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Charles Dowding Gardening Calendar 2021 (digital version)

A DIGITAL VERSION OF CHARLES’ 2021 GARDENING CALENDAR – NOT DOWNLOADABLE

For a preview please click on the ‘Look Inside’ button (below right).

Once purchased, you will have unlimited access to the digital Calendar via this website, by creating a personal login and then accessing in ‘My Memberships’.

Please note that purchase of the digital Calendar is for reading on the website only, and does not give you the option of downloading its content. Therefore you can’t make notes on the calendar pages – this is reflected in the lower price.

(The print version of the 2021 Calendar can be purchased here.)

The calendar contains photos from Charles’ garden – a large one and a small one for each month, with explanatory captions – enjoy the seasonal beauty of Homeacres vegetable garden, all year round.

Charles has written a vegetable growing summary for every month, 170 words or so. There are four extra pages for 2021: one about the benefits of no dig, and three about where to buy seeds, and which varieties to sow.

Each month has Charles’ favourite sowing dates for each vegetable, at their best times of year. Every date is based on decades of fine-tuning.

Use these dates to help you enjoy a regular supply of fresh produce through all four seasons.

The calendar sowing dates are for a Zone 8b climate in southern UK. Sow later by 1-4 weeks in spring if your climate is cooler, then sow a week or two earlier in summer and autumn, from the solstice onwards.

Sowing dates are based mainly on season/climate, and partly on moon phases. My main advice is to sow at the best time of year for each different vegetable. Within that best time, there are sometimes even better times!

Solar and lunar

I combine two moon aspects for calculating my sow dates. One is the phases of root-flower-leaf-fruit, based on whether the moon is passing through an astrological sign with earth-air-water-fire qualities. The other is waxing and waning: where possible I sow on a waxing moon for faster emergence and stronger growth, especially just before full moon.

Sun and moon give us a framework of action, it’s not a rigid rulebook. There are few dates when all good aspects are present.