Cosmic Journal #43
Transplanting Times for May
IF, out of far-flung spaces
sunlight speaks to human sense
and elation, from the depths of soul
in seeing, weds our minds with Light
then from the husk of self unfurls,
outward drawn by world-wafting thoughts,
the human soul, and in communion bind
her, howbeit faintly, with the Spirit’s kind.
, First Week of the Year, Liturgy of the Seasons
Hello Friends,
It is wonderful to write to you again. This past month has felt very quick with so much to do in the garden and seedlings exploding in their trays. The soil is warming where I am, north of Toronto, and there is much work to be done.
May’s Lunar Cycle begins with a Fruit Day on Monday, April 28th. Tend to your beans, grains, tomatoes, and eggplants. If you can, wait to transplant seedlings until after May 1st, and I’ll tell you why...
From May 1st to May 15th, the moon will be descending in the sky. When the moon is descending, plants take root better and connect better to their new location. In biodynamics, this period is called the “Transplanting Time”, and it can happen over several days. Transplanting Times are the best window in the moon’s cycle to move your plant from one location to another; for example, when your seedlings have outgrown their seedbed and need to be moved to a bigger pot or perhaps moved to their final destination.1
For the newbies, sowing is when the seed goes in the ground and transplanting is moving a plant that has already started to grow. The best transplanting times occur May 1st to 15th and again, May 28th to June 11th.
Ok, so what do we do on Tuesday April 29th and Wednesday April 30th while we wait for that descending moon? Well, we can enjoy ascending Root Day tasks like sowing beets, carrots and tending potatoes. We can work the soil and prepare garden beds, and we can harden off seedlings by giving them time outside during the day to get used to the elements, but bringing them in at night before it gets too cool.
May 1st and 2nd, the flood gates open, transplanting times begin, and we’re off to the races with seedlings in tow.
Folk traditions abound for May 1st, commonly known as “May Day”. There are many customs dating back to Roman times, when Flora the Goddess of Flowers and Bride of the West Wind was honoured with festivals and pageantry. In the Waldorf tradition, May Day is celebrated with a May Pole.
“May Day brings promise: to the farmer, the promise of kind weather; to the girl who washes her face in the May Day dew, the promise of a fine complexion; to the young people weaving the pattern of creation around the Maypole, the eternal promise of the future.”2
Create your own traditions and celebrate May Day with flowers, dancing, baked treats and nettle tea. Offer a plate to the elemental realm as a thank you for the important work they do. We all can use a little encouragement.
May 3rd and 4th, we transition to Leaf Times with a descending moon in Cancer. It’s a short window to focus on low-growing leafy vegetables, such as lettuce. May 4th, 5th and 6th are suggested Sequence Spraying days to deter moisture. To deter moisture, the order of Sequence Spray is a little different than when you want to attract moisture.
To deter moisture, spray Barrel Compost on Day 1, Equisetum aka Horsetail (BD 508) on Day 2, and Horn Silica (BD 501) on Day 3.
Also occurring May 6th to 7th is the Eta Aquarids meteor shower. This meteor shower is accompanied by a bright gibbous moon, so it may be hard to see the showers in the night sky. Still, the brighter meteors should be visible.3
May 7th and 8th, the calendars call for no work as the Moon reaches Apogee. May 9th and 10th we return to Root times. Early in the morning on May 10th, the calendar suggests spraying BD 501 Silica.
In the afternoon on May 11th and for the entirety of May 12th, we enjoy Flower times in balanced Libra. When the Moon is in Libra, it is descending and is favourable for everything and anything. Libra is neutral.
May 13th to 15th the Moon transits Scorpio and we return to watery tasks, tending our medicinal herbs and preparation plants such as valerian, horsetail and stinging nettle. It’s also a good time for controlling slugs and snails.
Fruit days in mid-May can be some of the most joyous days of the spring planting season…depending on how the weather is going. Feel into the atmosphere of your garden. Touch the earth, smell it; ask your elementals, what do you need? More moisture or less?
Depending on how you feel the atmosphere in your environment is, start a 3-day Sequence Spray on May 13th if you want to attract moisture.
To attract moisture, Day 1 (May 13th) in the late afternoon, stir and spray Barrel Compost. On the second day (May 14th), early in the morning before the Sun rises too high, spray Horn Silica (BD 501); and in the evening of that same day (May 14th), spray Horn Manure (BD 500). The third day (May 15th), stir and spray Equisetum aka Horsetail (BD 508) in the late afternoon.
For those working on making their own preparations, Maria Thun says that after May 17th your preparations can be taken out of the ground; however, look to your calendar to avoid working with preparations during unfavorable times. (Unfavorable times are indicated by those grey squares on your calendars.) Optimally, the best days to take biodynamic preparations out of the ground are Fruit or Flower days.
If you’ve assessed your soil and your conditions are too wet, you need to deter moisture, and May 15th to 17th are good days to Sequence Spray for that.
May 18th to 19th are Root Days. Focus on radish, carrot, kohlrabi, potato, yam, parsnip, horseradish, and roots of herbs such as dandelion and burdock.
May 20th to 21st are Flower Days. Focus on broccoli, cauliflower, artichoke, sunflowers, flower bulbs, flax, and flowering herbs, including chamomile and yarrow.
May 23rd Sequence Spraying is again indicated while the Moon is in Pisces if you want to deter moisture. If not Sequence Spraying, the morning of May 24th is an opportunity to spray BD 501 Horn Silica.
May 25th the Moon reaches Perigee and we enjoy a second Super New Moon in Taurus.
It is unfavourable to work until the afternoon of May 26th when the Moon enters Taurus, after 12pm EST. Enjoy Root Day tasks including spraying BD 500 Horn Manure in the late afternoon on May 27th.
On the afternoon of May 28th, the Moon leaves Taurus and enters airy Gemini, beginning the next lunar cycle in Flower times.
“The moon shines bright and stars give light, A little before it’s day So God bless you all both great and small And send you a joyful May.” — Variant of the “Bellman’s Song” a traditional English May Carol
The Maria Thun Biodynamic Almanac 2025, North American Edition, page 11-12
All Year Round, A calendar of celebrations Ann Druiter, Christine Fynes-Clinton, Marije Rowling, Hawthorne Press 1995, page 84
Celestial Planting Calendar, May 2025, page 20
I have a lot of trouble with powdery mildew in the middle to late summer in my flower garden. Am I correct to understand that spraying 508 near the time before the full moon and before the moon is in Perigee are good times to spray?