Before I started the Blind Pig and The Acorn I never knew much about planting by the signs. I had heard folks talk about it, but it wasn’t something Granny and Pap ever did. The only thing they consulted the zodiac calendar for was making kraut.
They obviously believed there was something to the signs or they wouldn’t have worried about their kraut.
When it came to gardening, Pap was so busy with work, music, church, and coaching baseball that he had to plant whenever he had time and the weather was cooperating.
The first year I planted by the signs I kept it simple and tried to plant in the most fruitful sign of Cancer or under the crab as I heard an elderly lady phrase it. I saw a marked increase in the success of my garden that year.
The following year, with the success of my sign planted garden fresh on my mind, I became so involved in trying to follow the exact sign that I felt like I was playing a mean game of “Mother May I.” I was totally obsessed by the waxing and waning of the moon as well as trying to figure out which zodiac sign I should be planting under. My garden didn’t do as well that year and I didn’t have much fun either. I about drove myself crazy worrying about the signs instead of just working on growing a garden.
The theory behind planting by the signs in a nutshell is: You should plant above ground crops under a fruitful sign while the moon is waxing/increasing. You should plant below ground crops under a fruitful sign while the moon is waning/decreasing.
There are 12 zodiac signs which correspond to the position of the moon during the month. Each sign is represented by a symbol, a part of the human body, and an element of nature (fire, earth, water, air) and has distinct characteristics. For example, Leo-Lion-The Heart is fiery, dry and barren. While Cancer-Crab-The Breast is watery and fruitful.
After my mother may I year of being obsessed with following the exact sign, I decided to simplify my attempt at gardening by the signs by concentrating only on the zodiac sign like I did that very first year. Over the years, I’ve found the signs that work best for my garden are Scorpio, Pisces, Taurus, and Cancer. Those are the days I note monthly and provide free for Blind Pig readers during the growing season.
My favorite sign to plant under is Cancer (under the crab), but if it doesn’t work out to where I can plant under Cancer, I aim for Scorpio, Pisces, or Taurus.
Here’s the best planting signs for March 2023.
Taurus: good for all root crops and above ground crops 23, 24
Cancer: best for planting above ground and root crops 1, 2, 28, 29
Scorpio: best for flowers and above ground crops 10, 11, 12
Pisces: good for planting and transplanting above ground crops, trees and shrubbery 19, 20
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My mother did things by the signs. Such as, she would not go to the dentist if the signs were in the head. My Aunt Lucy who always had a big garden did not plant by the signs. Thanks for this post.
I was raised watching the signs. Always a battle between my Daddy and my Gramma as to who did it better. Both grew excellent gardens. The one difference came when it was tater planting time. Daddy would never plant when the sign was in the head ( every tater would be full of eyes ) nor would he plant in the feet ( too many little toes on good taters ) His red taters were planted in the breast because they would be round and bakers were planted in the arm or thigh. Gramma always planted her taters on St. Patricks Day. Funny, my little sister didn’t believe in the signs (or nothin’ else for that matter) and would plant anytime she wanted. She grew many taters with LOTS of eyes and too many with toes. Still didn’t believe. Always blamed a poor garden on the weather or bad seed. I just follow what he taught me and it always seems to work out fine. Folks always asked him when to wean a baby or quit smoking and the like. It was a good way to be raised up. Tipper, I sure love my calendar… couldn’t find one anywhere this year. Even the banks quit giving them out.
Tipper,
I followed your suggestion last summer concerning tomatoes. I had beautiful tomatoes until the dogs found them. They loved to eat tomatoes. Yes, we have healthy dogs. This year we are putting up some wire around them to keep the dogs out. I plan to use your “recipe” for tomatoes this year.
I always planted plants after the Agriculture Service’s last predicted seasonal frost. For us here on the Blue Ridge, it is April 15th. I plant some lettuce and maybe a few onions when the temperature is a constant 50 degrees. Also, my broom corn grows well with a lot of chicken manure worked into the soil. Last year I did not plant a lot of seeds. Some of the seeds came up and I ended up with about 10 plants. This year I plan to plant more (I’ll use the signs to see if it works) It is hard to germinate so I plant more seeds than I expect to come up so I will have plenty to make Christmas decorations with.
Thanks for the advice on planting by the signs. I think I’ll try it in April when we are a bit warmer.
Kathy Patterson
PS Your garden last year was beautiful.
How can the phases of the moon have an effect your garden at your home nestled deep in the mountains of Southwestern North Carolina? Sounds kinda far fetched don’t it? How could the moon possibly affect on plants in or under the ground? There ain’t nothing to it, right?
Well ask people who live along the coast. They have these things called tidal charts. Tidal charts tell them when the ocean tides (also lake tides to a lesser degree) are at their highest and lowest. What does that have to do with the moon, you ask? Well, it’s the pull of the moon’s gravity that causes the ocean’s water to rise up and move the shoreline farther inland. When the moon is on the other side of the Earth it’s gravity causes the water along the shore to recede. That’s the high and low tides that those who live on and along bodies of water deal with every day.
But does the moon stop at the beach? Does it have no effect farther inland? Of course it does! The moon’s gravity affects every bit inch of this planet we live on. Because we don’t see or feel its effects doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Human beings have only five senses. We assume that no more are possible. How can we know what we don’t know? Are we the epitome of creation?
Maybe generations of us have learned from observation of the growth of plants over millennia and have made charts that describe our findings just as have tidal charts. We don’t see the cause but we can see the effect!
Have we become too smart for own good?
Well, Miss Tipper, we can’t plant anything up here (signs or no signs) until after Mothers’ Day. Even then it’s taking a risk. There’s been snow on July 4th up north. Still, I do plant my pots of hummingbird flowers to take care of those precious flying jewels as soon as I can after Mothers’ Day. I enjoy my vicarious gardening through your blog and videos.
Thank you for sharing this gardening info and your experiences. To the best of my knowledge, my family did not plant by the signs. So, I am wondering how do you know the dates for each sign? I am thinking maybe it would be listed on the calendars you talked about and sold recently. I do not have a calender that has the planting signs, so is there any other way to find out the signs planting dates that you know of? Thanks!
Nan-yes it is listed on almanac calendars. You can also find the information on line. Search for almanac calendar. I believe the Farmer’s Almanac has a website so you can check there 🙂
My wife’s grandfather always spoke about not planting on “bloom day”. He was referring to the sign of Virgo, which he said was the “little girl holding flowers”. According to him, if you planted on bloom day all you would get was blooms but no crop.
My daddy never planted by the signs, although I find it quite interesting, he just relied on the soil. It had to be “just right” as he said. He was blessed to have a bountiful garden every year. Farming was our life.
To my knowledge, none of my people planted a garden by signs. The funny thing is I do remember someone from my much younger years talked about which moon sign to cut hair so it would grow faster or to wean a baby off the bottle so they wouldn’t cry all night. Those were the only two things I remember, but I don’t remember which moon sign they fell under. I just remember hearing about them. I know I’ve read about planting under the zodiac signs in the Farmers Almanacs, but didn’t understand it before reading it on the Blind Pig and the Acorn. I guess I’m like Pap, I’m just to busy to wait for the signs, so I just plant when I can.
My parents had to rely on a productive garden and planting in the signs was the most important plan. I don’t recall a crop ever failing to produce as some of mine have done through the years. It’s disappointing to find my green beans looking like small trees and blooming their heart out without a bean in sight. A failed crop would not only be disappointing but devastating for someone who depended on their garden for at least half of the family’s food. Mom counted on her garden to feed the family and her almanac to show her when to plant, harvest, can, and kill weeds.
You must have planted your beans on bloom day.
You make it sound so simple Tipper. I guess your years of experience makes it easier for you to grasp it!
You certainly produce beautiful and productive gardens!
Mother and daddy would have this argument each year, she believed in planting by the signs, daddy said the only sign he looked for was when the soil temperature and moisture got right. My father in law didn’t pay the signs any attention either. My maternal granddaddy did plant his garden by the signs. The one thing all agreed on was to never, ever work the garden soil when it was wet, it will cause the soil to clod up and the clods will be hard as bricks and will stay that way from now on. All of them grew up in generations that made their living by farming. Some how every one I mentioned always had bountiful gardens. Here in my area it will be awhile before the ground is dry enough to work and plant, more rain predicted for tonight and tomorrow. The extended forecast calls for another hot dry summer.
A great uncle of mine was the best gardener that I’ve ever known. He always planted by the signs.
Good morning Mrs. Tipper. I will share this method with my niece. I can’t plant in the ground. Do you think it works with green stalk planters?
Blessings to you!
Betty-thank you! I use the method for things I plant in containers too 🙂
I heard my MIL talk about planting peanuts on the ‘dark night’ of April, prune roses Valentines day, and pay attention to the zodiac. I did purchase one of your calendars and am trying to adhere to what it says…so far, so good. Keep planting and tell Corie, if she gets a bigger jug to drink from, she will have to have help…lol. God Bless and tell Granny hello for me.