When to sow corn salad in August?

On the ascending moon and on leaf days, says tradition. The gesture that changes everything is elsewhere: a firmed soil after sowing, regular watering and a little shade for the first days, because corn salad germinates poorly in the dry heat of high summer.

Why plant strawberries as early as the end of summer?

Because a strawberry set out in the descending moon of August or September has time to root before winter: it fruits the very next spring. Planted in spring, it spends its first year settling in and gives little.

Can you still sow beans in August?

At the very start of the month and in mild climates, yes, on fruit days: they’ll give an autumn crop if the frost holds off. Elsewhere, it’s better to give the space to the autumn vegetables, which will hold the ground more surely.

In the garden · August

Gardening by the moon in August August

August plays on two seasons at once: you harvest summer by the handful and already sow autumn. Lunar tradition places the sowing of corn salad, spinach and winter radishes in the ascending moon, the planting of strawberries and the pruning of raspberries in the descending moon. It’s also the month for herb cuttings and for the seed you set aside for next year.

The essentials

To sow: corn salad, autumn spinach, winter radishes, white onions, turnips
To prune, to plant: spent lavender, summer-fruiting raspberries, strawberries to set out
To harvest: tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines, beans, first seed
Watchword of the month: harvest summer, sow autumn

What to do in the August kitchen garden by the moon?

The principle of the calendar holds in one image: in the ascending moon, the sap is said to be drawn up toward the top of the plant, which makes it the time for sowing and for picking the fruiting vegetables; in the descending moon, it’s said to flow back toward the roots, and it’s the time to plant, prune and prick out.

In August the ascending moon carries the sowings that will feed autumn and winter: corn salad, spinach, winter radishes, turnips, white onions. The descending moon, for its part, takes the planting of strawberries, the pruning of spent lavender and of the summer-fruiting raspberries, whose spent canes are cut down to the ground. Between the two, you pick tomatoes, aubergines and courgettes almost every day.

Which crops to favor, and on which days?

Tradition links each day of the month to an organ of the plant, according to the constellation the Moon is crossing: leaves, flowers, fruit or roots. The idea isn’t to slot everything in to the very day, but to group the gestures: a leaf day for sowing corn salad and spinach, a root day for winter radishes and turnips.

Fruit days remain the days of the big harvests, and it’s also the moment to collect your first seed: a fully ripe tomato, a bolted lettuce flower, a bean left to dry on the plant. Flower days, finally, suit the pruning of lavender and the sowing of biennials, pansies and forget-me-nots first among them.

The gesture of the month: taking herb cuttings

August is the dream month for taking cuttings of rosemary, sage, lavender or thyme: this year’s stems are half-ripened, neither too soft nor too woody. Take ten centimeters of non-flowering stem, strip the lower half, plant in a light mix and keep in bright shade. Tradition places this gesture in the descending moon, the time of roots.

It’s the balcony activity par excellence: three pots, a corner out of direct sun, a steady misting of water. By spring you’ll have your plants, free and already acclimatized to your home.

What agronomy says

No controlled study has managed to show that a cutting or a sowing timed to the moon takes better than another: the substrate, the water and the season weigh infinitely more. The calendar keeps its value all the same: it’s a rhythm that brings you back to your plants, and regular observation remains the gardener’s best tool.

The lunations of August (exact dates)

Calculated from the ephemeris, in London time, and rechecked every night. Each lunation has its own detailed page.

Frequently asked questions

When to sow corn salad in August?: On the ascending moon and on leaf days, says tradition. The gesture that changes everything is elsewhere: a firmed soil after sowing, regular watering and a little shade for the first days, because corn salad germinates poorly in the dry heat of high summer.
Why plant strawberries as early as the end of summer?: Because a strawberry set out in the descending moon of August or September has time to root before winter: it fruits the very next spring. Planted in spring, it spends its first year settling in and gives little.
Can you still sow beans in August?: At the very start of the month and in mild climates, yes, on fruit days: they’ll give an autumn crop if the frost holds off. Elsewhere, it’s better to give the space to the autumn vegetables, which will hold the ground more surely.