The full moon and the solstice

This week, we had the winter solstice, which is the longest night and shortest day of the year. This is great news for gardeners, as well as for anyone that’s been annoyed by the lack of sun and the way that bits of your house and garden that were lovely and warm before are now cold and dark.

Historically, the solstice is cause for rejoicing. It’s why Christmas and the new year happen when they do – just after the winter solstice, you’ve seen the worst of winter, so you can manage your stores, and start preparing and planting for the spring. In the Northern hemisphere, winter solstice is around 24 December, so a week later is when you can really get going with the new year.

Not only was it the solstice on the 21st, but there was a full moon on the same night, for the first time since 1967. The next one won’t be until 2062.

This makes it especially auspicious in lots of different traditions. It’s a time humans have begun their new cycle, making resolutions and planning for the spring, since before we had the language to describe them.

There is a whole approach to gardening based on the phases of the moon, and according to that it’s also the perfect time to be planting and setting up new beds. It also says that this is the right time for planting leafy, rather than root, crops, so wait on your beetroot and potatoes but get that spinach, chard and cabbage into the ground now.

It’s a good time to work out how your garden will grow best, and how you want it to look in the year ahead. Take a walk and have a close look around at the light and water.

Anywhere that gets daylight all day at the moment is a good place, especially if it stays damp close by. Any areas that are still wet, even with the general dryness, are good places to plant arum lilies – they’ll grow nicely, even in relatively shady spots, and suck up lots of your excess water. Generally, look at planting long-term things, like shrubs or succulents.

Plants will grow very happily as the light gets longer, gaining strength as the days gain light and warmth.

Of course, having said all that, it’s going to get a lot colder, and occasionally frosty. With cold mist lying on the ground, this can damage your plants, so please do make sure you’ve got all your more sensitive plants and soil covered up, even if it’s with old newspaper or cardboard.

• Do you have a project you’d like to see featured in Gardening in G’Town, or a gardening question? If so, please get in touch. Feeding The Self is a cross-NGO project focused around building gardens and using them for teaching and community building. You can find out more about us from our website, and if you’d like to get involved please email me at chirag.patel@feedingtheself. org or send a message to me on 073 5578 909.

Do make sure you’ve got all your more sensitive plants and soil covered up, even if it’s with old newspaper or cardboard.