IT'S the spring when we see more sun, but it's the moon that really hails the spring and Easter.

Easter is associated with a time of miracles - either of man or nature.

It's that time of year that us gardeners dream about, when there is always something to do, often with the sun on your back and the chorus of birdsong all around.

To many religious people, it marks a time to reaffirm faith and marvel at miracles.

To those of a more secular belief, it's a time to rejoice in the end of winter and look forward to the coming of summer.

Easter was long celebrated as a festival based on the sun and lunar calendar - Eostre to the Saxons and Purim to the Jews - where Ester defeats Haman to protect her people.

The measure for all these festivals was the moon, or mas' or ma' in sandskrit, which also means to measure'.

But it is to women that we look to see how the measuring was done. It is basically the female menstrual cycle of 28 days that gives 13 periods in 364 days - the solar equivalent of 52 weeks - hence the link with human activity and the night sky and the phases of the moon.

This is why Easter is the moveable feast', ie the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the Vernal Equinox, the time of equal light to darkness.

Which finally brings us to gardening.

The equinox was the time to plant new crops, a time of fertility and rebirth, and many ancient symbols of this such as rabbits, hares and eggs are still used today.

Here in Tatton's gardens, much work has already been done up to the equinox in preparation for these annual sowings - February and March being ideal for these.

Although seed sowing is almost continuous, as vegetable gardeners firmly rooted in the past, we are well aware of the power of the moon on the germination and growing on of various crops.

The rule of thumb says that planting crops that produce above ground on a rising will produce better yields, and planting crops that produce below ground on a waning moon will also produce better ones.

These findings are borne out of old sayings such as plant your potatoes during the dark side of the moon' and plan seeds within 48 hours before a full moon'!

Our own experiences are of much better and quicker germinations of crops such as peas, beans, onions and cabbages using these facts, and we shall continue to do so, as it takes many a year before you can truly be certain.

Much of the moon's power on living things is still quite a mystery to modern science, but it is a fact that soil moisture levels are greatly affected by the moon's power, just as they are in controlling the tides.

It is the use of such knowledge that we can become more effective organic gardeners and it is a hope that as we move towards a more sustainable fortune, we can use the power of the moon not only to tell us when Easter is, but to help us grow our food.

Happy spring!