Posted: Oct 30, 2016 12:49 am
While it is probably untrue that lunar phases are important to consider while planting, there is this:
http://earthsky.org/earth/tides-and-the ... on-and-sun
(color mine)
http://dnr.mo.gov/geology/wrc/docs/WhyW ... Change.pdf
(color mine)
The effects of tides, and the effects of lunar phase on tides, will be amplified for coastal aquifers.
I suspect, however, that the primary reason anyone doing planting refers to lunar phases is that printed calendars have only been available for a very small fraction of our agrarian history. Lunar phases were used to track the passage of time and to coordinate planting and harvesting of crops, and the celebration of their attendant festivals, for most of that history. It's probably, at this point, just another superstition, like throwing salt over your shoulder or knocking on wood.
We all know the moon is primarily responsible for the rising and falling of ocean tides. In most places, but not everywhere, there are two high tides and two low tides a day. For any particular spot on Earth’s surface, the height of the tides and their fluctuation in time depends not only on the moon, but also on the sun – and also on the shape of the specific beach, the larger coastline, the angle of the seabed leading up to land, and the prevailing ocean currents and winds.
The difference in height between high and low waters varies as the moon waxes and wanes from new to full and back to new again. The larger tides are called spring tides (nothing to do with season of spring). The smaller tides are called neap tides. Click the links below to learn more about the tides.
http://earthsky.org/earth/tides-and-the ... on-and-sun
(color mine)
Changes in gravitational attraction causes a slight dilation of some aquifers, which in turn temporarily changes the aquifer porosity a slight amount. Wells showing tidal effects show two maximum and two minimum water levels each day, each of which are about 6 hours apart. The minimum measurements occur when the Moon is either directly overhead, or on the opposite side of the planet. The strongest effects are seen at New Moon, when the Moon is directly between the Earth and Sun, and at Full Moon when the Earth is between the Sun and Moon. At First Quarter and Third Quarter phases, when the Moon is at a right angle with respect to the Earth and Sun, the cycles become very poorly defined.
http://dnr.mo.gov/geology/wrc/docs/WhyW ... Change.pdf
(color mine)
The effects of tides, and the effects of lunar phase on tides, will be amplified for coastal aquifers.
I suspect, however, that the primary reason anyone doing planting refers to lunar phases is that printed calendars have only been available for a very small fraction of our agrarian history. Lunar phases were used to track the passage of time and to coordinate planting and harvesting of crops, and the celebration of their attendant festivals, for most of that history. It's probably, at this point, just another superstition, like throwing salt over your shoulder or knocking on wood.