Garlic Prep and Moons

Well I fully intended to prepare my garlic bed last weekend and that's about how far I got. Folklore says you should plant crops at the full moon. In my area, garlic should be planted in October or November. This year the October full moon will be the Harvest Moon because it falls the closest to the fall equinox (this won't happen again until 2017), usually the Harvest moon is in September and October is the Hunters Moon.

Anyway, I think October 4th is to early to plant the garlic so I'm going to wait for the Hunters Moon on Nov 2nd. I fully intend to have my beds prepared by then. I am thinking of putting an informal one on the hill outside my kitchen window just at the edge of the woods. This ground should be so fertile and with a little sand amended I think it might be perfect. I am going to use the bed next to this years garlic bed that belonged to the wererabbit (who did not bother the garden at all....giving him a few veggies of his own protected our spring bed.) Then I'm going to build a Salsa and Pickle garden in the front field. My daughter loved the salsa this year and it rekindled our idea to grow our own fixin's next year. The Princess also loves pickles and she'd like to put up her own pickles next year - so why not....anyway so that's two new beds, an informal bed for garlic and strawberries (ehhh that doesn't sound good together....) and that should be it for the fall tasks.....besides harvesting more sunflower seeds before the birds get them all. I am afraid to pick them to early because they aren't mature enough but the birds are sure getting after them....has anyone checked out the caterpillar coats, is there going to be a rough winter this year? Is that why the birds are so hungry or are they just pigs?