How The Moon Affects Your Cannabis Harvest

lunar cycle on growing cannabis plants

There are many different ways to grow cannabis. Some of them are superior to others, depending on who you ask.

But one of the most interesting ways to understand cannabis growth is to factor in the moon.

The cycles of the moon are known to affect our ocean’s tidal movements, animal breeding behavior, people’s moods and even women’s menstruation cycles. In today's modern world we are less aligned with nature than our ancestors and might think that gardening, or growing cannabis, based on lunar cycles as nothing but old wives’ tales and superstition…but perhaps realigning with nature is exactly what is missing to get that bigger and higher quality yield?

How Plants Are Connected To The Moon

Isaac Newton’s laws of gravity explains that tides exist because the water in the oceans is being pulled by the moons gravity. The pull of the moon is stronger than the larger sun because it is much closer, this, the strongest effect is when the moon and sun pull from opposite sides of the earth (full moon phase) and when they are on the same side (new moon phase), creating high tides.

Similarly, lunar gardeners believe that the moon’s gravitational pull may also have a subtler affect on the flow of water in plants and soil.

Moon Phases

To be able to use the moon for growing cannabis, we first we need to know a bit about the different phases the moon goes through.

There are two moon periods: waxing and waning. These have to do with the angles involved in the moon’s orbit of the sun and the earth’s orbit of the sun.

When the moon is in its waxing phase, the moon appears to be growing. It starts with the new moon, then goes to the crescent moon, first-quarter moon, and finally the gibbous moon before the full moon takes place.

When it is waning the moon appears to be getting smaller. From the full moon, next comes the disseminating moon, second-quarter moon, and finally a balsamic moon.

How Moon Phases Affect Your Grow

The lunar cycle can provide tremendous guidance when determining what time of the month is best for planting, feeding, pruning and harvesting our marijuana plants.

In general, when the moon is waxing, plants put effort into developing leaves and above-ground systems, when it is waning, plants will put more energy into their root system. Germination of your seeds will be faster and more effective done during the waxing or crescent phase.

During the gibbous phase your plants will take in the most nutrients due to the gravitational pull of the moon drawing water upwards. Opposite to this is the balsamic phase which has a low gravitational force, where your plants will be mostly resting - making this a good time for pruning and killing weeds.

The new moon is the perfect time to harvest as during this phase the water content will be lowest in your plants which will make it easier and faster to dry and cure your crop.

Zodiac Signs

Cannabis growers may also consider the planets and 12 zodiac signs. The moon spends approximately 2 and 1/3 days in each sign going through all 12 signs every 28 days. Each sign has qualities of one of earth’s elements; air, water, fire or earth - each associated with masculine or feminine characteristics.

Its isn’t recommended to plant seeds when the moon is in a fire sign like Aries, Leo and Sagittarius, these are masculine signs that include dry and hot attributes.

Plants are fertile when the moon is in an earth sign like Capricorn, Taurus and Virgo - this is a good time to plant with feminine characteristic making its moist, cool and fertile.

When the moon is in air signs Libra, Aquarius or Gemini, this is not good for planting but ideal for maintenance.

Taking cuttings and transplanting cannabis plants is recommended when the moon is in water signs like Scorpio, Cancer and Pisces.

Folklore Or Science?

It might sound like a myth, but farmers have been growing crops with the help of the moon for thousands of years and this has proven to result in healthier plants that have a greater chance of survival in the germination and seedling phase, as well as plants that are more resistant to diseases and produce larger harvests. This can be applied to cannabis growing too.

Being aware of what phase the moon is in and the astrological phase it is moving through can help choose when to plant seeds, take cuttings, know how much water and fertilizer to give your plants and understand your plants’ cycles of rest and production as well as the right time to harvest.

So why not give it a chance? Try growing cannabis based on the moon’s cycles, and see what a difference it will make with your next yield.