What is Moonwood?
The exclusive material used in Holz100 construction is called “moonwood“, which refers to the lunar phase in which it‘s harvested.
Such harvesting is an ancient method of preserving timber by cutting wood according to the phases of the moon. Like the tides of the ocean the moon also influences the rise and fall of the sap in a tree. The wood is cut in the autumn and winter months when trees are hibernating. During these months the sap in the tree is at its lowest in the days before the new moon. Harvesting at this crucial time is a simple and natural way of protecting the wood from insect and fungus, thus increasing its durability.
The trees are left to dry in the forest with their bark, the crown of the tree, and a few side branches with needles left intact. This reduces the amount of cracking & warping that occurs as the timber dries out. By propping the stem up and drying with branches and bark, the gravity helps the tree to pull the last traces of sap to its branches.
The exclusive material used in Holz100 construction is called “moonwood“, which refers to the lunar phase in which it‘s harvested.
Such harvesting is an ancient method of preserving timber by cutting wood according to the phases of the moon. Like the tides of the ocean the moon also influences the rise and fall of the sap in a tree. The wood is cut in the autumn and winter months when trees are hibernating. During these months the sap in the tree is at its lowest in the days before the new moon. Harvesting at this crucial time is a simple and natural way of protecting the wood from insect and fungus, thus increasing its durability.
The trees are left to dry in the forest with their bark, the crown of the tree, and a few side branches with needles left intact. This reduces the amount of cracking & warping that occurs as the timber dries out. By propping the stem up and drying with branches and bark, the gravity helps the tree to pull the last traces of sap to its branches.
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Benefits:
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Moonwood, harvested during the waning moon, has more bound water in its interior. This means that it contracts more tightly during the drying process and only shrinks to a marginal degree. This makes the wood denser, more resistant to compression and also more resistant to invasive fungi, insects and voracious flames. The advantage moonwood has in terms of density ranged from 5-7% over several thousand samples. From a technical point of view, this is a significant improvement compared to those that were not moonwood harvested.
"An old wooden chimney made a huge impression on me during my childhood... located in a 400 year old farmhouse in the Austrian alps. The charred wooden chimney started above an open fireplace at the main floor of the house built from wooden beams. The black chimney flue made from larch wood boards went through the ceiling.
I still remember why this wooden fireplace never caught fire! The reason was: the particular larch trees which were used to build it were cut at a very specific time according to the phase of the moon. I found this very intriguing and practical at the same time."
- Dr. Erwin Thoma, p.11-12 in "A Future with Natural Wood"
HISTORY
It’s not only the trees themselves that are able to reach ages which can exceed ours by a hundredfold: their wood can last undamaged for incredible periods of time. Take for example the wooden temples in Asia, which have survived not only centuries, but close to two millennia. Artfully built by Buddhist monks out of enormous tree trunks, such human monuments reveal all of the possibilities which lie hidden in trees.
But how does wood become a material which can withstand the toll of thousands of years of weather unscathed? Three things are responsible for making wood particularly durable. First, choosing properly grown trees; second, harvesting the wood at the right time, and, third, correctly storing, drying and processing the wood. In this section we would like to look at the harvesting time in more detail.
The sap being at its lowest and harvesting during a waning moon form the golden thread, which weaves its way through the historical relationship between man and trees. From Julius Caesar, to Pliny the Elder, to Theophrastus, there are records and reports of how trees were harvested only when the moon was waning. The proper felling time was known about in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance too. The fact that the same lunar rules crop up time and time again naturally gives the topic a lot of weight.
No Insects or Fungus
Swiss pine grows way up high over 2,000m above sea level, famous for the exquisite scent of its aromatic oils. For this reason it is often used for flour and corn chests. The flour worm can't stand the scent of the Swiss pine and in this way, the flour is protected. The wood keeps its scent and the effect it has on flour worms remains for many generations.
It is possible to increase the natural resistance of wood to insects and fungus. It starts right in the forest when selecting the trees carefully and timing their harvest correctly.
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RESEARCH
In 2003 a small research team at one of the most prestigious, technological universities in Europe, ETH Zurich, worked to establish a scientific proof. Prof. Ernst Zürcher conducted a research project which initially investigated the relationships between rhythms in time and plants in a broad context.
It was observed that the way beans swelled in water is not always the same, but in fact corresponds to the rhythm of the moon. As the moon waxes, the beans soak up more water, and as it wanes, they “drink” much less in the same time. The germination of seeds of different trees and plants was investigated as a function of the rhythm of the lunar phases. It was shown that the germination rate, germ rates, mean height and height of the plants correlate with the lunar phase after four months. A further investigation revealed that trees pulse exactly in time with the tides of the oceans as governed by the moon. When the moon is waxing, the trunks expand. When the moon is waning, they shrink again. The diameter of the trees grows and shrinks in rhythm with the ebb and flow – only by a few hundredths of a millimeter but measurable nonetheless.
The direct weathering tests carried out on wood samples, which were evaluated as part of the study at the ETH Zurich, were however decisive in proving the influence of the moon on construction timber. In the actual weathering test, in which a large number of mushroom spores collectively worked away on the wood, Prof. Zürcher investigated the validity of the old tree felling rules and was able to establish for the first time that moon wood is more durable and more resistant to weathering than conventionally harvested wood. In addition, he was also able to explain an important part of the underlying principle.
He discovered that water in wood is something quite different to water in a glass. The connection of the water and the wood cells, the movement of the liquid within the honeycomb pattern, cascades and the finest capillary tubes are subject to numerous physical influences. For example, water in the very finest of capillary tubes can assume a gelatinous aggregate state and remain liquid up to -15°C.
PDF Documents
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"Lunar Rhythms in Forestry Traditions - Lunar-correlated Phenomena in Tree Biology and Wood Properties" by Ernst Zurcher
Excerpt: " In each of these cases, felling at the “right date” is thought to be an important factor to ensure the required properties of the product. Moreover, the rafting of timber used to be limited to certain days of the Moon cycle, when the water was supposed to carry the wood in the best way. 
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"Considering reversible Variations in Wood Properties: possible Applications in the Choice of the Tree-Felling Date?" by Ernst Zurcher and Christian Rogenmoser
Excerpt: "Traditional knowledge, in form of so-called rural rules, indicates that the date of tree felling has an important influence on wood quality. The main factor, after the season of the year, is said to be the position of the moon. The objective of the presented project was to study the variability of some user-related properties of wood, by analyzing measurable parameters. "
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"Chronobiology of Trees and the Fourth Phase of Water" by Ernst Zurcher
Excerpt: "Among the different rhythms observed and statistically confirmed for 3 principle criteria was water loss, which for spruce varied systematically between the fellings just before the full moon and those just after. This type of variation is probably due not to differences in initial water content, but to the fact that the forces binding water to the cell walls of the ligneous tissue could be subject to fluctuations. "
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"Looking for differences in wood properties as a function of the felling date: lunar phase-correlated variations in the drying behavior of Norway Spruce and Sweet Chestnut" by Ernst Zurcher
Excerpt: "These lunar rhythmicities occur in both Picea and Castanea, in heartwood and sapwood. These results raise new questions and perspectives about a rhythmic character of the wood–water relation."
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"Lunar Rhythmicities in the Biology of Trees, Especially in the Germination of European Spruce: A New Statistical Analysis of Previously Published Data" by Ernst Zurcher and Rodolphe Schlaepfer
Excerpt: "Slight but statistically significant lunar rhythmicities were revealed by this new analysis. One of these fluctuations is found in the germination rate from sowings shortly before Full Moon, compared to those shortly before New Moon."
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"The Roman Farmer and the Moon" by Eugene Tavenner
Excerpt: " It was thus also with the Roman farmer. Long before the days when Latin literature began to furnish some reflection of early Italian life, the Roman farmer had made the rotation of the moon the basis of his calendar,1 and had perfected a rough and ready almanac which gave all sorts of information about planting, harvesting, and other farm activities to be performed during certain phases of the moon"
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"Tree-stem diameter fluctuates with the lunar tides and perhaps with geomagnetic activity" by Barlow, Mikulecky Sr., and Strestik
Excerpt: "In three cases, the geomagnetic Thule index showed a weak but reciprocal relationship with stem diameter variation, as well as a positive relationship with the lunisolar tidal force. In conclusion, it seems that lunar gravity alone could influence stem diameter variation and that, under certain circumstances, additional regulation may come from the geomagnetic flux."
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We highly recommend for you to read:
"A Future with Natural Wood"by Erwin Thoma
Traditional and Scientific Facts about Trees |
