Cabrillo Horticulture 100A - Propagation Project

Instructor: Kathleen Navarez

Peter Beckmann, October through December 2009

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Project Overview

The hypothesis for this propagation research project is the assumption that different moon phases have an impact on the rooting of cuttings. These phases are defined in detail in biodynamic agriculture. Not only is the full and new moon an indication for different gardening activities, an additional role is also attributed to the the moon's position in relation to other zodiac signs, its relation to the planet Saturn, the moon's trajectory over the Earth, its relation to the sun, and its maximum and minimum distance to Earth. Depending on the moon's position, different gardening activities, such as planting seeds, rooting cuttings, harvesting, and making hay are believed to be more or less successful.

In this propagation test, I am comparing a set of cuttings and seeds planted at a non-beneficial moon day (28 September, 2009) to another set of identical cuttings and seeds planted at a moon phase beneficial for rooting plants (30 September, 2009). All the cuttings come from the Santa Cruz Mountains at an altitude of roughly 1,200 feet above sea level.

The Bird seed experiment is a side project. Since the birch is one of my favorite trees, I wanted to experiment with planting Birches from seed. The seeds come from a tree in the city of Santa Cruz, California.

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Some Research History

Besides plenty of anecdotal evidence of the moon's effect on our gardening activities, there is also a wide body of scientific research available, of which I am presenting a brief sampling:

The probably best know proponent of the moon planting theory is the German gardener Maria Thun. Since many years, the has experimented with the influence of cosmic constellations on the planting and growing cycle. Beside her famous potatoe experiment from 1964 until 1971, which showed clear yield differences, Thun also acknowledges that there is much more to consider than purely moon and planet constellations. In their own potato trial plantings, Kollerstrom and Staudenmaier showed that potatoes produced a 30% higher crop yield when planted during the "right" moon phase, which confirmed Thun initial conclusions.
(Evidence for lunar-sidereal rhythms in crop yield: a review by Nicholas Kollerstrom and Gerhard Staudenmaier)

Another set of trials was conducted by Ulf Abele as part of his dissertation at the Giessen University, Germany. He compared grain crops (barley and oats) in 1970-1971, and root crops (carrots and radish) in their reaction to different moon cycles. His research showed an increased crop yield of 7 to 21 percent when planted during the "right" moon cycle.
(Evidence for lunar-sidereal rhythms in crop yield: a review by Nicholas Kollerstrom and Gerhard Staudenmaier)

The Suiss researcher Luecke conducted another set of potatoe trials from 1979 to 1980 and found a 18 percent higher yield in the crop planted at a beneficial moon phase.
(Evidence for lunar-sidereal rhythms in crop yield: a review by Nicholas Kollerstrom and Gerhard Staudenmaier)

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The Plants

Ceanothus Concha (California Mountain Lilac). An evergreen shrub native to California, this genus has blue flowers in small oval clusters. The seeds can lie dormant for hundreds of years and depend on forest fires to trigger germination.

Sequoia Sempervirens (Coast Redwood). An evergreen tree native to a 450 mile stretch of the California coast from southern Oregon to the Big Sur coast. Redwood cones release tiny brown seeds when mature. A single tree may produce six million seeds in a year. Of these seeds, less than 5% germinate, and of these, very few actually grow into seedlings. Redwoods are also capable of sprouting from the roots of parent trees, from dormant buds in the burls at the base of a tree, or from fallen trees. As well, if a tree is cut or burned, a family circle of trees ("fairy ring") may sprout up from the stump. These sprouts, because of already established root systems, grow more vigorously than seedlings and so are the more common form of reproduction. In fact, successive generations of sprouts are really "clone trees". Thus the genetic information of an individual redwood may be thousands of years old, dating back to the first parent. Read more.

Plumbago. A native to South Africa, this evergreen produces blue flower clusters from late spring to late summer.

Betula Pendula (European White Birch). This desiduous tree grows 30 to 40 feet high and is native to native Europe. Birches prefer well drained and sandy soils. An example of a healthy birch habitat can be found in northern Germany's Heide area ("Heide" stands for heather), where extensive birch forests are surrounded by a carpet of heather plants.

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Project Outline

All Cuttings were treated in a 5% diluted growth hormone solution and planted in a mix of 1 part sifted peatmoss and 3 parts perlite. All flats started out with moist soil and are misted every 15 minutes. No bottom heat.

Ceanothus Concha: Semiripe heel cuttings, trimmed back to two nodes.

Sequoia Sempervirens: Terminal green cuttings (this year's growth), trimmed back to two nodes.

Plumbago: Terminal green cuttings with a heel, trimmed back to two nodes.

Betula Pendula: I collected dry seed pods, extracted the seeds, and sprinkled them in a bed of germination mix (equal parts of perlite, vermiculite, and peatmoss), covered with a sprinkle of germination mix.

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Weekly Progress

Planting
I picked Monday, 28 September, 2009 (a class day) as the non-benficial day, and Wednesday, 30 September, 2009 as the moon-favored planting day suited especially for rooting. I based the planting decision on the biodynamic moon calendar.