Moon gazing: Claire’s Gardening with the Moon in April, the Solar Eclipse and the Full Growing Moon

Here are some optimum sowing dates during the week before the full Moon, when you’ll get a quicker, stronger germination:

Sow flower crops like cauliflower and broccoli on the 14th and 15th. These are also good days for sowing flowering annuals like sunflowers, cosmos, and marigolds.

Sow leafy crops like leeks, parsley, cabbage, lettuce and spinach on the 16th and 17th

Sow fruit crops like peas, beans, courgettes, cucumbers and melons on the 18th

Sow root crops like beetroot, parsnips, turnips and radish on the 21st and the 23rd

Seed sowing with the full Moon isn’t a magic wand, in fact I see it more as the icing on the cake! You still need to provide all that the seed needs in terms of the right growing medium and germination temperature as well as being careful not to overwater your seedlings and to protect them from the cold.

The descending Moon this month is from 14th to 28th. This is the best time to do any work that involves the soil, such as transplanting seedlings, planting outdoors, digging in green manures, or adding compost. Try to do your planting in the afternoon (during the descending Moon) as your plants will settle into the soil that much quicker, causing less stress all around.

The best days for planting ‘root’ crops like potatoes and onions are the 21st and 23rd

For planting ‘flowers’, including flowering bulbs such as begonias, dahlias and gladiolas, choose the 14th, 15th 24th and 25th

Transplant ‘fruits’ like tomatoes or aubergines into bigger pots or grow-bags on 18th or 28th but keep them in the greenhouse till at least mid-May.

The best days this month for planting out/transplanting your ‘leaf’ crops are the 16th, 17th, 26th and 27th

It’s advisable to avoid any sensitive work with seeds or plants on the 7th, 8th, 19th, 20th and the morning of the 22nd. These are all ‘blank’ days in the calendar when there are no helpful influences coming to Earth from the cosmos.

April usually means the start of the grass-cutting season. Some people enjoy mowing but if you’d like to cut your lawn less frequently, then mow on flower or fruit days in the ascending Moon fortnight to discourage vegetative growth, so that’s the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, 9th or 10th of this month. You could always leave some areas of your lawn to grow longer which will provide valuable habitat and food for bees and butterflies, especially if you leave the much-maligned dandelions to flower. They’re an incredibly valuable source of early nectar for bees and have such beautiful golden flowers. Where else can you get the sun, the Moon, and the stars on one plant!