Moon Gazing: Gardening with the Moon in February
Snowdrops
Have you ever noticed how many of our early wildflowers making an appearance after Imbolc are pale in colour? Think of the white snowdrops and the pale-yellow hazel catkins. It’s as if these flowers are quietly announcing nature’s first stirrings, and the gentle return of the light before we get the brighter coloured flowers of spring.
This year the January Full Moon can be seen on 25 January, a week before Imbolc and is named the Quiet Moon. The February Full Moon can be seen on 24 February and is named the Full Moon of Ice or the Storm Moon. The Earth is awakening.
| Moon Phases for Wirksworth, England, United Kingdom in February 2024 | |||||||||
| Full Moon | Waning Quarter | New Moon | Waxing Quarter | Full Moon | |||||
| 25 Jan | 17:54 | 2 Feb | 23:18 | 9 Feb | 22:59 | 16 Feb | 15:00 | 24 Feb | 12:30 |
Snowdrops (c) Janet Hammerton
Seeds and Soil and Pruning
There are a few ‘unfavourable’ days this month, so it’s best to avoid any sensitive work with soil or seeds on the 10th (this is Perigee when the Moon is closest to the Earth in her monthly orbit) and from 12th to the 14th. Why not use these days to finish your preparations for the rapidly approaching growing season?
As Nature starts to wake up in early February, so too do my gardening instincts and my greenfingers start to twitch in anticipation. And oh, the joy of sowing those first seeds of the season and visiting them every day to see if they’ve sprung into life!
February’s Full Moon is on the 24th, so you can harness those extra watery forces to help your seeds germinate by sowing them during the week before.
Carrots and beetroot can be sown directly into the soil this month but are best protected under a cloche or horticultural fleece. The best Root days for seed sowing are the 17th and 18th when the Moon is in front of an Earth sign.
You could also start off some early lettuce on 21st and 22nd, both Leaf days when the Moon is aligned with a water sign. Sow your lettuce seeds under cover, then transplant them outside once the soil warms up.
Tomatoes, chilli peppers and aubergines benefit from a long growing season. The optimum days for sowing are 23rd and 24th, but don’t forget they’ll need heat to germinate and plenty of light and heat to carry on growing as well. On these ‘Fruit days’ (when the Moon is aligned with a fire sign) it is also good to sow broad beans and these hardy plants can be sown outdoors or in pots in an unheated greenhouse.
If you’ve still not got round to pruning your fruit trees or grape vines, there’s still time before the spring sap starts to rise. Optimum days this month are 19th, 20th and 23rd – 25th. These are the Flower and Fruit days during February’s descending Moon but best avoid pruning if there’s a risk of frost or freezing conditions. These days are also ideal if you’ve got any bare rooted fruit bushes and trees to plant out.
Living Willow
Ever fancied growing a living willow structure in your garden? You can build fences, tunnels, bowers, even yurts out of living willow. It’s easy to take cuttings from existing trees at this time of year. Just cut plenty of 40cm long twigs from a healthy willow tree and plant them 20cm deep directly into the soil where you want them to grow. The best days to take these cuttings in February 2024 are the 6th to the 8th, the 11th and 15th. Don’t forget to keep all the cuttings pointing the same way while you’re collecting them as you don’t want to inadvertently plant them upside down!
If you have questions for me that relate to my blog - Moon and growing related - please send them to me using the Earth Pathways contact page. I would also like to direct curious readers to the UK Biodynamic Association website.
Thank you for joining me on this growing journey.
Claire Hattersley
