(word processor parameters LM=8, RM=75, TM=2, BM=2) Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501 Sponsored by Vangard Sciences PO BOX 1031 Mesquite, TX 75150 June 12, 1991 GEOTROPE.ASC -------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a article that was in the Dallas Morning News on May 10, 1991. It was written by Anne Raver from the New York Times News Service. The House & Garden Staff of the Dallas Morning News also contributed to this report. ------------------------------------------------------------- SHEER LUNACY? Growing flowers and vegetables by the moon is a centuries old tradition, but does it really work and should we try it? Moon gardening: More than lore? By Anne Raver New York Times News Service The last full moon was two Sundays ago. And all over the country, moon gardeners were planting by it - corn, pole beans, sweet peas - because they know that a full moon will make corn grow tall and pull a vining bean right up the pole. "When I was 4, I'd go out with my grandmother, and we'd always try to plant potatoes on the full moon," said Michael Petitt, 25, who grew up in the hills of Kentucky. "And we'd plant pole beans and corn and grasses on the full moon, for faster germination." Mr. Petitt is an extension agent for Boyd County in Kentucky. He is working on his master's degree in horticulture. But he still plants by the moon. "I think that geotropism - the effect of gravity on plants - is greater on the full moon," he said. "But I think it also affects some biochemical process. Of course I'd never say this to a client on the phone." Moon planters believe that the same gravitational force that pulls the tides, the same cosmic rhythms that draw a horsehoe crab ashore to mate, also cause crops, especially those that bear above ground, to leap right out of the earth. And conversely, when the moon is on the wane, as it is now, and its light and gravitational pull are on the decrease, the earth's gravity kicks in again, and roots burrow happily into the ground. But don't plant anything when the moon is absolutely dark. The next new moon is Tuesday, and that's when plants should rest. The new moon also is a good time to kill weeds because they won't grow back. Page 1 The world of hard science hasn't tried to study this stuff. "It's mythology," said Cynthia Rosenzweig, and agronomist at NASA'S Goddard Institute for Space Studies in Manhattan. "There has to be a physical reason why the moon's different phases would affect soil properties, soil temperature, moisture content precipitation, which are the actual physical factors that make seeds germinate. And that isn't documentable." He colleague Frank Abramopoulos, an astrophysicist, agreed. "The tidal force - the gravitational pull of the moon - would be there, but a level smaller than would affect any biochemical processes," he said. There was a long pause when he was asked if the moon, passing through the sign of the zodiac, could affect plants. "The moon is 238,000 miles away from us, which is very close," he said politely. "The nearest star is four light-years away, and that light would not have an effect on plant life." Scientists are so literal. That's why they're scientists. They should look into it, Mr. Petitt said. But his people have never worried about proof. It was there on the table, in a mess of beans. In turnips bigger than grapefruits. "We never said why; we just knew," Mr. Petitt said. "We didn't question. The people who did question, they didn't have a crop." There's a lot you can do if you read the moon right. "Me and my grandpap, we'd cut locust for fence posts when the moon was three-quarters full," Mr. Petitt said. "We'd cut them green, leave the bark on and put them right in the ground. Then Grandpap would pour about a gallon of water on them. And a month later those posts would be sprouting. That's no lie, ma'am." Mr. Petitt said people would come to look at those posts and ask how it was done. "But if they didn't do it on the three-quarters moon, it wouldn't work," he said. Now the moon is on the wane. "Flowering bulbs and vegetables THAT BEAR CROPS BELOW GROUNDbelow ground should be planted during the DARK of the Moon," says the 1991 Old Farmer's Almanac. "That is, from the day after it is full to the day before it is new again." Corda Kindall, 92, the sole resident of Olga, Mo. said that's right: "Anything like radishes, onions, that grow underneath the ground, why you plant them on a dark moon, and then they'll grow larger and not be all tops. If you plant on the new moon, they'll grow tail and bloom, but the radishes won't be good. Same with potatoes. Plant them on the dark moon and they won't all go to top." Mrs. Kindall planted her morning glory seeds, which had been soaking in a jar, just before the moon was full. "And I'm going to go out tomorrow and plant me some beans," she said. It's not good to question these things too closely. The Page 2 contradictions, for instance: Mr. Petitt plants potatoes on the full moon, Mrs. Kindall on the dark. But that's the way it is with moon gardeners. You can hardly find two who plant the same way. And they all think they're right, because whichever way they choose, it works. "I always plant potatoes on Good Friday, because an older gentleman taught me to do it that way, and he'd always done it that way, and I always get more potatoes than anybody else, so there," said Miriam Dunlap, who farms 80 acres outside Des Moines. "My husband's family always said, `Good seed, good potatoes, Good Friday,' I swear it's just a reason to force you to get out there in the mud to plant." Maybe that's basically what it is, a ritual of chores, a giant almanac as old as the Pyramids and the rising of the Dog Star, which has marked the onset of spring, and spring planting, since the first man, or woman, first put a seed in the ground. Even the gardener in Dr. Rosenzweig, the Goddard agronomist, believes, a little. "Even though I don't believe it scientifically. I think the ancient traditions are wonderful," she said. "And who knows: There are more things out there than are known by science." -------------------------------------------------------------------- VANGARD NOTE: It is amazing there are no scientists willing to make a study of this. If under control conditions, the moon does have an effect on the growing of plants, this could change the way that we farm. Or is it possible the scientific community does not want to admit, that the moon's gravity has an effect on PLANTS and HUMANS. This would be an excellent experiment for one of you to do. Or for someone in college. Better yet, how about getting one of your kids to do this as a school science fair project? Now if we were living on the moon and were to study the effects of the Earth gravity on plants growing on the moon. That would mean we would have to title this article ` EARTH GARDENING SHEER LUNACY!' Submitted By; Ronald Barker Vangard Sciences -------------------------------------------------------------------- Addenda Is it not interesting that the effects of gravity seem to be reduced when the moon is waxing or in the full moon condition. If regarding this with the PULL GRAVITY theory, then the moon would partially cancel the earth gravity by pulling mass in its direction. This article therefore not only leads to ecological improvements but opens up some interesting thoughts regarding gravity. There are indications that moonlight is polarized. Is it possible that the light reflected from the moon might have a spin whose direction is dependent on whether the moon is waxing or waning? Page 3 As an interesting note, in the metaphysical literature, "scryers" or "crystal gazers" are advised to NOT allow their crystal to be exposed to the light of the moon as it supposedly interferes with the images seen within the crystal. (the method of "cleansing" the crystal is to hold it under cool or cold running water) There are strange effects involving counter-clockwise and clockwise spins, known as Coriolis forces when applied to spin in the upper and lower hemispheres of the Earth. Does this possibly indicate something relating to anti-gravity having to do with a counter-clockwise spin? Note many files on Keelynet which seem to indicate such a tendency, particularly observations noted when viewing the Meyer Chronicles (a UFO documentary on Swiss farmer Billy Meier). In addition, the work of Davis and Rawls on magnetic fields tends to support this observation. South Pole energy has a counter-clockwise spin and causes mass to expand, while North Pole energy has a clockwise spin and causes mass to contract. The file RFP on KeelyNet gives more on this although there are some discrepancies which have yet to be resolved. RFP was written several years ago and needs to be updated, which I have not had time to do. Jerry W. Decker -------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have comments or other information relating to such topics as this paper covers, please upload to KeelyNet or send to the Vangard Sciences address as listed on the first page. Thank you for your consideration, interest and support. Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet -------------------------------------------------------------------- If we can be of service, you may contact Jerry at (214) 324-8741 or Ron at (214) 242-9346 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 4