Spudsperiment…

Good Friday is approaching - a day traditionally used by gardeners to plant their potato tubers.

Laurence Hills (‘Organic Gardening’ 1978) explained that this day was chosen by gardeners as it was a bank holiday and the first opportunity of spring for working families to get planting done.

Those who garden biodynamically or follow the lunar calendar (Maria Thun ‘The biodynamic calendar 2023’) will spot that this Good Friday (7th April) is a ‘blank day’ and not considered suitable for any garden activity.

We’re very much on the nursery slopes of Mount Biodynamic so need as much help as we can get!

Our friend Claire Hattersley (formerly Weleda Gardens Head Gardener and presenter of YouTube biodynamic tutorials) advises ‘My priority would be making sure you plant in descending moon’. This is confirmed in the Biodynamic Gardening app and Maria Thun as ‘Root days’ in the week (Tuesday 4th - Thursday 6th)’.

Then, on the Biodynamic Gardening Club Facebook Group a comment from Hans-Günther Kern 

‘Last but not least put into your calendar, two propitious days for potato planting:

30th March with the moon in the Twins and a light/air trine (!!)

31st March with the moon in the Twins and in Apogee.

This will encourage stronger growth of tubers and less top-heavy growth, which then is less likely to get attacked by fungal or bacterial spores’.

Conflicting advice??? 

But as Claire explains: ‘Hans is obviously a fan of Apogee (31 March) (Ag) which is when the moon is furthest away in its monthly orbit of earth and least likely to encourage blight and other watery fungal effects to which spuds are susceptible‘.

So the chance (at Claire’s suggestion) for an experiment..

Mulched, no-dig beds each of Kestrel, Sarpo Una, Charlotte, Marfona and Jazzy - all from Nottingham Organic Gardeners Potato Day in February.

One row in each bed planted following Hans-Günther’s advice.

And the second row in each bed planted the moment ‘Root time’ began today.

The experiment has begun…

🫣