April 2024 Overview – Planting By The Signs

PBTS NOTE: It’s time to kick things into high gear in preparation for the 2024 gardening season. Following the Quick Takes, here is the April Overview. All times are EDT and I’m in Zone 7A, so adjust for your location.

QUICK TAKES

March 30-31: Fertile, Sagittarius/thighs, dark moon, below-grounders

MAKE CHANGES: March 30-April 6, dark moon/signs perfect.

April 1-4: Fertile, Capricorn/knees and Aquarius/legs, below-grounders

April 5-6: VERY fertile, Pisces/feet/below-grounders

April 7-8: KILLING SIGN/no planting, Aries/head

NEW/LIGHT MOON: April 8, 2:21 p.m. above-grounders thru most of April 23

April 9-10: VERY fertile, Taurus/neck, light moon, above-grounders

April 11-12: Bean/pea sign, Gemini/arms, light moon, above-grounders

April 13-14: VERY fertile, Cancer/breast, light moon, above-grounders

April 15-17: KILLING SIGN/no planting, Leo/heart

April 18-22: Flowering signs Virgo/bowels and Libra/reins, bloom days

FULL/DARK MOON: April 23, 7:49 p.m.

April 23: VERY fertile, Scorpio/secrets, above-grounders until moon change at  7:49 p.m.; then dark moon until May 7, 11:22 p.m.

April 24: VERY fertile, Scorpio/secrets, below-grounders

April 25-May 1: Fertile, Sagittarius/thighs, Capricorn/knees and Aquarius/legs, below-grounders

MAKE CHANGES: April 25-May 3, dark moon/signs perfect.

APRIL OVERVIEW

       MOON PHASES: April begins and ends with the moon in the dark phase. It moves from dark to light with the new moon – or no moon visible in the sky – at 2:21 p.m. on April 8,  and then back to the dark phase with the full moon at 7:49 p.m. on April 23.

When the light moon is in force, plant above-ground producers and it’s below-ground producers when the dark moon rules, which is until 2:21 p.m. on April 8, returning at 7:49 p.m. on April 23 and continuing until 11:22 p.m. on May 7 – thus more than 23 hours of the day.

Don’t plant when either of the killing signs, Aries and Leo, are in force or veggies when the flowering signs Virgo and Libra rule.

Planting when the fertile signs rule is a viable alternative to the VERY fertile signs, which are Scorpio, Pisces, Taurus, and Cancer. The fertile ones – just a little below VERY fertile – are Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Aquarius.

If you can only utilize one aspect of the system for planting, I would suggest going with the moon phases but still avoid the killing signs Aries and Leo and the flowering signs Virgo and Libra for anything but flowers.

THE SIGNS: Check to see if the moon is in the light or dark phase (information above and on any calendar) before proceeding with planting anywhere, or other moon-related activities.

       FERTILE DAYS (formerly called “so-so days”): Capricorn (the knees), April 1-2, 28-29; Aquarius (the legs), April 3-4, 30 and May 1; Sagittarius (the thighs), April 25-27. There are 10 days – fully a third of the month – ruled by these three signs. The dark moon for below-ground producers rules all of them and they are perfect for making changes.

VERY FERTILE DAYS: These signs are accompanied by the phase of the moon in which they occur. Pisces (the feet), April 5-6, dark moon; Taurus (the neck), April 9-10, light moon;  Cancer (the breast), April 13-14, light moon; and Scorpio (the secrets), April 23-24 with the light moon ruling most of the 23^rd and then the dark on the 24^th. There are eight days in April ruled by the VERY fertile signs.

KILLING DAYS: No planting, transplanting, seeding, re-potting or dealing with things you want to thrive should occur on these days. Reserve them for anything but planting anywhere. No planting! Here’s when they rule: Aries (the head) April 7-8; Leo (the heart), April 15-17. There are five days in April ruled by these two signs.

PEA/BEAN DAYS: Gemini (the arms), the pea/bean sign, rules April 11-12. The light moon is in force both days. You can continue to plant snow peas now but it’s still a bit early for Southern peas, snap or pole beans unless you are a real risk taker and are prepared to lose them to frost and/or late freezes.

       FLOWERING DAYS: April 18-22, Virgo (bowels, two days) and Libra (reins, three) – like March. No veggies on flowering days. Some want to debate that for some veggies, but as for me, I’m sticking with no veggies.

CHANGES, GRAVEL

MAKING CHANGES: Again, this month we blessed with a great many days suited for making changes with the moon in the dark phase and the signs going out of the body beyond anything that functions. There are an incredible 12 in April and three more extending into May in two stretches: April 1-6, 25-May 3. And if you are anxious to get started, today and Sunday – March 30-31 – also perfectly fit the formula.

Changes might include starting a diet or exercise program, stopping smoking or other unhealthy habits, weaning small children or animals, scheduling elective surgery or dental work – anything requiring doing something differently from the way you are doing it now.

The signs involved are Sagittarius/thighs, Capricorn/knees,  Aquarius/legs, and Pisces/feet. See how they are moving down the body beyond “parts” that function like the heart or bowels.

POURING GRAVEL: If you have gravel to pour on a drive or road on your farm, do that when the light moon rules, which is April 9 through most of April 23, the moon moving to the dark phase at 7:49 p.m. on that day.

The same applies for stones on a garden path: Place them when the moon is in the light phase, so they don’t sink. If you’re setting fence posts, do that in the light phase of the moon so the posts don’t sink.