Gardening by the Moon October 2026
Planting calendar by lunar quarter
Calendar
- Leafy crops · First quarter (new moon to first quarter)
- Fruiting crops · Second quarter (first quarter to full moon)
- Root crops · Third quarter (full moon to last quarter)
- Rest and tend · Fourth quarter (last quarter to new moon)
Best days in October
| Dates | Quarter | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 1 to Oct 3 | Root crops | Plant root crops and anything that overwinters: carrots, beets, potatoes, onions, garlic, bulbs, perennials, trees and shrubs. Prune to slow growth. |
| Oct 4 to Oct 10 | Rest and tend | Rest days for the soil: weed, cultivate, turn compost, harvest crops for storage, prune to discourage regrowth, prepare beds. Avoid sowing. |
| Oct 11 to Oct 18 | Leafy crops | Sow leafy crops and above-ground annuals whose seeds form outside the fruit: lettuce, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, celery, herbs. Transplant seedlings. Mow to encourage growth. |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Fruiting crops | Sow above-ground crops whose seeds form inside the fruit: beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, melons. Graft, repot and sow lawns. |
| Oct 26 to Oct 31 | Root crops | Plant root crops and anything that overwinters: carrots, beets, potatoes, onions, garlic, bulbs, perennials, trees and shrubs. Prune to slow growth. |
About gardening by the moon
Gardening by the moon is the old practice of timing garden tasks to the lunar cycle. The traditional rule follows the four quarters:
- New moon to first quarter: sow and transplant leafy annuals and crops that bear seed outside the fruit, such as lettuce, spinach, cabbage, celery and grains.
- First quarter to full moon: sow crops that bear seed inside the fruit, such as beans, peas, peppers, tomatoes, squash and melons. Graft and repot.
- Full moon to last quarter: plant root crops, bulbs, perennials, biennials, trees and shrubs, such as carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic. Prune to slow growth.
- Last quarter to new moon: rest the soil. Weed, cultivate, harvest for storage, turn compost, and prune to discourage regrowth.
The idea is that the waxing moon draws growth upward and the waning moon draws it down into the roots. Controlled trials have not found a measurable effect of lunar phase on germination or yield, so treat it as a traditional rhythm rather than a guarantee. It still works well as a planning tool: it spreads sowing, tending and harvesting across the month and keeps you in the garden regularly. The calendar marks each day with its quarter and the tasks tradition assigns to it.
Quarters are assigned by the moon phase at midday UTC. When a phase changes within a few hours of midnight, the day's quarter can differ by one in some time zones.