If you'd like to try vegetable gardening according to moon signs, you'll need to get a lunar calendar to track the moon's progress through the zodiacal signs each month. Acquaint yourself with the properties associated with each of those 12 astrological signs, and the way in which the moon's presence in them is thought to affect plant growth, and see for yourself what lunar gardening is all about.

The Basics

The moon affects the tides, and some gardeners believe that it affects plant growth, as well. Folk wisdom has long maintained that plants are affected by the phase of the moon under which they're planted, and gardeners who take this wisdom a step further believe that their plants are also influenced by the 12 astrological signs through which the moon travels every month. Although the moon is continually lit by the sun, its rotation around the earth gives it the appearance of being only partially lit or invisible. The moon has eight phases. The new moon occurs when the dark side of the moon is facing the earth. The full moon is visible when the illuminated side of the moon faces the earth. In between these two extremes, the moon appears to become more or less illuminated as it waxes from crescent to half to full, or wanes from full to half to crescent. Practitioners of moon-sign gardening believe It's inadvisable to plant vegetables on the day that the moon moves from one phase to the next, no matter what sign the moon has entered. When the moon is in a rising phase, or waxing, plant vegetables that grow up from the ground. When it's in a downward phase, or waning, plant things that grow down in the ground, such as onions, potatoes and bulbs. The signs of the moon are based on the 12 signs of the zodiac. The moon travels through each sign every month, lingering for two to three days per sign. To plant according to these signs, consult a calendar that lists the lunar signs for each month of the current year, and pay attention to the phase of the moon, as well.

The Moon Signs

According to the HerbaLuna website, some signs are more conducive to plant growth than others. The sign of Pisces the Fish is thought to be an excellent one for planting vegetables of all types. Scorpio is also looked upon as favorable for plantings of all kinds, but not for digging potatoes. Moon-sign gardeners believe that root vegetables thrive if planted when the moon is in the signs of Taurus the Bull, Libra, or Balance, and Capricorn the Goat. Cancer the Crab is regarded as the most conducive sign to planting all types of vegetables, but vegetables planted during the sign of Virgo the Virgin produce big flowers and small fruit. Adherents of this practice advise against planting during the signs of Aries the Ram, Gemini the Twins, Leo the Lion and Aquarius, the Water sign. Rather, these signs are seen as times that are best used for cultivating, weeding and destroying garden pests.

Source:

USNO Astronomical Applications: Phases of the Moon

HerbaLuna: Lunar Gardening

Resource:

Gardening by the Moon: 2010 Calendar

MatriFocus: Gardening by the Moon

Star IQ: Gardening by the Signs of the Moon