Planting by the Moon

A Natural Guide to a Great Garden!

Planting by the Moon is such an easy way to have gardening success!
When you plant on a good Moon day the Earth accepts your seeds or plants…
and they thrive!
Plant on a poor Moon Day, the Earth rejects them and your plants grow poorly. 
Follow the guide below for a bountiful, beautiful garden!  

🌙 September 2026 — Planting by the Moon

Zone 8A

🌙 Moon Phases

DateMoon Phase
September 1–3Waning Gibbous 🌖
September 4Last Quarter 🌗
September 5–9Waning Crescent 🌘
September 10New Moon 🌑
September 11–17Waxing Crescent 🌒
September 18First Quarter 🌓
September 19–25Waxing Gibbous 🌔
September 26Full Harvest Moon 🌕
September 27–30Waning Gibbous 🌖

For Virginia, the New Moon occurs September 10 at 11:27 p.m., First Quarter September 18 at 4:43 p.m., and the Harvest Moon September 26 at 12:49 p.m.

📆 September Moon Planting Details

🌖 September 1–3 — Waning Gibbous

Focus: ROOTS & FALL CROPS

This is a nice window for getting underground crops established.

Direct sow:

  • 🥕 Carrots
  • ❤️ Beets
  • 🌱 Turnips
  • Kohlrabi
  • Rutabagas

Also work on:

  • Dividing established perennial herbs
  • Adding compost
  • Preparing beds for fall greens
  • Mulching newly planted areas

Virginia Tech’s Zone 8A calendar specifically puts beets and turnips from Sept. 1–Oct. 1, carrots through Sept. 10, and kohlrabi Sept. 1–Oct. 1.

🌗 September 4 — Last Quarter

Garden Maintenance Day

Concentrate on:

  • Pulling weeds
  • Removing diseased foliage
  • Turning compost
  • Cleaning empty beds
  • Refreshing mulch
  • Harvesting summer vegetables

It’s also a good time to assess which summer plants are still worth keeping and which beds can become fall-growing space.

🌘 September 5–9 — Waning Crescent

Focus: SOIL, ROOTS & PREPARATION

Continue sowing:

  • Carrots
  • Beets
  • Turnips
  • Rutabagas
  • Kohlrabi

Prepare beds for:

  • Lettuce
  • Mustard
  • Kale
  • Collards
  • Spinach later in the month

🌿 Herb work: Divide established chives, oregano, thyme and other hardy perennial herbs if needed, keeping divisions well watered while September remains warm.

🌑 September 10 — New Moon

Fresh Fall-Garden Cycle

This is the turning point into our waxing-moon planting period.

Prepare to sow:

  • 🥬 Lettuce
  • Mustard greens
  • Kale
  • Collards
  • Swiss chard
  • Asian greens

September 10 is also right around the end of Virginia Tech’s recommended Zone 8A window for carrots, cauliflower and rutabagas, so get those in promptly if they’re still on your list.

🌒 September 11–17 — Waxing Crescent

Focus: LEAFY CROPS 🌿

This is one of my favorite September planting windows.

Direct Sow

  • 🥬 Leaf lettuce
  • Mustard greens
  • Arugula
  • Bok choy
  • Swiss chard
  • Kale
  • Collards

Transplant

  • Broccoli
  • Chinese cabbage
  • Kale
  • Collards

Broccoli and Chinese cabbage remain within Virginia Tech’s recommended Zone 8A fall planting window through about September 20.

Herbs

Try:

  • Cilantro
  • Dill
  • Parsley

Cilantro especially appreciates the cooler weather that’s coming.

🌓 September 18 — First Quarter

Strong Leaf-Growth Period

Continue sowing:

  • Lettuce
  • Kale
  • Collards
  • Mustard
  • Swiss chard
  • Asian greens

💧 Keep seedbeds consistently moist. September soil can still become surprisingly hot and dry, and tiny fall vegetable seeds shouldn’t be allowed to dry out during germination.

🌔 September 19–25 — Waxing Gibbous

Focus: FALL GREENS

Now we can add another important crop:

🌱 SPINACH!

Virginia Tech recommends beginning fall spinach around September 20 in Zone 8A, continuing into November.

Also sow:

  • Lettuce
  • Mustard greens
  • Kale
  • Collards
  • Arugula
  • Swiss chard

And plant radishes. Their recommended Zone 8A fall window begins around September 10 and runs into October.

🌕 September 26 — Full Harvest Moon

This is a wonderful seasonal marker. 🌕🌾

Harvest the Garden

Gather:

  • Tomatoes
  • Peppers
  • Eggplant
  • Okra
  • Late beans
  • Squash
  • Herbs

🌿 Herbal Harvest

Depending on what is thriving in your garden, gather:

  • Holy Basil/Tulsi
  • Peppermint
  • Lemon Balm
  • Sage
  • Thyme
  • Oregano
  • Rosemary
  • Calendula flowers

For best drying quality, harvest leafy herbs on a dry morning after the dew has evaporated but before the hottest part of the day.

And, of course, the Harvest Moon sounds like a mighty fine excuse for a CA & J Farm drum circle! 🌕🪘

🌖 September 27–30 — Waning Gibbous

Back to the Roots

Finish September by planting:

  • 🥕 Beets
  • Turnips
  • Radishes
  • Kohlrabi

Continue:

  • Composting
  • Mulching
  • Dividing hardy perennials
  • Cleaning spent summer beds

Beets, turnips and kohlrabi can generally continue through about October 1 in the Virginia Tech Zone 8A schedule, while radishes can continue considerably later.

🌿 What to Plant in September — Zone 8A

Root crops: carrots early in the month, beets, turnips, rutabagas, kohlrabi and radishes.

Leafy crops: lettuce, kale, collards, mustard greens, Swiss chard, spinach beginning around Sept. 20, arugula and other Asian greens.

Transplants: broccoli early-to-mid month, cabbage early month, Chinese cabbage and cauliflower early month.

🌿 September Herbs

September’s cooler weather gives us another chance with herbs that dislike Virginia’s midsummer heat.

Plant or sow:

  • 🌿 Cilantro
  • Dill
  • Parsley
  • Chives

Continue harvesting:

  • Basil/Tulsi
  • Sage
  • Thyme
  • Oregano
  • Rosemary
  • Lemon Balm
  • Mint

Don’t pull all that flowering basil yet! Let a few plants bloom for late-season bees before collecting seed. 🐝

🌼 Flowers & Pollinators

September is an important transition month for pollinators.

Keep blooming plants such as:

  • Goldenrod
  • Asters
  • Zinnias
  • Cosmos
  • Tithonia
  • Sedum

And resist the urge to make every garden bed perfectly tidy. Leaving some seed heads and stems provides food and habitat as wildlife prepares for winter.

🌞 September Garden Wisdom for Zone 8A

September is really two gardening seasons happening at once.

You’re still harvesting the summer garden—tomatoes, peppers, okra and herbs—while the fall garden is coming alive with kale, broccoli, lettuce, carrots and turnips.

One particularly useful tip: don’t wait for cool weather before planting the fall garden. Many crops need to be established before temperatures drop significantly. Virginia Tech notes that shorter days and cooler fall temperatures increase the time crops need to mature.

And keep some row cover handy later in the season. Virginia Tech notes that row covers and cold frames can extend the expected growing window by roughly 2–4 weeks.

🌕 September’s Thought

The Harvest Moon is a lovely reminder of the rhythm you’ve been following all year:

🌱 Plant with hope.
🌞 Tend with patience.
🌕 Harvest with gratitude.
🤲 And always save enough to share.July 29th Full Buck Moon

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