July 2024 Overview – Planting By The Signs

PBTS NOTE: Following the Quick Takes for your easy reference we have the July Overview. I remind you that the moon phases and zodiac signs don’t change precisely when the bell tolls midnight on the day mentioned. If you are online, search for and load one of the apps that tells you the precise time of the change.

As I always have, I will continue to give the days when the signs change, and the time as found in my Almanac for the moon change. If you want it more precisely than the day, you’ll need to do a bit of homework.

All times are EDT and I have recently arrived in USDA Planting Zone 7a.

QUICK TAKES

June 29: NO PLANTING, killing sign Aries/head rules

June 30-July 1: VERY fertile, Taurus/neck, below-grounders

July 2-3: Gemini/arms, bean sign but dark moon

July 4-5: VERY fertile, Cancer/breast below-grounders

July 5: New moon/light phase, 6:57 p.m.

July 6-8: NO PLANTING, killing sign Leo/heart rules

July 9-13: Flowering signs Virgo/bowels and Libra/reins

July 14-15: VERY fertile, Scorpio/secrets, above-grounders

July 16-22: Fertile, Sagittarius/thighs, Capricorn/knees, Aquarius/legs, above-grounders thru 20^th, then below-grounders July 21-22

July 21: Full moon/dark phase, 6:17 a.m., below-grounders

July 23-24: VERY fertile, Pisces/feet, below-grounders

MAKE CHANGES: July 21-24 (see more below)

July 25-26: NO PLANTING, killing sign Aries/head rules

July 27-28: VERY fertile, Taurus/neck, below-grounders

July 29-30: Gemini/arms, bean sign but dark moon

July 31-Aug 2: VERY fertile, Cancer/breast below-grounders

JULY OVERVIEW

MOON PHASES: July begins and ends with the moon in the dark phase. It moves from dark to light with the new moon arriving at 6:57 p.m. on July 5 and then back to the dark phase with the full moon at 6:17 a.m. on July 21 and until the new moon at 7:13 a.m. Aug. 4.

When the light moon is in force, plant above-ground producers and it’s below-ground producers when the dark moon rules.

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

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 completely 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 planting anywhere, or other moon-related activities. July begins with a VERY fertile sign ruling, so that’s where we’ll start.

VERY FERTILE DAYS: These signs are accompanied by the phase of the moon in which they occur. Taurus (the neck), July 1, 27-28, all dark moon;  Cancer (the breast), July 4-5, 31 dark moon until 6:57 p.m. July 5; Scorpio (the secrets), July 14-15, light moon; and Pisces (the feet), July 23-24, dark moon. There are 10 days in July ruled by the VERY fertile signs and all but the two Scorpio (14-15) days are  under the dark moon while the other eight find the light moon in force. I don’t recall having seen that kind of disparity in the number of light/dark days.

BEAN/PEA DAYS: Gemini (the arms), the bean/pea sign, rules July 2-3, 29-30. The dark moon rules all of these days, making half the equation right. If you want a fall crop of Southern peas, you may start planting them after July 1.

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: Leo (the heart), July 6-8, and Aries (the head) July 25-26. There are five days in July ruled by these two signs.

FLOWERING DAYS: July 9-13, Virgo (bowels, two days) and Libra (reins, three). No veggies on flowering days. Some want to debate that for some veggies, but as for me, I’m sticking with no veggies.

FERTILE DAYS (formerly called “so-so days”): Sagittarius (the thighs), July 16-18; Capricorn (the knees), July 19-20; and Aquarius (the legs), July 21-22. There are seven days again in July ruled by these three signs.

MAKING CHANGES: There are four perfect days in July for making changes, July 21-24.  Last month there were five and the number will continue to dwindle for a few. Like June, the four are ruled by Aquarius/knees and Pisces/feet, two days each.

The moon is in the dark phase these days and the signs are going out of the body – legs and feet.

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 us to do something differently from the way we are doing it now.

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 most of July 6 through July 20.

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.