Southern hemisphere

August 2026

Moon planting calendar — 6 root days, 9 leaf days, 9 flower days and 7 fruit days.

🌏 Southern hemisphereSwitch to northern
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Full moon

28 August

🌑

New moon

12 August

🌱

Good sowing days

11 days

The moon passes through all twelve signs of the zodiac each month, and biodynamic growers match what they sow to the element the moon is travelling through. In August 2026 the moon is ascending in southern skies — the traditional time for sowing and grafting — on 13 days. The strongest sowing dates fall on the 9, 11, 12 and 8 other days. Days marked in the table below sit near a lunar node or perigee, when traditional practice is to leave the soil alone.

Southern hemisphere. Moon phases and day types are the same the world over — a root day in Sussex is a root day in Canterbury. What changes is that ascending and descending are reversed, because the moon climbs southern skies as its declination moves south, and the sowing lists follow southern seasons.

Day-by-day moon planting calendar for August 2026 — southern hemisphere
DateMoon phaseSignDay typeSow or rest
1Sat Waning gibbous92% Aquarius🌸 Flower DayDescending — transplant and prune
2Sun Waning gibbous85% Pisces🥬 Leaf DayDescending — transplant and prune
3Mon Waning gibbous77% Pisces🥬 Leaf DayDescending — transplant and prune
4Tue Waning gibbous67% Pisces🥬 Leaf DayDescending — transplant and prune
5Wed Waning gibbous57% Aries🍅 Fruit DayDescending — transplant and prune
6Thu Last quarter45% Aries🍅 Fruit DayDescending — transplant and prune
7Fri Waning crescent34% Taurus🌱 Root DayDescending — transplant and prune
8Sat Waning crescent24% Taurus🌱 Root DayDescending — transplant and prune
9Sun Waning crescent14% Gemini🌸 Flower DayAscending — sow and graft
10Mon Waning crescent7% Gemini🌸 Flower DayPerigee — avoid sowing
11Tue Waning crescent2% Cancer🥬 Leaf DayAscending — sow and graft
12Wed New moon0% Cancer🥬 Leaf DayAscending — sow and graft
13Thu Waxing crescent1% Leo🍅 Fruit DayLunar node — avoid sowing
14Fri Waxing crescent4% Leo🍅 Fruit DayAscending — sow and graft
15Sat Waxing crescent10% Virgo🌱 Root DayAscending — sow and graft
16Sun Waxing crescent17% Virgo🌱 Root DayAscending — sow and graft
17Mon Waxing crescent25% Libra🌸 Flower DayAscending — sow and graft
18Tue Waxing crescent34% Libra🌸 Flower DayAscending — sow and graft
19Wed Waxing crescent44% Libra🌸 Flower DayAscending — sow and graft
20Thu First quarter54% Scorpio🥬 Leaf DayAscending — sow and graft
21Fri Waxing gibbous63% Scorpio🥬 Leaf DayAscending — sow and graft
22Sat Waxing gibbous72% Sagittarius🍅 Fruit DayDescending — transplant and prune
23Sun Waxing gibbous80% Sagittarius🍅 Fruit DayDescending — transplant and prune
24Mon Waxing gibbous87% Sagittarius🍅 Fruit DayDescending — transplant and prune
25Tue Waxing gibbous93% Capricorn🌱 Root DayDescending — transplant and prune
26Wed Waxing gibbous97% Capricorn🌱 Root DayDescending — transplant and prune
27Thu Waxing gibbous100% Aquarius🌸 Flower DayLunar node — avoid sowing
28Fri Full moon100% Aquarius🌸 Flower DayDescending — transplant and prune
29Sat Waning gibbous98% Aquarius🌸 Flower DayDescending — transplant and prune
30Sun Waning gibbous94% Pisces🥬 Leaf DayDescending — transplant and prune
31Mon Waning gibbous88% Pisces🥬 Leaf DayDescending — transplant and prune

What to sow in August

🌱 Root Days6 in August

Best for root vegetables — carrots, beetroot, potatoes, onions

🥬 Leaf Days9 in August

Best for leafy greens — lettuce, spinach, chard, herbs for leaf

🌸 Flower Days9 in August

Best for flowering plants, brassicas and herbs

🍅 Fruit Days7 in August

Best for fruiting plants — tomatoes, courgettes, beans, apples

Ready to harvest in August

Want the reasoning behind all this? The biodynamic growing guide covers the day types, the eight preparations and where the practice came from.