@lefthandseeds
Thanks for the reassurance!
Everything is off for me with this grow, esp the sprout timing.
Normally I use the biodynamic method as published by John Jeavons.
His assertion was that by using the cycles of the Moon, one can use the tidal force, which exerts its pull on every molecule of water on Earth, to help split the seed coat.
In a nutshell, two days before the New Moon, quick or short sprouting seeds, virtually every common vegetable except peppers, should be soaked or planted in damp medium.
This allows time for water to to penetrate the seed coat, then when the New Moon comes the tidal force should help split the coat.
Longer sprouting seeds should be started on the Full Moon.
Since Mary often sprouts for me in that two day window, that disqualifies it as a long sprouting seed.
Excerpt from:
How to grow more vegetables : and fruits,
nuts, berries, grains, and other crops than you
ever thought possible on less land
than you can imagine / by John Jeavons,.pg. 71
Planting by the Phases of the Moon
One of the most controversial aspects of the GROW BIOINTENSIVE method is Alan Chadwick’s method of planting seeds and transplanting seedlings according to the phases of the moon.
Short- and extra-long–germinating seeds (which take approximately 1 month to germinate) are planted 2 days before the new moon, when significant magnetic forces occur, and up to 7 days after the new moon.
Long-germinating seeds are planted at the full moon and up to 7 days afterward.
Seedlings are transplanted at the same time.
Both planting periods take advantage of the full sum of the forces of nature—which are greatest at the new moon—including gravity, light, and magnetism.
The lunar gravitational pull that produces high tides in the oceans and water tides in the soil is very high at the new moon. And the moon, which is dark, gets progressively lighter. (See the drawings.)
The exact day on which you plant or transplant is not as important as generally taking advantage of the impetus provided by nature.
If you place short-germinating seeds in the ground 2 days before the lunar tide forces are greatest, the seed has time to absorb water.
The force exerted on the water in the seed helps create a “tide” that helps burst the seed coat in conjunction with the forces produced by the seed’s swelling.
No doubt you have wondered why one time beet seeds come up almost immediately and another time the germination process takes 2 weeks in the same bed under similar conditions.
Temperature and moisture differences, pH changes, and humus levels may influence the seeds in each case, but the next time you note a marked difference in germination time, check your calendar to determine the phase the moon was in when you sowed the seeds. You may find the moon had an influence.
Looking at the drawing of the moon’s phases, you can see that there are both increasing and decreasing lunar gravitational and light force influences that recur periodically during the lunar month.
Sometimes the forces work against each other, and sometimes they reinforce one another. When the lunar gravitational pull decreases and the amount of moonlight increases during the first 7 days of the lunar cycle, plants undergo a period of balanced growth.
The decreasing lunar gravity (and the corresponding relative increase in Earth’s gravity) stimulates root growth. At the same time, the increasing amount of moonlight stimulates leaf growth.
During the second 7 days of the lunar cycle, the lunar gravitational force reverses its relative direction, and it increases.
This pull slows down the root growth as Earth’s relative gravitational pull is lessened.
The moonlight, on the other hand, continues to a peak, and leaf growth is especially stimulated.
If root growth has been sufficient during previous periods, then the proper amounts of nutrients and water will be conveyed to the aboveground part of the plant, and balanced, uninterrupted growth will occur.
This time of increasing gravitational, moonlight, and magnetic forces gives seeds that have not yet germinated a special boost.
Seeds that did not germinate at the time of the new moon should do so by the full moon.
Alan Chadwick said it is during this period that seeds cannot resist coming up, and mushrooms suddenly appear overnight.
