Review: In Tune With The Moon by Michel Gros

 In Tune with the Moon: The Complete Day-by-Day Moon Planner for Growing and Living by Michel Gros

[su_highlight background=”#fffc30″ color=”#000003″]Buy on Amazon: In Tune with the Moon: The Complete Day-by-Day Moon Planner for Growing and Living in 2013[/su_highlight]

I should probably start with a little background on biodynamic agriculture: Here’s a quick primer from Wikipedia:

“Biodynamic agriculture is a method of organic farming that treats farms as unified and individual organisms… Regarded by some as the first modern ecological farming system and one of the most sustainable, biodynamic farming has much in common with other organic approaches, such as emphasizing the use of manures and composts and excluding the use of artificial chemicals on soil and plants.

“Methods unique to the biodynamic approach include the use of fermented herbal and mineral preparations as compost additives… and the use of an astronomical sowing and planting calendar. The approach considers that there are astronomical influences on soil and plant development, specifying, for example, what phase of the moon is most appropriate for planting, cultivating or harvesting various kinds of crops.”

The “In Tune With The Moon” series has sold in Europe for over thirty years and has been available stateside for the past few years. It’s a detailed guide which explains the effect the Moon (lunar cycle) and tides (for those of you close to water) have on everything that grows in your garden. The book is full of detailed charts indicating the best times to plant, sow, harvest, and even spread manure, all according to the phases of the moon.

“Plants increase in vitality with moonlight and as the Full Moon approaches, their resistance to parasites and diseases increases. Fruits and vegetables harvested at this time store well and impart more vitality when eaten, while cut flowers last longer in a vase.”

“As the moonlight decreases, so does the vigor of plants, although their specific energy is increased-colors, scents, and tastes are more perceptible during this phase, and nutritional and medicinal properties are more pronounced.”

Michel Gros, In Tune With The Moon

This is the basic premise of the book, and Gros has supplied monthly charts which show the Lunar cycles with astrological cycles and the best time to sow and harvest fruit, root, vegetable or leaf plants. This sounds complicated, but the charts are drawn in such a way that they’re easy to understand. She’s also supplied convenient, day-by-day note pages in the back to keep track of your sowing, harvesting, and maintenance schedules.

I might be oversimplifying here, but Biodynamic gardening is in essence organic gardening by an astronomical calendar. For those of you unconvinced that this is a valid way to work your garden, bear in mind that this practice has existed for centuries and was, in fact, the earliest science applied to agriculture. In fact, none other than that most trusted publication, The Farmers Almanac, still subscribes to this method and is one of the most widely read agricultural publications in North America.

Personally, I would have liked to see a more thorough explanation of the concept, but if you want a primer on gardening with the lunar cycle, then make a point of picking up In Tune with the Moon: The Complete Day-by-Day Moon Planner for Growing and Living