Soils and water

Made a last planting of "red ace" beets last night on soil so dry it refused to absorb water when I irrigated it afterwards.  Finally after several sessions, it began to take in the water.  I guess that particular corner of the garden is somewhat sandy and many applications of compost have enabled it to hold water pretty well.  The extended dryness this summer sucked virtually all the moisture out of the top several inches of soil.  When this happens, the soil repels water until some portion of the organic matter becomes saturated.  That is one reason it is so hard to get a bale of dried peat moss to accept water initially.  Once the peat becomes soggy it holds huge amounts of water which enables it to support plant growth far longer than soils without that capacity.  After planting yesterday, I noticed the full moon, which should help with germination, at least according to the Farmer's Almanac.  I will post when I notice the first seedlings emerge, hopefully within the week.