DIY Life

Gardening by moonlight? No, it's not those times when night has long since fallen and you're planting your flat of pink impatiens by flashlight because you promised yourself you'd get it done today. (Yes, that was me a couple weeks ago.) Moonlight planting is actually the science of planting at very specific times according to the moon's phases.

Moonlight planting, its practitioners say, maximizes growth with a minimum of water waste. Here's how moonlight is thought to affects plants: Just as the tides change with the phases of the moon, so do the water levels inside plants and in the surface of the soil itself. If you plant when those water levels are at their highest, plants may grow faster and stronger.

So how do you know what to plant and when? Easy. Consult a moonlight planting schedule, such as this handy 2008 veggie planting table provided by The Old Farmer's Almanac.

Skeptical? Want to read more? UK newspaper, the Observer, reported on a 2007 moonlight planting experiment being carried out at eco-friendly Nymans Garden in West Sussex.