Foke lore dates in the Vegetable Garden
‘Experienced’ vegetable gardeners have some interesting benchmarks as far as dates are concerned.
- the traditional day for planting shallots is Boxing Day
- bulbs, eg shallots, should be planted on the shortest day and lifted on the longest day
- in Northern Ireland you plant potatoes on St Patrick’s day and dig them up on the 12th July.
- or.. the nearest full moon (21 March)to St.Patrick’s Day to plant the first earlies
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- potatoes are supposed to go in on Good Friday (since that was the first day the working poor would get off between Christmas and Easter)
- nettles sting when there is an r in the month
- don’t put out your bedding plants until after the first full moon in May”. First and last frosts almost always happen 3 days either side of full moon when you have a clear sky, you can get a radiation frost.
- do not sow carrots when cow parsley is in flower - that is when carrot fly is about
- ”Plant all things that yield above ground while the moon is increasing in size, and plant all things that yield below ground while the moon is decreasing.” — Grier’s Almanac
- sow grass on August 1st as there is always a thunderstorm on the old Aug bank holiday to give the seed a good soak & the grass will be well established for winter
- the asparagus season is between Shakespeare’s birthday to Midsummer’s Day, April 23 to June 21.
- Onions generally make top growth until the longest day (June 21st) and then concentrate on storing food in the bulb for flowering next year.
This list is just a start. Please let us know if you have any special gardening dates which we can include in this list.
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Pingback by Foke lore dates in the Vegetable Garden - December 29, 2007 12:39 pm
What an interesting post. I enjoyed finding out why certain veg is planted on certain days.Best wishes for 2008.
Sara from farmingfriends
Comment by farmingfriends - December 30, 2007 8:36 pm
Sara
Glad you found the post interesting. I am sur there are many more dates to be added to the list & hope some readers will send them in.
Happy new year to all at Farming Friends from TopVeg
Comment by TopVeg - December 31, 2007 6:37 am
Really Interesting site, love the section on traditional planting dates, my Grandad always used to plant his Spuds on Good Friday, so I think I will keep up the tradition In his honour!
Comment by Steve - September 9, 2008 11:17 pm
Steve
There is something in these dates! Another is the Harvest Moon - tradition says if it is wet at the time of the Harvest Moon - it will be wet for the next period of the moon. The harvest moon is on 15 September 2008!
Comment by TopVeg - September 10, 2008 8:18 am