Long before modern forecasting, farmers and gardeners planted by the phases of the moon, and the tradition endures in many growing communities today. The core idea divides the lunar month into phases and matches each to a type of task. Whatever your view on the science, the moon calendar is a time-honoured rhythm many growers still swear by, and our live moon phase page shows exactly where tonight falls in the cycle.
For anyone planting tender crops, frost is the single most important piece of weather to watch, because a single hard frost can undo a season's work overnight. The critical period is spring, when the last frost of the season is a moving target that determines when it is safe to plant out tender seedlings, and autumn, when the first frost signals the end of the growing season for many crops. Frost forms most readily on clear, calm, dry nights, when the ground radiates its heat freely to a cloudless sky and there is no wind to mix warmer air down — which is exactly why the coldest mornings often follow the most beautiful still evenings. The live check above uses the forecast minimum temperature to flag frost risk for your location over the coming week.
Seeds germinate not by the calendar but by soil temperature, and sowing too early into cold ground is a common cause of failure, as seeds simply rot rather than sprout. Cool-season crops like peas, lettuce and brassicas will germinate in soil around 7 to 10°C, while warm-season crops like beans, corn and squash need the soil closer to 15 to 18°C before they will reliably come up. Air temperature warms faster than soil in spring, so patient growers wait for the ground itself to warm, often testing it in the morning before the day's heat. A warm, settled spell that persists rather than a single warm afternoon is what genuinely lifts soil temperature into the sowing window.
Rainfall shapes the whole farming calendar. Soil that is too wet cannot be worked without damaging its structure, compacting it in ways that harm it for a whole season, so growers wait for it to drain to a workable state after heavy rain. Freshly sown seed and young transplants benefit from gentle moisture, making the settled, lightly damp days after rain ideal for planting. At the other end of the season, the harvest of many crops — hay and grain especially — depends on a run of dry weather to bring the crop in and store it without spoilage, which is why farmers watch the medium-range forecast so closely as harvest approaches. Our 7-day forecast and spraying conditions tool both help you find the right windows.
Wind matters to growers in several ways. For anyone applying treatments, the wind decides whether spraying is safe and legal — too much wind causes drift onto neighbouring crops, while dead calm risks a temperature inversion that carries fine droplets unpredictably far, so a light, steady breeze is ideal. Strong winds also physically damage tall crops, dry out soil and transpiring plants, and can strip blossom from fruit trees at exactly the wrong moment. Understanding your land's exposure and its sheltered spots — its microclimates — lets you place tender crops where the wind will trouble them least.