Old Farmers Almanac - The Old Farmers Almanac 2014

Once (a Year) Is Not Enough

An almanac, according to MerriamWebsters Collegiate Dictionary, is a publication containing astronomical and meteorological data for a given year, and often including a miscellany of other information.

Certainly that describes this Almanac: Astronomical data? Absolutely. Meteorological data? Daily. For a given year? Preciselyand then some. Miscellany? More than most.

Indeed, we who labor to maintain this Almanacs place in our time and its purpose in modern life, as our predecessors did in their day, understand this genres components and its span. Each year, we aim to execute and so meet (or, perchance, exceed) readers expectations around the clock, in any weather, on any matter.

It was managements new idea, presented in a meeting last year, that we could not predict or, initially, fathom: a monthly Almanac. For an instant, time stopped. Then, as if on a ship in a storm, we, the editors, pitched and yawed against these winds of change, sensing to the depths of our beings that our anchor in tradition was irretrievably lost. (Dear reader, if you, too, are railing right now, we sympathize and urge restraint as you read on.)

Finally, sinking spirits paused to gasp for air. In that moment, managements second lightning bolt struck our masthead: The Almanac Monthly will be an e-bookand unique in the genre.

As details were unfurled, color returned to ashen faces. This muchloved annual would continue in this print form, with Calendar Pages intact, weather forecasts in full, miscellany unmatched, and more pages than ever.

The Almanac Monthly contains timely, seasonal, typical Almanac articles in full color about astronomy and calendar events, gardening, outdoors, food and cooking, home and home remedies, history, how-to, and more, plus (a first!) weather forecast updates. Whats more, the technology of the electronic magazines pages allows reading matter to be enriched with audio recordings as well as how-to and other videos. (To learn more or see for yourself go to Almanac.com/Monthly.)

While with the Almanac Monthly we may be bending the definition of the genre, we are also setting the course for our future and continuing the legacy of our founder, Robert B. Thomas. Be assured, however, that our goal and obligation in all of our endeavors remains the same: to make Almanacs that you, our loyal users, find consistently and unfailingly useful, with a pleasant degree of humor.

J. S., June 2013

However, it is by our works and not our words that we would be judged. These, we hope, will sustain us in the humble though proud station we have so long held in the name of

Your obedient servant,

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Compiled by Stacey Kusterbeck

Look for more of our cities and suburban areas to adopt codes that allow residents to keep chickens, goats, and other livestock more commonly found down on the farm.

Kirsten Conrad Buhls, extension agent, Fairlington Community Center, Arlington, Virginia

• peacotum: a reddish-yellow fruit that is part peach, apricot, and plum
• new varieties: crispier romaine lettuce, sweeter seedless watermelons, milder onions, and antioxidant-rich broccoli
• heirloom flours of ancient grains: einkorn, sorghum, millet, and teff
• corn that requires less water
• perennial grains, making annual plowing unnecessary
• seaweed on farms in the ocean, for use as food and biofuel

Managing invasive exotic plants, protecting streams from sediment runoff, and maintaining wildlife connectivity are providing benefits to the health of the land, livestock, and crops.

Thomas Woltz, principal, Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, New York City

• automated tractors that operate without a person behind the wheel
• robots with foam-padded hands that pick strawberries without bruising the fruit
• trucks with cameras to locate oranges and hydraulic arms to knock the fruit loose from the trees
• small, helicopter-like drones to fly over crops and transmit pictures that show farmers whether plants are healthy

• vertical farms in abandoned factories, with vegetables grown on small rafts floating on water, nourished by waste produced by fish (aka aquaponics).
• community orchards kept year-round by members who get to harvest the fruit for themselves
• community vegetable gardens on land occupied by apartment buildings, churches, fire stations, and businesses