Gardening by the Moon

This series is designed around southern gardeners, specifically USDA Zones 8 & 9. In this series, we’ll talk about what can be done in the garden each month and on what days we should be doing what tasks according to the moon.

Today is another article in the Gardening by the Moon series and today we talk about root vegetables. Today’s moon is the Waning Gibbous, the first phase after a Full Moon. That means today is the day that we plant for root growth. This would include things like carrots, parsnips, onion and garlic.

We are about a week away from our first predicted frost date here in Zone 9a. However, our 10-day forecast only puts our low at 59 degrees so we might have another month before our first frost. We could also plant radish, turnips, beets and rutabaga. As long as these get somewhat established before a frost, they will survive just fine.

Up next in Gardening by the Moon will be tomorrow through the 14th. During this time is when we will be harvesting, cultivating and controlling pests. The rest of the month we will focus on pruning, watering and composting until the next article in the series. Until then, happy gardening and happy Thanksgiving!