short airborn parts, but keep roots in place: they'll top up your soil's nitrogen levels) / Try sowing one last batch of early bean. / Keep pinching tomato, melon, and other gourds for the plants to focus on making fruits larger; slip short wooden planks underneath the fruits to keep soil moisture out / Keep collecting tomato seed: select very ripe tomatoes, pour the pulp and seeds in a glass; let it mold, and then clean molded flesh away and dry the seeds.

ORCHARD: 2nd day to wrap up grafting for all stone and pip fruit trees / Also harvest strawberries and raspberries, apples and pears.

After 12:09 PM, entering a root day:

VEGETABLE PATCH: Sow monthly cycle radish, burying seeds very shallowly for round varieties; water regularly so they don't get too spicy / Prepare spring sowing of root chervil by stratifying seeds as early as now (mix seeds together with clean river sand, fill a pot up with this mix, and bury the pot in the ground near a north-facing wall until March) / In warmer areas, sow turnip for a late fall harvest, preferably hardy varieties / In mild climates, sow small white and colored onion in a nursery (yellow or red) / Try your hand at sowing "pencil leek" with a hardy variety like the 'Bleu de Solaize' which you can harvest in spring.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for sowing monthly cycle radish, burying seeds very shallowly for round varieties; water regularly so they don't get too spicy / Prepare spring sowing of root chervil by stratifying seeds as early as now (mix seeds together with clean river sand, fill a pot up with this mix, and bury the pot in the ground near a north-facing wall until March) / In warmer areas, sow turnip for a late fall harvest, preferably hardy varieties / In mild climates, sow small white and colored onion in a nursery (yellow or red) / Try your hand at sowing "pencil leek" with a hardy variety like the 'Bleu de Solaize' which you can harvest in spring.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 3rd day for sowing monthly cycle radish, burying seeds very shallowly for round varieties; water regularly so they don't get too spicy / Prepare spring sowing of root chervil by stratifying seeds as early as now (mix seeds together with clean river sand, fill a pot up with this mix, and bury the pot in the ground near a north-facing wall until March) / In warmer areas, sow turnip for a late fall harvest, preferably hardy varieties / In mild climates, sow small white and colored onion in a nursery (yellow or red) / Try your hand at sowing "pencil leek" with a hardy variety like the 'Bleu de Solaize' which you can harvest in spring.

Before 1:13 PM (13:13), with the moon ascending:

VEGETABLE PATCH: 4th day for sowing monthly cycle radish, burying seeds very shallowly for round varieties; water regularly so they don't get too spicy / Prepare spring sowing of root chervil by stratifying seeds as early as now (mix seeds together with clean river sand, fill a pot up with this mix, and bury the pot in the ground near a north-facing wall until March) / In warmer areas, sow turnip for a late fall harvest, preferably hardy varieties / In mild climates, sow small white and colored onion in a nursery (yellow or red) / Try your hand at sowing "pencil leek" with a hardy variety like the 'Bleu de Solaize' which you can harvest in spring.

After 1:13 PM (13:13), the moon begins to descend:

VEGETABLE PATCH: Harvest all root vegetable that are ready: carrot, parsnip, radish, turnip, red beet, leek, and any remaining potato / Onion sown about a month ago can be transplanted to the growing bed, for some of them: only select the nicest ones for now, let smaller ones grow a bit fatter for a while / Also plant shallot / Start harvesting endive roots without damaging them: let the plants wilt and cure on the ground for a fortnight, protecting them from sunlight with straw or leaves; remove excess soil without scraping, then dress the roots and store them in a dark place

In milder climates, it's still time to plant late red beet varieties, and garlic for an early spring harvest next April / Thin root vegetable sprouts.

LANDSCAPING: Divide hardy perennials such as geranium (true geranium, not perlargonium) and keep planting new perennials from pots found in garden stores / Plant early-blooming spring bulbs (tulip, crocus, snowdrop, narcissus, greecian windflower), pairing them with biennials (bellflower, forget-me-not, ravenelle wallflower, sweet William, pansy, daisy) sown in June and July (or purchased from stores) that are also ready for transplanting; for a natural-looking flower bed, toss bulbs by the handfull and plant them where they've fallen / Transplant perennials sown in the same months to a nursery, as well as biennials sown in August / Plant heath soil shrubs / If you want to have lily-of-the-valley next May, now is the time to plant them in part shade, shallowly burying its roots crowns; also divide older clumps, keeping only the nicest ones / Prepare cuttings from Cistus and Geranium.

VEGETABLE PATCH: Keep planting more artichoke offshoots (plant atop ridges if the soil is heavy) / In mild climates, plant broccoli.

INDOORS: Prepare cuttings from begonia and saintpaulia.

Before 11:12 AM, flower day:

LANDSCAPING: 2nd day for dividing hardy perennials such as geranium (true geranium, not perlargonium) and keep planting new perennials from pots found in garden stores / Plant early-blooming spring bulbs (tulip, crocus, snowdrop, narcissus, greecian windflower), pairing them with biennials (bellflower, forget-me-not, ravenelle wallflower, sweet William, pansy, daisy) sown in June and July (or purchased from stores) that are also ready for transplanting; for a natural-looking flower bed, toss bulbs by the handfull and plant them where they've fallen / Transplant perennials sown in the same months to a nursery, as well as biennials sown in August / Plant heath soil shrubs / If you want to have lily-of-the-valley next May, now is the time to plant them in part shade, shallowly burying its roots crowns; also divide older clumps, keeping only the nicest ones / Split and plant Ophiopogon nigrescens / Prepare cuttings from Cistus and Geranium.

VEGETABLE PATCH: Keep planting more artichoke offshoots (plant atop ridges if the soil is heavy) / In mild climates, plant broccoli.

INDOORS: Prepare cuttings from begonia and saintpaulia.

After 11:12 AM, entering a leaf day:

LANDSCAPING: Plant and prepare cuttings from evergreens (thuja, cherry laurel, aucuba...): place the cuttings under a cold frame in light substrate; protect them during winter

Plant conifers sold in containers.

VEGETABLE PATCH: Continue blanching escarole, frisée, branch celery, fennel and cardoon / Plant headed cabbage and transfer white cabbage sown last August to a nursery; they'll spend winter there and will be tranfserable at the end of April, perfect to replace long-keeping summer cabbage in the plot / If you've sown Chinese cabbage, thin the sprouts (you can also transplant seedlings purchased in nursery pots from garden stores) / Eliminate leaves that appear in lower parts of Brussels sprouts stems / Divide sorrel clumps.

LANDSCAPING: 2nd day for planting and preparing cuttings from evergreens (thuja, cherry laurel, aucuba...): place the cuttings under a cold frame in light substrate; protect them during winter / Split and plant Ophiopogon nigrescens

Plant conifers sold in containers.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day to continue blanching escarole, frisée, branch celery, fennel and cardoon / Plant headed cabbage and transfer white cabbage sown last August to a nursery; they'll spend winter there and will be tranfserable at the end of April, perfect to replace long-keeping summer cabbage in the plot / If you've sown Chinese cabbage, thin the sprouts (you can also transplant seedlings purchased in nursery pots from garden stores) / Eliminate leaves that appear in lower parts of Brussels sprouts stems / Divide sorrel clumps.

Don't garden after 10:40 AM – moon is at apogee at 3:42 PM (15:42)

ORCHARD: New opportunity to plant berry shrubs (raspberry, red currant, black currant, blueberry...)

VEGETABLE PATCH: It is still time to plant strawberry: remember to root dip specimens with bare roots, and plant on a mound without burying the root collar if the soil doesn't drain very well.

ORCHARD: 2nd day for planting berry shrubs (raspberry, red currant, black currant, blueberry...)

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for planting the last strawberry bushes: remember to root dip specimens with bare roots, and plant on a mound without burying the root collar if the soil doesn't drain very well.

ORCHARD: 3rd day for planting berry shrubs (raspberry, red currant, black currant, blueberry...)

VEGETABLE PATCH: 3rd day for planting the last strawberry bushes: remember to root dip specimens with bare roots, and plant on a mound without burying the root collar if the soil doesn't drain very well.

VEGETABLE PATCH: New timeframe for harvesting all root vegetable that are ready: carrot, parsnip, radish, turnip, red beet, leek, and any remaining potato / Onion sown about a month ago can be transplanted to the growing bed, for some of them: only select the nicest ones for now, let smaller ones grow a bit fatter for a while / Also plant shallot / Start harvesting endive roots without damaging them: let the plants wilt and cure on the ground for a fortnight, protecting them from sunlight with straw or leaves; remove excess soil without scraping, then dress the roots and store them in a dark place

In milder climates, it's still time to plant late red beet varieties, and garlic for an early spring harvest next April / Thin root vegetable sprouts.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for harvesting all root vegetable that are ready: carrot, parsnip, radish, turnip, red beet, leek, and any remaining potato / Onion sown about a month ago can be transplanted to the growing bed, for some of them: only select the nicest ones for now, let smaller ones grow a bit fatter for a while / Also plant shallot / Start harvesting endive roots without damaging them: let the plants wilt and cure on the ground for a fortnight, protecting them from sunlight with straw or leaves; remove excess soil without scraping, then dress the roots and store them in a dark place

In milder climates, it's still time to plant late red beet varieties, and garlic for an early spring harvest next April / Thin root vegetable sprouts.

Don't garden after 2:15 PM (14:15) – lunar node at 7:17 PM (19:17)

VEGETABLE PATCH: 3rd day for harvesting all root vegetable that are ready: carrot, parsnip, radish, turnip, red beet, leek, and any remaining potato / Onion sown about a month ago can be transplanted to the growing bed, for some of them: only select the nicest ones for now, let smaller ones grow a bit fatter for a while / Also plant shallot / Start harvesting endive roots without damaging them: let the plants wilt and cure on the ground for a fortnight, protecting them from sunlight with straw or leaves; remove excess soil without scraping, then dress the roots and store them in a dark place

In milder climates, it's still time to plant late red beet varieties, and garlic for an early spring harvest next April / Thin root vegetable sprouts.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 4th day for harvesting all root vegetable that are ready: carrot, parsnip, radish, turnip, red beet, leek, and any remaining potato / Onion sown about a month ago can be transplanted to the growing bed, for some of them: only select the nicest ones for now, let smaller ones grow a bit fatter for a while / Also plant shallot / Start harvesting endive roots without damaging them: let the plants wilt and cure on the ground for a fortnight, protecting them from sunlight with straw or leaves; remove excess soil without scraping, then dress the roots and store them in a dark place

In milder climates, it's still time to plant late red beet varieties, and garlic for an early spring harvest next April / Thin root vegetable sprouts.

LANDSCAPING: If you want to have some next May, now is the time to plant lily-of-the-valley in part shade, shallowly burying its roots crowns; also divide older clumps / Plant heath soil shrubs / Plant early-blooming spring bulbs (narcissus, crocus, snowdrop), pairing them with biennials (bellflower, forget-me-not, ravenelle wallflower, sweet William, pansy, daisy) sown in June and July (or purchased from stores) that are also ready for transplanting; for a natural-looking flower bed, toss bulbs by the handfull and plant them where they've fallen / Transplant perennials sown in the same months to a nursery / Prepare cuttings from rockrose, geranium, divide garden pink, aubrieta, bellflower / Divide hardy perennials such as geranium (true geranium, not pelargonium).

Before 2:12 PM (14:12), flower day:

LANDSCAPING: 2nd day to plant lily-of-the-valley in part shade, shallowly burying the roots crowns; also divide older clumps / Plant heath soil shrubs / Plant early-blooming spring bulbs (narcissus, crocus, snowdrop), pairing them with biennials (bellflower, forget-me-not, ravenelle wallflower, sweet William, pansy, daisy) sown in June and July (or purchased from stores) that are also ready for transplanting; for a natural-looking flower bed, toss bulbs by the handfull and plant them where they've fallen / Transplant perennials sown in the same months to a nursery / Prepare cuttings from rockrose, geranium, divide garden pink, aubrieta, bellflower / Divide hardy perennials such as geranium (true geranium, not pelargonium).

After 2:12 PM (14:12), entering a leaf day:

LANDSCAPING: Plant and prepare cuttings from evergreens (thuja, cherry laurel, aucuba...): place the cuttings under a cold frame in light substrate; protect them during winter

Plant conifers sold in containers.

INDOOR PLANTS: Start restricting light to your poinsettia to ensure red leaves again (14 hours of darkness every day).

VEGETABLE PATCH: Continue blanching escarole, frisée, branch celery, fennel and cardoon / Plant headed cabbage and transfer white cabbage sown last August to a nursery, if not done yet; they'll spend winter there and will be tranfserable at the end of April, perfect to replace long-keeping summer cabbage in the plot / Thin mizuna cabbage sprouts, or plant seedlings you've purchased in nursery pots / Eliminate leaves that appear in lower parts of Brussels sprouts stems / Plant perennial herbs.

LANDSCAPING: 2nd day for planting and preparing cuttings from evergreens (thuja, cherry laurel, aucuba...): place the cuttings under a cold frame in light substrate; protect them during winter

Plant conifers sold in containers.

INDOOR PLANTS: Start restricting light to your poinsettia to ensure red leaves again (14 hours of darkness every day).

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day to continue blanching escarole, frisée, branch celery, fennel and cardoon / Plant headed cabbage and transfer white cabbage sown last August to a nursery, if not done yet; they'll spend winter there and will be tranfserable at the end of April, perfect to replace long-keeping summer cabbage in the plot / Thin mizuna cabbage sprouts, or plant seedlings you've purchased in nursery pots / Eliminate leaves that appear in lower parts of Brussels sprouts stems / Plant perennial herbs.

Before 2:37 PM (14:37), leaf day:

LANDSCAPING: 3rd day for planting and preparing cuttings from evergreens (thuja, cherry laurel, aucuba...): place the cuttings under a cold frame in light substrate; protect them during winter

Plant conifers sold in containers.

INDOOR PLANTS: Start restricting light to your poinsettia to ensure red leaves again (14 hours of darkness every day).

VEGETABLE PATCH: 3rd day to continue blanching escarole, frisée, branch celery, fennel and cardoon / Plant headed cabbage and transfer white cabbage sown last August to a nursery, if not done yet; they'll spend winter there and will be tranfserable at the end of April, perfect to replace long-keeping summer cabbage in the plot / Thin mizuna cabbage sprouts, or plant seedlings you've purchased in nursery pots / Eliminate leaves that appear in lower parts of Brussels sprouts stems / Plant perennial herbs.

After 2:37 PM (14:37), entering a fruit & seed day:

VEGETABLE PATCH: Finish planting strawberry; if they're bare-root, prepare a small mound and spread the root system across it (root-dip them beforehand); backfill without burying the root collar; mulch with bark or shredded twigs, as it breaks down it will turn into soil mix that the strawberry plant will appreciate / Position a flat stone under squash and pumpkin so they can ripen without suffering from soil moisture.

ORCHARD: Keep planting all berry shrubs sold in containers (red currant, black currant, raspberry, blueberry) / Keep preparing planting holes for future fruit trees, to be planted at the end of fall.

Fall equinox at 6:49 AM, no impact on gardening tasks

VEGETABLE PATCH: Harvest fruits and fruit vegetables (tomato, eggplant, melon, watermelon, cucumber, pickle, zucchini...) / Also harvest seeds from herbs: fennel, coriander, aniseed, dill... (you can keep a few for sowing and use the rest in cooking or to make evening infusions)

If you're planning to set up a strawberry patch, prepare the soil now by enriching it with compost / Defoliate tomato plants and grapevine around remaining fruits to let the sun speed their ripening.

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for harvesting fruits and fruit vegetables (tomato, eggplant, melon, watermelon, cucumber, pickle, zucchini...) / Also harvest seeds from herbs: fennel, coriander, aniseed, dill... (you can keep a few for sowing and use the rest in cooking or to make evening infusions)

If you're planning to set up a strawberry patch, prepare the soil now by enriching it with compost / Defoliate tomato plants and grapevine around remaining fruits to let the sun speed their ripening.

VEGETABLE PATCH: If not done yet, sow "pencil leek"; you won't need to transplant them and they'll be ready for harvest next May / Sow early-harvest carrot / Sow black salsify for a harvest in fall 2023, starting in October and continuing into winter.

Before 6:13 PM (18:13), root day:

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for sowing "pencil leek"; you won't need to transplant them and they'll be ready for harvest next May / Sow early-harvest carrot / Sow black salsify for a harvest in fall 2023, starting in October and continuing into winter.

After 6:13 PM (18:13), entering a flower day:

LANDSCAPING: Sow moderately hardy annuals directly in the flower bed, such as California poppy, they'll bloom earlier than spring-sown flowers next year / In the same vein, take the time to sow a few annual sweet pea in pots that you'll winterize under a cold frame, you'll plant them in the ground in spring / Cut shields out from your dogwood to propagate roses / Collect seeds from the garden: French and common marigold, carnation, hollyhock...

VEGETABLE PATCH: Harvest saffron from each new flower that appears.

LANDSCAPING: 2nd day for sowing moderately hardy annuals directly in the flower bed, such as California poppy, they'll bloom earlier than spring-sown flowers next year / In the same vein, take the time to sow a few annual sweet pea in pots that you'll winterize under a cold frame, you'll plant them in the ground in spring / Cut shields out from your dogwood to propagate roses / Collect seeds from the garden: French and common marigold, carnation, hollyhock...

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for harvesting saffron, as flowers appear.

Don't garden before 5:55 AM – moon is at perigee at 12:58 AM (00:58)

LANDSCAPING: 3rd day for sowing moderately hardy annuals directly in the flower bed, such as California poppy, they'll bloom earlier than spring-sown flowers next year / In the same vein, take the time to sow a few annual sweet pea in pots that you'll winterize under a cold frame, you'll plant them in the ground in spring / Cut shields out from your dogwood to propagate roses / Collect seeds from the garden: French and common marigold, carnation, hollyhock...

VEGETABLE PATCH: 3rd day for harvesting saffron, as flowers appear.

VEGETABLE PATCH: Sow small-leaved corn salad, arugula, spinach, winter lettuce which might need protecting with a forcing tunnel, and also mesclun and chicory (in milder regions only for these two last ones) / Sow chervil, parsley and garden cress (one row for each, or several rows where seeds are all mixed together together with radish and turnip for which the young leaves will add to the initial mesclun mix) / Sow Asian mesclun: mizuna cabbage, Chinese mustard and Chinese cabbage

Keep sowing green manure on plots as you free them.

LANDSCAPING: Make a sparse lawn lush again by sowing new lawn grass in finely sifted soil (but not in cold regions).

INDOOR PLANTS: Start restricting light to your poinsettia to ensure red leaves again (14 hours of darkness every day).

Don't garden after 11:45 AM – lunar node at 4:48 PM (16:48)

VEGETABLE PATCH: 2nd day for sowing small-leaved corn salad, arugula, spinach, winter lettuce which might need protecting with a forcing tunnel, and also mesclun and chicory (in milder regions only for these two last ones) / Sow chervil, parsley and garden cress (one row for each, or several rows where seeds are all mixed together together with radish and turnip for which the young leaves will add to the initial mesclun mix) / Sow Asian mesclun: mizuna cabbage, Chinese mustard and Chinese cabbage

Keep sowing green manure on plots as you free them.

LANDSCAPING: 2nd day for renovating a degraded lawn by sowing new lawn grass in finely sifted soil (but not in cold regions).

INDOOR PLANTS: Start restricting light to your poinsettia to ensure red leaves again (14 hours of darkness every day).