Talked to a gentleman today who said to use the last full moon as a marker for the last frost, comments?

I don't think the moon knows but I have heard this before.

Daisy

Haha, hey you again! Yea, I was talking to a guy about sowing seeds May 1st, because the Almanac states, that for my area, is the average last frost. BUT THIS GUY says, wait till the end of May, to guarantee none. I have sooooo many things I want to start, and don't know which way I should go.

I thought the moon shined over the whole planet, or at least the whole of USA. How can the moon be a guide to the specific weather forecast in any one area? Makes no sense in this day and age where we have more high teach data at our hands than we really know what to do with. Now, 1000 years ago it might make sense to use the moon as a rough guide to seasonal changes as most people did not have a calendar on their wall, I assume. Gene

W foundell, if you google this...it brings up the fact that when there is more of a gravitational cool there is is supposedly decrease in which the amount of water is absorbed v a ceiling. And vice a versa, but I no correlation with a full moon revenge in accordance with the last hypothetical frost. Interesting nonetheless, the individual I spoke to talk to gent was been doing this for 50 years, and he's never been wrong yet. Riddle me that!

But would he admit and/or remember being wrong?

For whatever it's worth, we do always seem to have colder weather around the time of the full moon.

Brenden, it is time for an experiment. Put in a few plants at the dark of the moon and put some in at full moon. Keep copious records and get back to us.

Yea, actually I planned on it. I'll use the moonflower for the irony of the situation.

Gene said " How can the moon be a guide to the specific weather forecast in any one area? "

Here's what I think... the question pretty much comes down to which full moon to go by. In my case, in zone 5a (or probably 4b, actually), the last full moon in May would probably be a good guideline (I always wait until early June to plant tomatoes and peppers outside). But in Brenden's zone 6b... maybe the last full moon in April would be the one to go by. It really would be interesting to keep a detailed log of the temperature fluctuations during the moon phases

Yea right, only "'difficult " part would be just simply remembering

bhart90 said:Yea right, only "'difficult " part would be just simply remembering

I wonder if it's possible to get that kind of info from the Weather Channel or some other site?

Jmho, the weather forecast for your area is a MUCH better guide than the moon phase.

But Daisy's idea of an experiment is great one. I love an experiment too. What have you got to lose except maybe a half a packet of seeds - a buck or two max?

We lived in Utah for 21 years before moving to Florida. I was just back there for 2 weeks meeting my new grand baby. While I was there we had sunny weather in the high 70's and one day above 80, then last Thursday (when of course I was desperately trying to finish all my garden projects in my daughter's garden) it was cold rain mixed with snow on the valley floor and they got 9in. of snow at the ski resorts.

If I'd planted out the tomato and coleus plants that I left indoors on her windowsill, they would have been (frozen) toast.

Ok, I will do the experiment, but believe it or not, I'm confused as to what I need to do.

Yea being a blonde, has some down sides...

What is my task

Test the almanac date, May 1st, against the moon phase date. i.e. plant some of your seeds/plants on May 1st, check them daily and take pictures to document when they germinate or start growing then plant some more of the same kinds of seeds in or near the same space, on the full moon May 21st and again document when/how they germinate or grow.

Try to water/fertilize equally as they grow so they have an equal chance to make it. Be sure to tag or label the two plantings so you can keep track.

Then take pictures of all the plants at weekly intervals through June just to compare growth or success rates.

Then for a fair comparison, you'll have to do this same routine for the next 5 years, too . . (justkidding!)

We want to see the pictures, for sure!

Oh, I was going to say 25 years...

do we really need to sacrifice plants to this experiment??

I was thinking one could just keep track of the high and low temps every day, along with the moon phase... for, yeah, like 25 years or so

I don't think the plants will be 'sacrificed' as we are not going to dissect them in the end. Just seeing which grow the fastest. It's a good experiment. I might try it myself.

Right on. We're not SACRIFICING PLANTS . .. just their offspring, i.e. the seeds

but, but.... what if the full moon brings a late freeze

Okay, I'm just over-dramatizing... but actually I think the ideas of the full moon as an indicator of the last freeze, and "planting by the moon phase" are being somehow intermingled here. I thought the question was about the full moon/last freeze.