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Times noted are EDT.

I’m making a slight adjustment to the weekly calendar, starting it on Monday now. That gives weekend gardeners all the lunar info you need in one post. I’m playing a little catch-up with this post by including the weekend of May 5-6th.

We awake to the Moon in Scorpio on Saturday where it stays until very late Sunday. Here’s a little something to keep in mind ~ the Moon in Scorpio is waxing on Saturday before it’s full, but waning on Sunday. If you’re setting out annuals, do that on Saturday. Sunday the Moon changes to the waxing phase, so turn your attention to perennials. Scorpio is a very fruitful sign (second only to Cancer) so the weekend is perfectly suited to all kinds of gardening tasks. It’s helpful to have both waxing and waning hours to make the most of the weekend. Some folks won’t plant on the Full Moon at all. Use your sound judgment on this one. If the weekend is the only time you have, take advantage of it.

By 9:40pm on Sunday the Moon leaves Scorpio to enter the dry, barren sign of Sagittarius. With the lushness of the season, there are plenty of things to turn your attention to for the next couple of days. Check for aphids, spider mites, and scale. You can use a commercial insecticidal soap (which gets expensive) or you can make your own and save enough money to buy another plant. All you need is a pure liquid soap and some vegetable oil. Adding garlic and pepper helps, too. Here’s a recipe from Organic Gardening Web. Camellias and gardenias are extremely prone to scale. If that icky, sticky scale is the problem, you probably need a full attack. Here’s a good resource on how to get it back in control.

Here are some great days to pay attention to your root plants ~ perennials such as lilies, irises, dahlias, and veggies such as potatoes, beets, and carrots. The waning Moon in Capricorn is good for digging up any ragged pansies and replacing them with geraniums or other perennials. Try the scented varieties of geranium like rose, coconut, chocolate, and citrus (also known as the mosquito plant). These don’t produce the flowers that regular geraniums do, but you can cook with them. Try layering a few rose geranium leaves on the bottom of the pan before making a pound cake. Gorgeous, delicious, and aromatic!

Friday and Saturday are good days for aerating the soil with the Moon in Aquarius. Being one of the airs signs, it’s also one of the “flower days,” which puts an emphasis on blooms. These are good days for harvesting fruits, produce, and flowers.

On Sunday, the Moon settles into fertile Pisces. I love Pisces days for long, slow drinks of water for plants and for fertilizing with fish emulsion. It’s really, really hot in the south now, with temps reaching the mid-90’s already. Use a soaker hose on large areas or place the hose nozzle at the base of large plants and trees. Turn the hose to little more than a dribble and let it rest at the plant’s base for several hours. Obviously, this is more doable/affordable if you have a well than if you’re connected to city water.

 I bought one of those combo soaker/sprinkler hoses and the stupid thing burst on the first use. A good idea poorly executed. I don’t know the brand because I had already thrown the packaging away, but it looks like this one, dark with a reddish stripe down the middle. It burst right at the connection to the faucet, spewing water everywhere but on the plants. A piece of junk! If you’ve found a good one, I’d love a recommendation.

Here are this week’s phases and time changes. Times noted are EDT.