Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

90 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

Lesson 4: Your Veggie Garden

First, make a diagram or map of your planned garden

before you do any actual work. Keep your garden map

in a safe place where you can refer to it throughout

the year—you might tack it to the wall or inside door

of the garage or tool shed. Each Winter, make up a

new map with a new layout. I use ruled graph paper.

Mark in the rows, spacing them the right distance apart

to the map scale. Write in the names of the plants you

intend to grow, and the dates you intend to plant them

(see following). If your garden is on a slope, run the

rows across the grade to prevent water erosion. Put

your tallest crops—such as corn and sunflowers—in

the North so they won’t shade the smaller plants.

While I am giving you the information about ideal

planting times according to the signs and phases of

the Moon, the ideal is not always the practical reality.

Most of the time, you work in your garden when you

have a moment and the mood strikes you, when the

Sun is shining and you feel like being outdoors. You

also work the soil and plant when it’s not raining, and

when the soil isn’t so soggy that it loses its structure

when worked.

Also, in different climatic zones, the growing

seasons vary, along with which plants are most suit-

able, and the best times to plant them. If you live in

the tropics or the far North, you may not be able to

grow the following plants successfully, but there will

be others that will grow better where you are. So con-

sult with your local nursery and make adjustments. A

good Wizardly approach is to observe what grows well

in your area and talk to other gardeners. Really good

gardeners observe other people’s gardens—great gar-

dening is mostly watching what the plants are doing

naturally and enhancing it.

Plot One

Corn: The best time to plant corn is between Beltaine

and Litha, during the 2nd quarter of the Moon (
-

). There are many different strains available, but

Golden Cross Bantam is considered the best for the

home garden, as it is hardy, tasty, and pest-resistant.

Plant corn in square plots with plenty of sunlight for

best pollination. If space permits, plant three variet-

ies that will mature in 75, 85, and 95 days—or space

your planting time over several lunar periods to ex-

tend your harvest. Plant your corn in 4” deep trenches,

with 12” between plants and 30” between rows. If

you plant from seeds, put three in each spot and cover

them with 1” of soil. After the first shoot appears,

pull out the others and discard them—but leave the

small suckers alone. Pile up soil around the base as

the stalks grow.

Pumpkins: Pumpkins grow over a very large area

(around 16 square feet), so you need to plant only

one hill, right in the center of your corn patch. This

will yield plenty of pumpkins for Samhain! Plant them

during the next 2nd quarter of the Moon (
-) fol-

lowing Beltaine. Dig a hole about 2’ wide and 1’ deep,

and fill it with manure mixed with soil. Build it up

into a crater-shaped mound and sow eight seeds in

the crater, buried about 1 1/2” deep. Thin to 2–4 plants

before they form vines, and guide the vines towards

the corners of your corn patch. During the corn sea-

son, the pumpkin leaves will cover the ground and

keep moisture in. Then, after all the corn is harvested

and the bare stalks are bundled, the pumpkins will

grow fat and orange among the corn-stalk teepees,

watched over by your scarecrow.

Morning Glories: After your corn is in, and dur-

ing the next 1st quarter of the Moon (-
), sow

morning glory seeds in your corn patch. Soak the seeds

overnight in warm water, and then plant just one seed

near each corn seedling, covered with 1/2” of soil.

They will twine around the corn stalks, produce beau-

tiful flowers, and attract hummingbirds.

Plot Two

Tomatoes: Get your tomatoes into the ground as

soon as frost danger is over. Plant them in a sunny

spot during the 2nd quarter of the Moon (
-). To-

matoes should be transplanted from sets rather than

trying to sprout them from seeds. Select starts 6”–8”

high, and plant them 4’ apart, deep enough to cover

half the stem. Four tomato plants in your plot will be

plenty, and you can even try one each of several vari-

eties. You will need large tomato cages to hold up the

growing plants. Check them every day, and keep the

main branches inside the cages. Fertilize only at plant-

ing time, or you’ll get nice leaves but few fruits!

Chives: Between Ostara and Beltane, during the 3rd

quarter of the Moon (-), plant a couple of clumps

of chives on the outer edges of your tomato patch,

away from the other plots. The best way is to get starts.

Plant several bulbs together, about 3/4” deep. Then

after the first year, you can divide your clumps and

spread them elsewhere. Chives repel aphids, so to

protect all our roses, we’ve now got clumps of chives

and wild onions growing all around our yard.

Basil: Grow a few basil plants in the middle areas of

your tomato patch. Sow the seeds in warm weather

during the 2nd quarter of the Moon (
-). Thin the

plants to one foot apart, fertilizing at that time.

Catnip (Nepeta cataria): Plant some catnip around

your tomatoes during the 2nd quarter of the Moon (
-

) to repel flea beetles. Keep it growing and spread-

ing close to the ground by cutting back any vertical

shoots, or it will grow up to 3’ and crowd your basil

and tomatoes.

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