Tuesday 9th July 2024

Tuesday 9th July 2024
The moon rises in the constellation of Leo, bringing with it a sense of warmth that aids the development of fruits and seeds. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner gave the agriculture lectures to 111 farmers, landowners, and educators, laying the foundation for biodynamics. Initially, biodynamics was kept within a small group as it was being researched and explored. Now, 100 years later, there are thousands of biodynamic farms, vineyards, and gardens across the world. These farms follow biodynamic principles for many reasons, such as producing nutrient-rich food, building community, and regenerating the land.

Monday 8th July 2024

Monday 8th July 2024
Today the moon transitions from the water element to the fire element, as it moves from Cancer, into Leo. This change, has influences on the garden, nature, and the human being. In the garden, its a beneficial day to prune the side shoots on our tomatoes, ensure cucumbers are properly supported, and tend to other fruit plants. We can also sow beans, that will benefit from being sown under the warmth of Leo, and with the descending moon promoting root growth.

Sunday 7th July 2024

Sunday 7th July 2024
As the moon crosses into the sign of Cancer, it creates conditions conducive to an outpouring of emotions. This period encourages seeking nurturing from loved ones and benefiting from the presence of family and friends. In the garden, to harness the influences of Cancer, we can continue to sow lettuce, chard, kale, and endives. Additionally, we can harvest salads and leafy greens that were transplanted earlier in the spring. Successive transplanting of salads ensures a steady supply of fresh greens throughout the season.

Saturday 6th July 2024

Saturday 6th July 2024
The moon continues its orbit around the Earth, passing through the zodiac. Today, it is in the constellation of Gemini, bringing an airy and light quality to the day. This time of year, there is an abundance of flowers. Flowers harvested today will retain their vitality for longer. It's also an opportune time to gather seeds from these flowers for use next year or to sow biennial flowers. In the cultural realm, the Gemini moon creates favorable moments for socializing and communication.

Friday 5th July 2024

Friday 5th July 2024

Today, we are greeted by a new moon. As the moon finds itself between us and the sun, no light from the sun reaches the side of the moon that faces the Earth. If the skies are clear, a new moon presents a beautiful opportunity for stargazing, as the moon's absence allows the stars to shine more brightly. Today, the new moon in the constellation of Gemini also reaches its highest point on the horizon, from which it will now descend. This rhythm brings vital forces to the soil, aiding the growth of plant roots, making it an ideal time for sowing seeds and transplanting.

Thursday 4th July 2024

Thursday 4th July 2024
The moon rises in the constellation of Taurus, permitting an earthy quality to the day this makes it an appropriate time to work on those mundane tasks, such as planning or managing finances. In the garden, you can tend to your root vegetables, weeding around them, and considering when they will be ready for harvest. Consider, allowing some root vegetables mature to seed, so you can collect the seeds for next year. You could organise, your gardening tools, making repairs, how you keep your tools reflects on your practice as a gardener.

Wednesday 3rd July 2024

Wednesday 3rd July 2024
As Venus in Gemini and Saturn in Aquarius align 120 degrees apart, favorable conditions arise for harvesting flowers in the morning. By the afternoon, the influence of their trine of light subsides, yielding to Taurus guided by the moon, which restores stability. After the cosmic drama of the past few days, let's take this opportunity to settle and refocus on what truly matters.

Tuesday 2nd July 2024

Tuesday 2nd July 2024
Mercury moved into the constellation of Cancer yesterday, and today Neptune begins its retrograde movement in Pisces. This creates a trine between the two planets, as they align at a 120-degree proximity within water constellations. This synchronicity overrides the moon's influence in Aries for most of the day, creating favorable conditions for working with leafy plants that benefit from the planets' trine. However, today may be turbulent as we navigate through all four elements due to the moon's transit through the zodiac and the two trines occurring on successive days. This is quite remarkable—the cosmic dance continues to surprise. As a biodynamic practitioner, this is the first time I have seen all four elements encountered in a single day.

Monday 1st July 2024

Monday 1st July 2024
The moon rises in the constellation of Aries, the first house of the zodiac. Aries brings warmth to the Earth, mediated by the moon, creating favorable conditions for tending to fruit plants and harvesting seeds for future planting. Saving your own seeds and sharing them with local gardeners is important, as seeds grown in your area will adapt to the unique conditions over time. A single seed contains immeasurable potential; these unfurled kernels are truly divine.

Sunday 30th June 2024

Sunday 30th June 2024
Today, the moon transitions from the constellation of Pisces to the fiery constellation of Aries. Focus on tending to your fruiting vegetables such as tomatoes, beans, zucchinis, and berries—all considered fruits in biodynamics, corresponding to the fire zodiac signs that enhance the fruiting elements of each plant. It's a good time to check on your berries like raspberries, red currants, and blackcurrants. Ensure they are free from weeds and consider applying compost around their bases to promote growth and ripening.

Saturday 29th June 2024

Saturday 29th June 2024
Today, in the cosmic theatre, Saturn moves into retrograde. From Earth's perspective, this means Saturn appears to immediately change direction as it moves through the constellation of Aquarius. This shift brings a period of introspection, prompting us to reflect on our lives and carefully consider upcoming decisions. In the garden, with the moon in Pisces, it's a favorable time to harvest salads and leafy vegetables.

Friday 28th June 2024

Friday 28th June 2024
The moon has been waxing and today reaches the Last Quarter, illuminated on the left side. This is a time for reflection and future planning. In the garden, as harvested vegetables begin to surpass those being sown, consider planting chicory, kale, parsley, and spring onions. Soil benefits from being consistently covered and penetrated by roots. A good garden plan includes a succession plan for continuous seed sowing. Ideally, after harvesting a bed, transplant a new vegetable or sow a cover crop shortly afterward.

Thursday 27th June 2024

Thursday 27th June 2024
The moon navigates into the constellation of Pisces, opening doors to creativity. In the garden, the benefits of working with leafy vegetables are overshadowed as the moon reaches perigee, its closest approach to Earth. At this time, the moon's influence is so strong that it creates unfavorable conditions. Today, instead of disturbing the soil or the plants, harness your creative energies and bring something new into the world.

Wednesday 26th June 2024

Wednesday 26th June 2024
The moon rises in Aquarius, a time of year when the constellation's light and air make it ideal for stirring and spraying horn silica at sunrise or in the early morning. In biodynamics, we use specific preparations to enhance the vitality of the land and plants. During summer, cow horn silica is applied to aid the ripening process. A pinch of specially prepared silica is placed into a barrel of rainwater and stirred for one hour before being sprayed across the land. This preparation helps the sun's light refract and radiate more profoundly among the plants, enhancing their growth at this crucial time in the season.

Tuesday 25th June 2024

Tuesday 25th June 2024
The days are long as we have recently passed the summer solstice, making it a perfect time to spend an evening in the garden. Whether you’re relaxing with loved ones or working hard to weed the vegetable beds and tend to the plants, the garden offers a peaceful retreat. Watch the insects busy at work, with bees dancing from flower to flower, pollinating and collecting nectar before darting off towards their hive. The warmth brings an abundance of life, visible well into the late evening. We can marvel at the beauty and magic of the natural world.

Monday 24th June 2024

Monday 24th June 2024
Today, as the moon rises in the constellation of Capricorn, it brings a grounding, earthly energy. This is a perfect time to embrace discipline. Use this opportunity to create a to-do list for the upcoming week or to write a page describing your ideal life five years from now. In the garden, tend to your root vegetables and check if your garlic and onions are ready for harvest.

Sunday 23rd June 2024

Sunday 23rd June 2024
The moon rises in the constellation of Sagittarius, and the warmth associated with this sign opens the path for adventure and optimism. It's a great opportunity to tend to beans, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Ensure that these plants are well supported so they can grow fully before producing their fruits. Tomato fruits grow more vigorously if their side shoots are removed. In the garden, the balance between sowing and harvesting begins to shift as we reap the rewards of our hard work.

Saturday 22nd June 2024

Saturday 22nd June 2024
Today, we are greeted by the full moon after its waxing has culminated, completing the synodic rhythm. The full moon graces us low on the horizon as the synodic and sidereal rhythms of the moon appear to synchronize. Since the moon has reached its lowest position, the coming two weeks will be less favorable for seed sowing and transplanting, as the beneficial forces will be more acutely targeting the aspects of the plant that exist above ground as it now ascends. Let's reflect on the last couple of weeks and acknowledge all that we have achieved.

Friday 21st June 2024

Friday 21st June 2024
Today, the moon continues its transit through the constellation of Scorpio, bringing the element of water to the earth and relating to the leaves of the plants. In the garden, we can trim back our aromatic herbs before they bloom so they can grow back next year and not become too leggy or woody. Yesterday, the sun, from the perspective of Earth, transitioned into the constellation of Gemini, opening doors for self-inspection and curiosity.

Thursday 20th June 2024

Thursday 20th June 2024

Today, we reach the summer solstice. As the Earth tilts towards the sun, we arrive at the longest day of the year. Since the spring equinox three months ago, light has been increasing exponentially, awakening nature. Today, this rhythm changes direction, and the amount of light will slowly begin to dissipate, bringing a new quality to the Earth and the natural world. Inwardly, everything starts to slow down, while outwardly, the warmth and excitement of summer have arrived.