UK gardening - Plant by Moon phase

Author

Plant by Moon phase

Janet Tweedy

2006-09-25, 9:25 am

Out of curiosity I have just received the 2007 diary/almanac for
planting by phases of the moon. The allotmenteer in the recent
television series seemed to think there was a definite advantage to
growing and sowing etc by the phases of the moon.
Thought I'd give it a go in 2007
New book starts in October 2006 so should be fun and MIGHT remind me to
do jobs that I keep putting off until
a) the seedlings are long and drawn for want of planting out
or
b) the seedlings go into the soil a bit too early and I lose them all

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Uncle Marvo

2006-09-25, 9:25 am

In reply to Janet Tweedy (jan@lancedal.demon.co.uk) who wrote this in
7TrOkSJlL6FFFwBU@ukonline.co.uk, I, Marvo, say :

> Out of curiosity I have just received the 2007 diary/almanac for
> planting by phases of the moon. The allotmenteer in the recent
> television series seemed to think there was a definite advantage to
> growing and sowing etc by the phases of the moon.
> Thought I'd give it a go in 2007
> New book starts in October 2006 so should be fun and MIGHT remind me
> to do jobs that I keep putting off until
> a) the seedlings are long and drawn for want of planting out
> or
> b) the seedlings go into the soil a bit too early and I lose them all
>
"Late crop spuds should be planted on Good Friday" is an adage by which I
have had much success with spuds. Good Friday occurs by dint of cunning
calculation by the church, and I believe that phases of the moon might have
something to do with that, so perhaps there is some truth in it all?

La Puce

2006-09-25, 9:25 am

Janet Tweedy wrote:
> Out of curiosity I have just received the 2007 diary/almanac for
> planting by phases of the moon. The allotmenteer in the recent
> television series seemed to think there was a definite advantage to
> growing and sowing etc by the phases of the moon.
> Thought I'd give it a go in 2007
> New book starts in October 2006 so should be fun and MIGHT remind me to
> do jobs that I keep putting off until
> a) the seedlings are long and drawn for want of planting out
> or
> b) the seedlings go into the soil a bit too early and I lose them all

This has always been a baffling thing for me too. I have followed to
the closest time when to plant seeds but never seedlings simply because
the book cannot see my seedlings and which stage they are at. I try to
be approximative - but for the seeds I try to follow to the day not the
hour on some occasion. I really didn't feel like getting up at 2.15 am
on a tuesday night to plant my peas !! This year's broadbeans were much
more civilized - the recommended time was 6pm :o)

Janet Tweedy

2006-09-25, 8:25 pm

In article <4npmv7Fbi39uU1@individual.net>, Uncle Marvo
<paul.r@deletethisbitfortescue.org.uk> writes

>"Late crop spuds should be planted on Good Friday" is an adage by which I
>have had much success with spuds. Good Friday occurs by dint of cunning
>calculation by the church, and I believe that phases of the moon might have
>something to do with that, so perhaps there is some truth in it all?
>
>
>

Well it will be one way to get a bit of order into my gardening list of
things to do!

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Martin Brown

2006-09-26, 3:25 am

Janet Tweedy wrote:
> Out of curiosity I have just received the 2007 diary/almanac for
> planting by phases of the moon. The allotmenteer in the recent
> television series seemed to think there was a definite advantage to
> growing and sowing etc by the phases of the moon.
> Thought I'd give it a go in 2007

There is a marginal advantage to digging the veg garden by moonlight.
You won't break the dormancy on quite so many of the perrenial long
lived seeds in the ground that way. Show them some strong sunlight
while you dig and they will grow.

> New book starts in October 2006 so should be fun and MIGHT remind me to
> do jobs that I keep putting off until
> a) the seedlings are long and drawn for want of planting out
> or
> b) the seedlings go into the soil a bit too early and I lose them all

I would be a lot more inclined to base planting time on the local
weather.

If you insist on planting at say "full moon" (or any other specific
lunar phase) you are stuck with either planting 2 weeks too early (and
risk see everything lost to a late frost) or two weeks too late getting
a poor crop.

Regards,
Martin Brown

Mike Lyle

2006-09-26, 9:25 am

Martin Brown wrote:
[...]
> I would be a lot more inclined to base planting time on the local
> weather.
>
> If you insist on planting at say "full moon" (or any other specific
> lunar phase) you are stuck with either planting 2 weeks too early (and
> risk see everything lost to a late frost) or two weeks too late getting
> a poor crop.

Not that two weeks either way usually makes a big difference, but I
think you're right: these ideas may simply date from times when people
didn't have calendars, and couldn't have read them if they had. I can't
imagine any mechanism by which the moon would significantly affect
plant growth*. But the idea's proponents are persistently keen on it: I
prefer to remain cautiously open-minded about it till there have been
lots of good experiments.

*(And I'm always fascinated to think that people who reject religions
which have been carefully thought out by first-class minds over
hundreds of years can be tempted by primitive superstitions and such.)

--
Mike.

Nick Maclaren

2006-09-26, 9:25 am

In article <1159256834.531575.30000@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com>,
"Martin Brown" <|||newspam|||@nezumi.demon.co.uk> writes:
|> Janet Tweedy wrote:
|> > Out of curiosity I have just received the 2007 diary/almanac for
|> > planting by phases of the moon. The allotmenteer in the recent
|> > television series seemed to think there was a definite advantage to
|> > growing and sowing etc by the phases of the moon.
|> > Thought I'd give it a go in 2007
|>
|> If you insist on planting at say "full moon" (or any other specific
|> lunar phase) you are stuck with either planting 2 weeks too early (and
|> risk see everything lost to a late frost) or two weeks too late getting
|> a poor crop.

The mistake people make is to use the wrong moon, because they are
thinking geocentrically. Thus comfrey, which is a herb governed by
Saturn, should be planted when Titan is waxing.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

La Puce

2006-09-26, 9:25 am

Mike Lyle wrote:
> Not that two weeks either way usually makes a big difference, but I
> think you're right: these ideas may simply date from times when people
> didn't have calendars, and couldn't have read them if they had. I can't
> imagine any mechanism by which the moon would significantly affect
> plant growth*.

I'm surprised at you. It has nothing to do with prehistoric calendars -
there are significant scientific explanations and proof that it does
work. It's not complicated - it works like photoperiodism works and the
effect of the light of the moon as well as it's effect on water, sap
rising and tides. There's been lots of good experiments: thousands of
years of planting by the moon in my region. I myself is influenced by
the moon every months :o)

> *(And I'm always fascinated to think that people who reject religions
> which have been carefully thought out by first-class minds over
> hundreds of years can be tempted by primitive superstitions and such.)

Religions carefully thought out by first class minds?! LOL!!! You're
jocking aren't you :o)

David $in Normandy$

2006-09-26, 9:25 am

"Mike Lyle" <mike_lyle_uk@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
> *(And I'm always fascinated to think that people who reject religions
> which have been carefully thought out by first-class minds over
> hundreds of years can be tempted by primitive superstitions and such.)
> --
> Mike.
>

Don't get me started on religion :-() ! Personally I think religious belief,
planting by the phase of the moon, the tooth fairy and Santa Claus are all
of a similar ilk and are all equally dismissible.
--
David
.... Email address on website http://www.avisoft.co.uk
.... Blog at http://dlts-french-adventures.blogspot.com/

La Puce

2006-09-26, 9:25 am

David (in Normandy) wrote:
> "Mike Lyle" <mike_lyle_uk@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
>
> Don't get me started on religion :-() ! Personally I think religious belief,
> planting by the phase of the moon, the tooth fairy and Santa Claus are all
> of a similar ilk and are all equally dismissible.

Not the tooth fairy, surely. Really ? <burst bubble>

Uncle Marvo

2006-09-26, 9:25 am

In reply to La Puce (helene@rudlin.co.uk) who wrote this in
1159275184.073207.236680@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com, I, Marvo, say :

> David (in Normandy) wrote:
>
> Not the tooth fairy, surely. Really ? <burst bubble>

I wasn't too bothered about that, but *Santa* *Claus*?

A fairy just died.

David $in Normandy$

2006-09-26, 9:25 am

"Uncle Marvo" <paul.r@deletethisbitfortescue.org.uk> wrote in message
news:4nsmgpFbmcjvU1@individual.net...
> In reply to La Puce (helene@rudlin.co.uk) who wrote this in
> 1159275184.073207.236680@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com, I, Marvo, say :
>
>
> I wasn't too bothered about that, but *Santa* *Claus*?
>
> A fairy just died.
>

Sorry Puce and Uncle! I was only kidding (about the tooth fairy and Santa
anyway!)
They really *do* exist - there are old documents, many hundreds of years old
that say they exist - and there are lots of believers around the world too -
they can't all be wrong can they?
--
David
.... Email address on website http://www.avisoft.co.uk
.... Blog at http://dlts-french-adventures.blogspot.com/

Janet Tweedy

2006-09-26, 1:25 pm

In article <efb4mr$4kr$1@gemini.csx.cam.ac.uk>, Nick Maclaren
<nmm1@cus.cam.ac.uk> writes

>The mistake people make is to use the wrong moon, because they are
>thinking geocentrically. Thus comfrey, which is a herb governed by
>Saturn, should be planted when Titan is waxing.
>

Ah but how would I know? Thank goodness I've got the book now to tell me
the dates

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Janet Tweedy

2006-09-26, 1:25 pm

In article <45191fbf$0$25915$ba4acef3@news.orange.fr>, "David (in
Normandy)" <NotValidForDavidInNormandy@invalid.none> writes

>Don't get me started on religion :-() ! Personally I think religious belief,
>planting by the phase of the moon, the tooth fairy and Santa Claus are all
>of a similar ilk and are all equally dismissible.

Oh well I think I'll give it a go for one year, it won't be too life
destroying if things don't go too right but it would be nice to bring a
bit of order to my planting and sowing. My gardening tends to be more of
the ilk of going down the garden with the compost, then seeing a few
weeds, then perhaps taking a few cuttings and tying stuff up that I
actually nearly trip over, etc etc.............

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

David $in Normandy$

2006-09-26, 1:25 pm

"Janet Tweedy" <jan@lancedal.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
> Oh well I think I'll give it a go for one year, it won't be too life
> destroying if things don't go too right but it would be nice to bring a
> bit of order to my planting and sowing. My gardening tends to be more of
> the ilk of going down the garden with the compost, then seeing a few
> weeds, then perhaps taking a few cuttings and tying stuff up that I
> actually nearly trip over, etc etc.............
>
> Janet

You never know, there just may be an element of truth in it somewhere, and
like you say, you've nothing to lose. I tend to be very doubtful of this
sort of thing personally - I did degree level sciences and that both gives a
"feel" for the way nature and the universe in general works, as well as
dispelling lots of superstitious nonsense too. However, having said that,
some of these "old wives tales" etc do have an element of truth in them. The
only way to be sure with this moon phase planting stuff would be for
controlled scientific based planting tests to be done by suitably qualified
and experienced scientists without bias. Crops grown in such a way would
need to be "evaluated blind" - i.e. a large number of adjacent plots
(patchwork) some planted by moon phase and others planted normally, some
before and some after the moon phase. The plots would be known only by
letters A, B, C etc and the scientists evaluating the crops of each would
not know which plot was which until all the test results (yields etc) were
in and analysed. There would need to be a statistical analysis of any
variance between the different plots to see if there were any statistically
significant differences.
--
David
.... Email address on website http://www.avisoft.co.uk
.... Blog at http://dlts-french-adventures.blogspot.com/

La Puce

2006-09-26, 1:25 pm

David (in Normandy) wrote:
> Sorry Puce and Uncle! I was only kidding (about the tooth fairy and Santa
> anyway!)
> They really *do* exist - there are old documents, many hundreds of years old
> that say they exist - and there are lots of believers around the world too -
> they can't all be wrong can they?

Off course not. Though I'm not 100% sure about the tooth fairy because
there wasn't any tooth fairy around when I was a kid. There was 'une
petite souris'. La petite souris came to take the tooth from under our
pillow and leaved a coin. See. But don't tell anyone about that. That
*is* really a secret <puts back foil hat on>

Judith Lea

2006-09-26, 1:25 pm

In article <e51nO5FRkTGFFwvJ@ukonline.co.uk>, Janet Tweedy
<jan@lancedal.demon.co.uk> writes
>
>Oh well I think I'll give it a go for one year, it won't be too life
>destroying if things don't go too right but it would be nice to bring a
>bit of order to my planting and sowing. My gardening tends to be more
>of the ilk of going down the garden with the compost, then seeing a few
>weeds, then perhaps taking a few cuttings and tying stuff up that I
>actually nearly trip over, etc etc.............
>
You and I should get on Janet as I do the same thing. However, if
anybody coming to me expects to see lovely gardens, don't come. 9 years
ago we bought this house and the garden was just a third of an acre of
field. I have hedged it off with one perimeter of mixed shrubs,
(evergreen and deciduous,) most of them taken from cuttings. I am not a
knowledgeable gardener, I grow things that look pretty but aesthetically
it is not laid out like some of your gardens. I hope we will meet as
friends, you will be well fed and watered but the garden leaves
something to be desired.
--
Judith Lea

La Puce

2006-09-26, 1:25 pm

Judith Lea wrote:
> You and I should get on Janet

Please, take this via email .... LOL!

Sacha

2006-09-26, 1:25 pm

On 26/9/06 16:04, in article DwtFG9SEGUGFFwcS@nanime.demon.co.uk, "Judith
Lea" <lspleen@spammie.net> wrote:

> In article <e51nO5FRkTGFFwvJ@ukonline.co.uk>, Janet Tweedy
> <jan@lancedal.demon.co.uk> writes
> You and I should get on Janet as I do the same thing. However, if
> anybody coming to me expects to see lovely gardens, don't come. 9 years
> ago we bought this house and the garden was just a third of an acre of
> field. I have hedged it off with one perimeter of mixed shrubs,
> (evergreen and deciduous,) most of them taken from cuttings. I am not a
> knowledgeable gardener, I grow things that look pretty but aesthetically
> it is not laid out like some of your gardens. I hope we will meet as
> friends, you will be well fed and watered but the garden leaves
> something to be desired.

Sounds like the basis for a perfect friendship to me!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

Sally Thompson

2006-09-26, 1:25 pm

On Tue, 26 Sep 2006 16:04:36 +0100, Judith Lea wrote
(in article <DwtFG9SEGUGFFwcS@nanime.demon.co.uk> ):

> In article <e51nO5FRkTGFFwvJ@ukonline.co.uk>, Janet Tweedy
> <jan@lancedal.demon.co.uk> writes
> You and I should get on Janet as I do the same thing. However, if
> anybody coming to me expects to see lovely gardens, don't come. 9 years
> ago we bought this house and the garden was just a third of an acre of
> field. I have hedged it off with one perimeter of mixed shrubs,
> (evergreen and deciduous,) most of them taken from cuttings. I am not a
> knowledgeable gardener, I grow things that look pretty but aesthetically
> it is not laid out like some of your gardens. I hope we will meet as
> friends, you will be well fed and watered but the garden leaves
> something to be desired.
>

Sounds like my perfect garden :-)

Ours is much the same. We bought an acre of brickyard spoil 6 years ago,
started working on it while the house was being built in 2001, and are
somewhat surprised ourselves to see how it has evolved. Most people thought
we were quite mad with what we bought, and many think we had some vast
overall plan. No - it just grew, a bit at a time, in the sense of *wouldn't
it look good if we put a pond over there?* and so on. I think it's the best
way to garden. We know some people who had an exact plan with a new garden,
all laid out on graph paper. I really don't think we could be bothered
(personally) to do it that way, but one of the nicest things about gardening
is that every garden is different.

And we feel we have ended up with a slice of paradise.

--
Sally in Shropshire, UK

Janet Tweedy

2006-09-26, 9:25 pm

In article <451940bc$0$27397$ba4acef3@news.orange.fr>, "David (in
Normandy)" <NotValidForDavidInNormandy@invalid.none> writes

>You never know, there just may be an element of truth in it somewhere, and
>like you say, you've nothing to lose. I tend to be very doubtful of this
>sort of thing personally - I did degree level sciences and that both gives a
>"feel" for the way nature and the universe in general works, as well as
>dispelling lots of superstitious nonsense too.

Oh I agree to some extent David. However it was just for 1 year out of
interest.
I wonder whether 1 day you'd be able to sign up for mobile phone
messages to tell you/encourage you what to do in the garden every day

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Barry

2006-09-27, 9:25 am

"Janet Tweedy" <jan@lancedal.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:eU73lSLrOdGFFwNN@ukonline.co.uk...
> In article <451940bc$0$27397$ba4acef3@news.orange.fr>, "David (in
> Normandy)" <NotValidForDavidInNormandy@invalid.none> writes
>
>
>
> Oh I agree to some extent David. However it was just for 1 year out of
> interest.
> I wonder whether 1 day you'd be able to sign up for mobile phone messages
> to tell you/encourage you what to do in the garden every day

>
> --
> Janet Tweedy
> Dalmatian Telegraph
> http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Might be an idea to sow half of you crops using the moon phase and the other
half out of phase

See what comes up best

barry

Mike Lyle

2006-09-27, 9:25 am

La Puce wrote:
> Mike Lyle wrote:
>
> I'm surprised at you. It has nothing to do with prehistoric calendars -
> there are significant scientific explanations and proof that it does
> work. It's not complicated - it works like photoperiodism works and the
> effect of the light of the moon as well as it's effect on water, sap
> rising and tides. There's been lots of good experiments: thousands of
> years of planting by the moon in my region. I myself is influenced by
> the moon every months :o)

I'm surprised to learn there are reputable scientific studies: I'd love
to see the references. Thousands of years of tradition may or may not
be evidence -- tradition used to tell us to believe in evil spirits,
and signally failed to reveal even quite simple things like the
circulation of the blood. I'm not sure that the extremely variable
amounts of already very weak light from the moon could form the basis
of any prediction.

As for tidal effects, if they operate at all at the cellular level
(where, if I understand correctly, capillarity and osmosis are the key
forces) I'd expect them to be cancelled out and often reversed by puffs
of wind or vapour pressure. I won't dispute your observations of your
personal synchronisation with the moon: but I'll believe in a causal
link only when you show that the effects are similar for a large
proportion of other people -- or when you let me know of changes when
the moon starts behaving differently! You'll then need to show me that
your physiology closely resembles that of a plant.
>
>
> Religions carefully thought out by first class minds?! LOL!!! You're
> jocking aren't you :o)

No, I'm not jocking. You don't have to believe in religion to know that
people like Aquinas and the Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist thinkers had
first-class minds. In fact, the traditional views of the physical world
wouldn't have enslaved us for so long if these minds had applied
themselves to scientific questions instead.

--
Mike.

Uncle Marvo

2006-09-27, 9:25 am

"Mike Lyle" <mike_lyle_uk@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1159362569.083209.185290@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>
> [La Puce wrote about being affected by the moon]
[color=darkred]
> As for tidal effects, if they operate at all at the cellular level
> (where, if I understand correctly, capillarity and osmosis are the key
> forces) I'd expect them to be cancelled out and often reversed by puffs
> of wind or vapour pressure. I won't dispute your observations of your
> personal synchronisation with the moon: but I'll believe in a causal
> link only when you show that the effects are similar for a large
> proportion of other people -- or when you let me know of changes when
> the moon starts behaving differently! You'll then need to show me that
> your physiology closely resembles that of a plant.

Come on, even *I* knew what she meant!

(I think)

Mike Lyle

2006-09-27, 9:25 am

Uncle Marvo wrote:
> "Mike Lyle" <mike_lyle_uk@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:1159362569.083209.185290@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>
>
> Come on, even *I* knew what she meant!
>
> (I think)

Was I being unfair? Sorry. But a sample of one isn't significant
evidence.

--
Mike.

Uncle Marvo

2006-09-27, 9:25 am

In reply to Mike Lyle (mike_lyle_uk@yahoo.co.uk) who wrote this in
1159363309.525236.126320@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com, I, Marvo, say :

> Uncle Marvo wrote:
>
> Was I being unfair? Sorry. But a sample of one isn't significant
> evidence.

You've obviously had more luck with ladies than I have :-)

Mike Lyle

2006-09-27, 9:25 am

Janet Tweedy wrote:
> In article <efb4mr$4kr$1@gemini.csx.cam.ac.uk>, Nick Maclaren
> <nmm1@cus.cam.ac.uk> writes
>
>
> Ah but how would I know? Thank goodness I've got the book now to tell me
> the dates

Goodness me! Nick quite unaccountably omitted to mention the
numerological factors. "Comfrey" yields the number "85", which of
course calculates back to "you are" and "silver". I normally charge a
modest fee for these consultations, but this case is so simple that it
should be obvious that comfrey will succeed only if planted, under a
waxing Titan of course, on the 13th of September, in soil which
contains the correct balance of uranium. Of course it will often _grow_
if planted at other times and in other conditions, but it just won't
have any profound virtues: for example, it won't cure shingles or
enable you to speak with the spirit world. It's all there in
Nostradamus and Joanna Southcott.

--
Mike.

michael adams

2006-09-27, 1:25 pm

"Mike Lyle" <mike_lyle_uk@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1159362569.083209.185290@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>
> La Puce wrote:
can't[color=darkred]
>
> I'm surprised to learn there are reputable scientific studies: I'd love
> to see the references. Thousands of years of tradition may or may not
> be evidence -- tradition used to tell us to believe in evil spirits,
> and signally failed to reveal even quite simple things like the
> circulation of the blood. I'm not sure that the extremely variable
> amounts of already very weak light from the moon could form the basis
> of any prediction.
>
> As for tidal effects, if they operate at all at the cellular level

Tidal effects are a response to cyclical gravitional fields. Moon
phases affect tides. Gravity affects plants through a mechanism
identified earlier, and further studed by Darwin, called gravitropism.
Superficially gravitropism only affect the direction of growth -
shoot tips grow upwards, root tips grow downwards. But maybe the
suggestion is that the strength or changes in the strength of the
gravitational field stimulates changes in growth rates in shoots
and roots. A quick scan of zero gravity experiments to test the
feasibility of growing plants in space doesn't appear to either
support or refute this idea. But that's not what they were looking
for, just examining the gravitpropism mechanism itself.

michael adams

....

> (where, if I understand correctly, capillarity and osmosis are the key
> forces) I'd expect them to be cancelled out and often reversed by puffs
> of wind or vapour pressure. I won't dispute your observations of your
> personal synchronisation with the moon: but I'll believe in a causal
> link only when you show that the effects are similar for a large
> proportion of other people -- or when you let me know of changes when
> the moon starts behaving differently! You'll then need to show me that
> your physiology closely resembles that of a plant.
>
> No, I'm not jocking. You don't have to believe in religion to know that
> people like Aquinas and the Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist thinkers had
> first-class minds. In fact, the traditional views of the physical world
> wouldn't have enslaved us for so long if these minds had applied
> themselves to scientific questions instead.
>
> --
> Mike.
>

Janet Tweedy

2006-09-27, 1:25 pm

In article <1159364598.772649.168180@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com>, Mike
Lyle <mike_lyle_uk@yahoo.co.uk> writes

>It's all there in
>Nostradamus and Joanna Southcott.
>

Haven't you heard of "organic box" schemes?

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

David Rance

2006-09-27, 5:25 pm

On Mon, 25 Sep 2006, Uncle Marvo wrote:

>"Late crop spuds should be planted on Good Friday" is an adage by which I
>have had much success with spuds. Good Friday occurs by dint of cunning
>calculation by the church, and I believe that phases of the moon might have
>something to do with that, so perhaps there is some truth in it all?

Nothing to do with that. Good Friday was traditionally a public holiday
and, in bygone days, was one of the few holidays that workers had.
Therefore it was often the only day they could plant their potatoes.

David

--
David Rance david.rance@rance.org.uk http://www.mesnil.demon.co.uk
Fido Address: 2:252/110 writing from Le Mesnil Villement, Calvados, France

Mike Lyle

2006-09-27, 5:25 pm

Janet Tweedy wrote:
> In article <1159364598.772649.168180@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com>, Mike
> Lyle <mike_lyle_uk@yahoo.co.uk> writes
>
>
>
> Haven't you heard of "organic box" schemes?
>

Yes, I believe they can be very prophetable.

--
Mike.

Sacha

2006-09-27, 5:25 pm

On 27/9/06 21:21, in article AgdIUPEA1tGFFwsl@compaq.mesnil.demon.co.uk,
"David Rance" <david.rance@SPAMOFFrance.org.uk> wrote:

> On Mon, 25 Sep 2006, Uncle Marvo wrote:
>
>
> Nothing to do with that. Good Friday was traditionally a public holiday
> and, in bygone days, was one of the few holidays that workers had.
> Therefore it was often the only day they could plant their potatoes.

And it is, of course, the day on which you sow parsley seeds.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

michael adams

2006-09-27, 8:25 pm

"David Rance" <david.rance@SPAMOFFrance.org.uk> wrote in message
news:AgdIUPEA1tGFFwsl@compaq.mesnil.demon.co.uk...
> On Mon, 25 Sep 2006, Uncle Marvo wrote:
>
have[color=darkred]
>
> Nothing to do with that. Good Friday was traditionally a public holiday
> and, in bygone days, was one of the few holidays that workers had.
> Therefore it was often the only day they could plant their potatoes.
>
> David

....

So where exactly did these workers work ?

Surely set working times only came in with factories in the 19th
century?

michael adams

....

>
> --
> David Rance david.rance@rance.org.uk
http://www.mesnil.demon.co.uk
> Fido Address: 2:252/110 writing from Le Mesnil Villement, Calvados,
France

Uncle Marvo

2006-09-28, 9:25 am

In reply to michael adams (mjadams28@onetel.com) who wrote this in
4o0cvjFcdlk2U1@individual.net, I, Marvo, say :

> "David Rance" <david.rance@SPAMOFFrance.org.uk> wrote in message
> news:AgdIUPEA1tGFFwsl@compaq.mesnil.demon.co.uk...
>
> ...
>
> So where exactly did these workers work ?
>
> Surely set working times only came in with factories in the 19th
> century?
>
>
That's a good point. They were possibly mainly farm workers in these times,
and probably nicked the spuds from work :-)

Uncle Marvo

2006-09-28, 9:25 am

In reply to Mike Lyle (mike_lyle_uk@yahoo.co.uk) who wrote this in
1159390559.518036.234340@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com, I, Marvo, say :

> Janet Tweedy wrote:
>
> Yes, I believe they can be very prophetable.

:-)

David Rance

2006-09-28, 9:25 am

On Wed, 27 Sep 2006, michael adams wrote:

>have
>
>So where exactly did these workers work ?
>
>Surely set working times only came in with factories in the 19th
>century?
>
So how old do you think the saying is and how do you know? Bygone days
can refer to the 20th century, let alone the 19th!

David

--
David Rance david.rance@rance.org.uk http://www.mesnil.demon.co.uk
Fido Address: 2:252/110 writing from Le Mesnil Villement, Calvados, France

Nick Maclaren

2006-09-28, 9:25 am

In article <4o0cvjFcdlk2U1@individual.net>,
"michael adams" <mjadams28@onetel.com> writes:
|> "David Rance" <david.rance@SPAMOFFrance.org.uk> wrote in message
|> news:AgdIUPEA1tGFFwsl@compaq.mesnil.demon.co.uk...
|> >
|> > Nothing to do with that. Good Friday was traditionally a public holiday
|> > and, in bygone days, was one of the few holidays that workers had.
|> > Therefore it was often the only day they could plant their potatoes.
|>
|> So where exactly did these workers work ?
|>
|> Surely set working times only came in with factories in the 19th
|> century?

That has nothing to do with it. During the winter, farm workers worked
all of the daylight hours. The very word holiday is just a derivation
of "holy day".

In fact, I have similar holiday conditions (though the current University
bureaucrats would like to deny it). I am employed to do a job, and the
only days that I get as formal holidays are Sundays, Christmas Day and
Good Friday. However, I am entitled to at least 7 weeks leave, so it
isn't quite as bad as it sounds :-)

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Mike Lyle

2006-09-28, 9:25 am

Uncle Marvo wrote:
[...]
>
> You've obviously had more luck with ladies than I have :-)

I probably needed luck more than you did!

--
Mike.

Janet Baraclough

2006-09-28, 1:25 pm

The message <4o0cvjFcdlk2U1@individual.net>
from "michael adams" <mjadams28@onetel.com> contains these words:

> "David Rance" <david.rance@SPAMOFFrance.org.uk> wrote in message
> news:AgdIUPEA1tGFFwsl@compaq.mesnil.demon.co.uk...

[color=darkred]
> So where exactly did these workers work ?

> Surely set working times only came in with factories in the 19th
> century?

Agricultural workers and domestic servants for centuries back, were
usually allocated a specified number of days off per year.

Within living memory, the church and many employers, landowners etc
enforced the strictest Sunday observance upon their flocks, employees
and servants (except, of course, where the masters' domestic needs were
concerned). So even when the masses graduated to working "only" a
six-day week, they often couldn't do their own digging, laundry etc on
Sundays.

Janet

Uncle Marvo

2006-09-29, 9:25 am

In reply to Janet Baraclough (janet.and.john@zetnet.co.uk) who wrote this in
3130303039303239451C1A1584@zetnet.co.uk, I, Marvo, say :

> The message <4o0cvjFcdlk2U1@individual.net>
> from "michael adams" <mjadams28@onetel.com> contains these words:
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Agricultural workers and domestic servants for centuries back, were
> usually allocated a specified number of days off per year.
>
> Within living memory, the church and many employers, landowners etc
> enforced the strictest Sunday observance upon their flocks, employees
> and servants (except, of course, where the masters' domestic needs
> were concerned). So even when the masses graduated to working "only" a
> six-day week, they often couldn't do their own digging, laundry etc on
> Sundays.
>
Nor Good Friday, though :-)

Janet Baraclough

2006-09-29, 9:25 am

The message <4o4efgFcq2c1U1@individual.net>
from "Uncle Marvo" <paul.r@deletethisbitfortescue.org.uk> contains these
words:

> In reply to Janet Baraclough (janet.and.john@zetnet.co.uk) who wrote
> this in
> 3130303039303239451C1A1584@zetnet.co.uk, I, Marvo, say :

> Nor Good Friday, though :-)

Good Friday church attendance may well have been enforced, but afaik
the biblical embargo on working applies only to Sabbath.

Janet.

Uncle Marvo

2006-09-29, 9:25 am

In reply to Janet Baraclough (janet.and.john@zetnet.co.uk) who wrote this in
3130303039303239451D212F36@zetnet.co.uk, I, Marvo, say :

> The message <4o4efgFcq2c1U1@individual.net>
> from "Uncle Marvo" <paul.r@deletethisbitfortescue.org.uk> contains
> these words:
>
>
>
> Good Friday church attendance may well have been enforced, but
> afaik the biblical embargo on working applies only to Sabbath.
>
That's true. Saturday.

:-)

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