Moon Phases September 2031 in Inkisi, Democratic Republic of the Congo

This month's full moon: the Corn Moon

The September full moon takes this name only when the Harvest Moon falls in October instead.

Corn was harvested in early autumn, and the Barley Moon is a European counterpart. Most years the September full moon is the Harvest Moon; about one year in three it is the Corn Moon and October takes the Harvest title.

Lore

When the Harvest Moon falls in October, September's moon keeps its older name, the Corn Moon, for the maize harvest. It shares the Harvest Moon's habit of rising soon after sunset for several nights, giving long, bright evenings for bringing in crops.

Trivia

• The Corn Moon name applies only about one year in three, when the equinox is closer to October's full moon.
• The Barley Moon is its English counterpart.
• Near the equinox the full moon rises only about 25 minutes later each evening instead of the usual 50.

All Corn Moon dates ›

This month's full moon: the Blue Moon

A second full moon in one calendar month. It happens about every two and a half years and has nothing to do with color.

The monthly definition became popular after a 1946 Sky and Telescope article misread the Maine Farmers' Almanac, which used an older seasonal rule: the third full moon in a season that has four. Both definitions are in use today. The phrase "once in a blue moon" predates both and simply means rarely.

Lore

The phrase once in a blue moon is older than any astronomical definition and originally meant something absurd or never. The modern rule, a second full moon in one calendar month, spread from a 1946 magazine article and a 1980s radio programme. Genuinely blue-looking moons have been seen after huge volcanic eruptions and forest fires, when smoke particles scatter red light.

Trivia

• Monthly Blue Moons happen about every 2.7 years.
• The older seasonal rule calls the third full moon of a season with four the Blue Moon.
• After Krakatoa erupted in 1883 the Moon appeared blue or green for nearly two years.

All Blue Moon dates ›

Gardening by the Moon in September 2031

• Sep 1 to Sep 8 · Root crops: Plant root crops and anything that overwinters: carrots, beets, potatoes, onions, garlic, bulbs, perennials, trees and shrubs. Prune to slow growth.
• Sep 9 to Sep 16 · Rest and tend: Rest days for the soil: weed, cultivate, turn compost, harvest crops for storage, prune to discourage regrowth, prepare beds. Avoid sowing.
• Sep 17 to Sep 23 · 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.
• Sep 24 to Sep 30 · Fruiting crops: Sow above-ground crops whose seeds form inside the fruit: beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, melons. Graft, repot and sow lawns.

Full planting calendar for September › · How gardening by the moon works

How to read this moon calendar

Each day shows the Moon as it looks from Inkisi at midday local time, with the illuminated percentage, moonrise and moonset. Days with a principal phase show the exact local time the phase occurs. Because the Moon moves about 50 minutes later each day, roughly once a month there is a date with no moonrise or no moonset at all.

From the southern hemisphere the Moon appears flipped: a waxing moon is lit on the left. The icons on this page follow that view.

The eight phases of the Moon