Planting potatoes has already become a kind of ritual for those who have at least a small plot of their own land. It would seem that now you can buy almost any potato in any quantity, and it costs very little. But once you try to grow your own potatoes, enjoying their young, freshly baked or steaming cooked tubers, you will want to return to this process again and again. But what an infinite number of potato varieties have been bred today. Many beginners who had never grown potatoes on their own were convinced that there were only yellow and red potatoes.
And it turns out that there are so many varieties of them! And early, and late, and yellow, and white, and of different shapes, and with different starch content. Therefore, growing potatoes has often turned into a kind of hobby lately. And not the least role in this matter is played by the annual guessing of the timing of planting potatoes. I would like to go early, but I’m scared - what if it freezes. And later, you might be late. In fact, of course, there are no general recommendations for everyone when to plant potatoes. Russia is a very big country. And while in the south potatoes can already begin to prepare for flowering, somewhere in distant Siberia gardeners are just preparing to sow them.
Traditionally, it is believed that the timing of planting potatoes is associated with the moment the leaves bloom on the birch tree, when they reach the size of a small coin. This ancient folk belief is still valid today, because our ancestors lived in much greater harmony with nature, and therefore knew everything, or almost everything, about it.
Therefore, all work on planting potatoes is usually associated with the month of May.
The influence of the lunar calendar on plants
For many years, almost all more or less important matters in the garden have been verified against the lunar calendar. Of course, this is no coincidence. After all, the moon really influences many moments in our lives, whether we want it or not. But people, especially those living in cities, have gone too far from nature to feel its rhythms, including lunar ones.
And all other living beings, including plants, still perceive the lunar cycles well and live and develop in accordance with them. And if people, sometimes without knowing it, roughly interfere with these life cycles, then plants react quite adequately, that is, they are delayed in development or begin to get sick. Therefore, it is advisable to take into account lunar rhythms as much as possible, at least to the extent that you have the strength to do so.
Usually they include not only the day itself when these processes occur, but also one day before and after. That is, it is best not to perform any actions with the plants on these six days, which usually occur in every month.Of course, this rule does not apply to watering if there is a daily need for it, as well as any emergency, so-called force majeure circumstances. After all, when it comes to saving lives, we do not look at the lunar calendar: is it possible or not. In everything you need to observe, first of all, the golden mean.
The second circumstance that needs to be taken into account when working with the lunar calendar is that during the period of the rising moon (from the new moon to the full moon), the earth seems to “exhale”. All its forces rush outward and this period is very favorable for working with the above-ground parts of plants. Or with those plants whose value is in their shoots, leaves, flowers, fruits. During the period of the waning moon (from the full moon to the new moon), the earth, on the contrary, seems to “inhale” and all its forces go inward. Therefore, this period is favorable for working with underground plant organs, roots and tubers. It is clear that this period is best suited for planting potato tubers.
Of course, working with plants is also influenced by the passage of the moon in different zodiac constellations, but the main thing to remember here is that it is undesirable to work with plants when the moon is in the signs of Aquarius, Aries, Gemini, Leo and Sagittarius. However, this no longer affects work with plants as dramatically as the phases of the moon itself.
Potato planting calendar in May 2024
It is better to plant potatoes during the waning moon.
So you always have a choice. You can plant potatoes the traditional way, regardless of the recommendations of the lunar calendar. Or you can use the tips above and see what happens.
