Potato planting 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 is quite inexpensive. But once you try to grow your potatoes, enjoying their young, freshly baked or steaming boiled tubers, you will already want to return to this process again and again. But what an infinite number of varieties of potatoes have been bred to date. Many beginners who had never grown potatoes themselves were convinced that only yellow and red potatoes existed.
And it turns out that there are so many varieties! And early, and late, and yellow, and white, and of different shapes, and with different starch content. Therefore, often growing potatoes has recently become a kind of hobby. And not the last role in this matter is played by the annual guessing the timing of planting potatoes. I want to be early, but I’m afraid – what if it freezes. And later, you can be late. In fact, there are, of course, no general recommendations for everyone when planting potatoes. Our Country is a very big country. And at a time when potatoes in the south can already begin to prepare for flowering, somewhere in distant Siberia, gardeners are just getting ready to sow it.
Traditionally, it is believed that the timing of planting potatoes is associated with the moment the leaves bloom on the birch, when they reach the size of a small coin. This old folk belief is valid to this day, because our ancestors lived in much greater harmony with nature, and therefore knew everything about it, or almost everyone.
Therefore, it is with the month of May that all work on planting potatoes is usually associated.
The influence of the lunar calendar on plants
For many years, it has been customary to compare almost all more or less important matters in the garden with the lunar calendar. Of course, this is no coincidence. After all, the moon really affects many moments in our lives, whether we like it or not. But people, especially those living in cities, have gone too far from nature to feel its rhythms, including those of the moon.
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 themselves, rudely interfere in these life cycles, then the plants react quite adequately, that is, they are delayed in development or start to get sick. Therefore, it is desirable to take into account the 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 plants during these six days, which usually occur in each month. Of course, this rule does not apply to watering if there is a daily need for them, 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: it is possible or not. In everything you need to observe, first of all, the golden mean.
The second circumstance that must 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, as it were, makes an “exhalation”. All her forces rush outward and this period is very favorable for working with the aerial parts of plants. Or with those plants whose value is in shoots, leaves, flowers, fruits. During the period of the waning moon (from the full moon to the new moon), the earth, on the contrary, “breathes” as it were, and all its forces go inward. Therefore, this period is favorable for working with the underground organs of plants, roots and tubers. It is clear that this period is best suited for planting potato tubers.
Of course, the passage of the moon of different zodiac constellations also affects the work with plants, 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 the work with plants as dramatically as the phases of the moon itself.
May 2022 potato planting calendar
Thus, you always have a choice. You can plant potatoes in the traditional way, without paying attention to the recommendations of the lunar calendar. Or you can use the above tips and see what happens.
