Posted: Oct 29, 2016 9:57 am
(I put this thread in the pseudoscience section because I'm not convinced that it belongs anywhere else. If I'm wrong, please move it)
So, we bought some seedlings recently. Basil, parsley, coriander and tomatoes. We put them in wooden planting boxes with a base of potting soil and a filler of herb soil as per the nurseries instructions. After two weeks the basil has already flowered, the tomatoes have small fruits on and the parsley is shriveling. The coriander seems be growing but not thriving.
This morning we went back to the nursery to ask someone for advice. The resident horticulturist asked us did we plant the seedlings taking the phase of the moon into account. I told him that I had never heard of such a thing to which said that the moon's phase is important when planting. I asked him that if that is true, why doesn't the nursery have big signs up informing customers about the pitfalls of planting at the incorrect time.
I did a Google search and found plenty of sites promoting this claim. The main reasoning is to do with gravity affecting the water levels. When the moon is in a certain phase, the gravity affect makes the water either stay near the surface or dissapate away. Much like the tides that we can see at the beach.
The problem I have is that there are two high and low tides per day. The phase of the moon doesn't affect the number of tides else there would only be two tides every 28 day cycle.
1) is there more to this than meets the mind?
2) surely the gravity affect on the water retention is negligible? And,
3) if gravity does affect the water retention, it must do it about 56 times in a lunar cycle.
So, we bought some seedlings recently. Basil, parsley, coriander and tomatoes. We put them in wooden planting boxes with a base of potting soil and a filler of herb soil as per the nurseries instructions. After two weeks the basil has already flowered, the tomatoes have small fruits on and the parsley is shriveling. The coriander seems be growing but not thriving.
This morning we went back to the nursery to ask someone for advice. The resident horticulturist asked us did we plant the seedlings taking the phase of the moon into account. I told him that I had never heard of such a thing to which said that the moon's phase is important when planting. I asked him that if that is true, why doesn't the nursery have big signs up informing customers about the pitfalls of planting at the incorrect time.
I did a Google search and found plenty of sites promoting this claim. The main reasoning is to do with gravity affecting the water levels. When the moon is in a certain phase, the gravity affect makes the water either stay near the surface or dissapate away. Much like the tides that we can see at the beach.
The problem I have is that there are two high and low tides per day. The phase of the moon doesn't affect the number of tides else there would only be two tides every 28 day cycle.
1) is there more to this than meets the mind?
2) surely the gravity affect on the water retention is negligible? And,
3) if gravity does affect the water retention, it must do it about 56 times in a lunar cycle.