Harvest Moon

In anticipation of Tuesday’s full moon, I consulted my lunar calendar and learnt that the moon is also approaching Perigee, when it comes closest to the Earth in its egg-shaped orbit. The combination promises high levels of moisture at the surface of the soil and a likely outbreak of fungus, especially since the air is warm and little wind is forecast.

I worried for my leeks, susceptible to rust, but then remembered how well the biodynamic preparation 508 (horsetail tea) had protected garlic earlier in the year - our organic next-door-neighbours’ crop suffered much worse than ours. So I brewed up silica-rich Equisetum arvense, steeped it for 24 hours, then strained and diluted the tea. Next I stirred it for twenty minutes and then liberally washed the leaves of the leeks, also Chinese cabbage that is prone to leaf spot and a tray of salad seedlings that might be tempted to damp off and rot.

Rather than looking out for symptoms of disease and then treating them, biodynamics relies on a gardener’s observation of natural rhythms, to anticipate likely problems and combat them through prevention rather than cure. Ideally I should have had the tea concentrate waiting in the fridge, and would have applied it to the plants two or three days before the full moon. I trust thirty-odd hours proves sufficient.