THE 2018 OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC: GOOD NEWS WHEN WE NEED IT MOST

Many things come and go—celebrities, pop culture, and politicians, to name a few—but one revered standby has stayed strong in the hearts and minds of people across North America for centuries: The Old Farmer’s Almanac. This fall, The 2018 Old Farmer’s Almanac—its 226th consecutive annual edition!—is continuing the tradition by bringing to readers the latest in good news and great advice about the home, gardening, astronomy, food, and much more!

“The Old Farmer’s Almanac thrives because it stays true to its mission,” observes Editor Janice Stillman. “This Almanac is a calendar, a time capsule of the year, that aims to be of use to people of all walks of life, with information and insights that bear a pleasant degree of humor. We promote country values and traditional ideals—farm, family, and friends; home and hearth—because they are eternal and common to all.”

Whether its readers are flipping through paper pages or scrolling on a screen, The 2018 Old Farmer’s Almanac gives them all the news that’s as old as time but still essential to a good life today, including:

• The American Spirit: A special report on the future and faces of farming. Meet and hear from farmers who bring food to America’s tables.

• Mother Earth: Growing white “eggs,” cukey-cuties, and colorful corn. The promise of peonies. The answer to “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”

TO SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW OR REQUEST A REVIEW COPY, CONTACT:

Ginger Nikole Vaughan, ginger@quinnbrein.com206-842-8922

P L E A S E H O L D U N T I L T U E S D A Y , S E P T E M B E R 1 2

S P E C I A L R E P O R T S P E C I A L R E P O R T

1514 Raj Sinha photo: Amy Lobban

The Faces of Farmingcompiled by Stacey Kusterbeck

We reached out to some of America’s farmers and growers with these questions:

1. How or why did you become a farmer?

2. What is the hardest part of your job?

3. What is the best part of your job?

4. What is your favorite farming or gardening tradition?

5. What advice would you give someone who wants to be a farmer today?

6. What, in your opinion, is the future of farming?

Their answers speak to both changes underfoot and timeless traditions. (continued)

W A R R E N B R O C K M A N

A M A N D A F R E U N D

R A J S I N H A

J A M I E C R U Z

D E A N H U T T O K O L E N I E L S E N

K A T E B O W E N

K E N S U Z U K I

T E N I S I O

S E A N I M A

GARDEN ING

6362 Photos, from left: JasminkaM/Shutterstock; Doreen Wynja for Monrovia

A VISION IN A VASEPeonies make wonderful cut flowers, sometimes lasting more than a week. For best results, cut long stems when the buds are still fairly tight. Every day thereafter, snip off the bottoms of the stems to allow them to sip fresh water. (If a few ants come in on the buds, leave them alone.)

BY CYNTHIA VAN HAZINGA

M ost gardeners agree: Peonies are outrageously beautiful in bloom! They’re lusciously large and delicately dramatic in ex-

quisite pastel colors, always eliciting ooh-ahhs and awe from onlookers. What’s more, after the pom-pom flowers fade, their lush foliage lasts long into summer.

Named for Paeon, physician to the Greek gods, peonies (Paeonia spp.) have been val-ued for magical and medicinal properties for centuries. Legend has it that a peony poultice cured Pluto of a wound inflicted by Hercules.

When you plant peonies, you and they make a commitment. The plants will provide beautiful borders and sumptuous bouquets for years. (They have been known to thrive in the same spot for over a century!) You need only to give them a good start. (continued)

Had I but 4 square feet of ground at my disposal, I would plant a peony in the corner and proceed to worship.

–The Book of Peony (1917), by Alice Harding (c. 1846–1948)

‘Julia Rose’ peony

POP!AS A FOCAL POINT OR BORDER,

PEONIES PUT ON A SHOW.

PEONIES PROMISE

2017 SWEET POTATO RECIPE CONTEST

WINNERS

FOOD

78 Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; food stylist, Kellie Kelly; prop stylist, Jan Gautro

Many thanks to the hundreds of you who submitted recipes!

Enter this year’s recipe contest. See

page 267 for details.

FIRST PRIZE: $250

NO-CHURN SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE ICE CREAM

P. 257

SECOND PRIZE: $150

SWEET POTATO LENTIL COCONUT CURRY

P. 258

THIRD

PRIZE: $100

Roasted Garlic Sweet Potato Mac-’n-Cheese

P. 258

• The stars and skies: 33 “stellar” moments in history. The potential connection between a child’s birthday and personality.

• All things tasty and tantalizing: Serious sweet potato eats. How eating chicken became so popular. Foraging for fun and feasting. “Snackified” eating: here to stay?

• What tickles the funny bone: Chiffons—from Motown to baked goods to fluffy pups. How about some 2,000-year-old butter on that toast? The golf shot that takes an hour to land. Eight things that are guaranteed.

• Health and vitality: Foods as prescriptions. The real secret to weight loss. Slithering up to “snake oil.” Are you ready for “doga”?

And then there’s the weather: The winter forecast from the only prognosticator with traditionally 80 percent accuracy says that it’ll be much colder than last year, but still warmer than an average winter. The rain and snow will fall, though, with above-normal precipitation throughout most of the country. Perfect weather to stay inside with a good book—how about The Old Farmer’s Almanac?

The Old Farmer’s Almanac originates from Yankee Publishing Inc. in Dublin, New Hampshire. The Almanac’s editors also produce the Garden Guide, digital monthly magazine EXTRA!, calendars, and cookbooks such as Readers’ Best Recipes. Daily Almanac wit and wisdom is available through Almanac.com, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and the Amazon Echo and Google Home voice assistants.

Print editions of The 2018 Old Farmer’s Almanac are available for just $6.99 everywhere books and magazines are sold, as well as at

Almanac.com/Shop or by calling 800-ALMANAC. Save a tree by picking up the digital version via Almanac.com, the iTunes store, or Amazon.

18 Photos, from top: VR Home&Garden.com; NE Seed 19Photo: White Flower Farm

2 0 1 7 T R E N D S

P E O P L E A R E T A L K I N G A B O U T . . .• growing pink pumpkins to support breast cancer research: www.pinkpumpkinpatch.org

E X P E R T S ’ I D E A S F O R M A X I M U M E F F E C T• cherry and slicer tomatoes or flowers, veggies, and herbs (e.g., petunia, peppers, and cilantro) in a single container –Katie Rotella, Ball Horticultural

• interplanting spring greens with spring bulbs; incorporating artichokes or cardoons into annual plantings;

adding highbush blueberries to a mixed border. –Todd Forrest, horticulturalist, The New York Botanical Garden

• unusual or gourmet varieties: ‘Cucamelon’ and ‘Mother Mary’s Pie Melon’; compact plants: ‘Bush Crop’ cucumbers; ‘Silvery Fir Tree’, ‘Grushovka’, and ‘Russian Saskatchewan’ tomatoes. –Tanya Stefanec, Heritage Harvest Seed

P R O S ’ P I C K S• butterfly/bee attractors: ‘Ice Ballet’ swamp milkweed; ‘Gay Butterflies’ and ‘Hello Yellow’ butterfly weed; ‘Ava’ and ‘Blue Boa’ hyssops–Sonia Uyterhoeven, head of horticulture, Greenwood Gardens

• shade-suited Hydrangea arborescens ‘Haas’ Halo’; ‘Blushing Belle’, ‘Black Tulip’, and ‘Green Mile’ late-flowering magnolia cultivars; fragrant and disease-resistant roses, e.g., ‘Summer Romance’ –Todd Forrest

• ‘Royal Hawaiian Maui Gold’ and ‘Black Magic’ elephant ears –Duane Otto, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

O P T I O N S F O R E A S E• subscription services for seeds, artisanal

microgreens, heirloom bulbs, and plants

• apps that use GPS to recommend plants suited to a garden’s specific terrain, trees and structures, and sun and shade

(continued)

2018 TRENDS FORECASTS, FACTS, AND FASCINATING IDEAS THAT DEFINE OUR LIFE AND TIMESCompiled by Stacey Kusterbeck

IN THE GARDEN

Plant identification apps are out. Virtual reality designers are in.

In 2018, we will see the use of technology in the garden like never before.

–Katie Dubow, Garden Media Group B Y T H E N U M B E R S

In United States:

$401: average spent by households on backyard or

balcony gardening in 2015

36% of households

grew food

34% of households grew flowers

–National Gardening Survey

B Y T H E N U M B E R S

In Canada:

57% of households

grew fruit, herbs, vegetables, or

flowers:

4% participated

in community gardens

81% gardened in yards

30% gardened on

balconies

22% gardened indoors

–2013 Households and the Environment Survey,

released in 2015‘HAAS’ HALO’ HYDRANGEA

‘PORCELAIN DOLL’ PINK PUMPKIN

B U Z Z W O R DNaturescaping: growing native plants to attract birds, insects, and other wildlife

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NATURE NATURE

8180 Photos: Thinkstock; opposite page, Kymme/Shutterstock

Edible adventures are at your feet.

BY MARTIE MAJOROS

FORAGE F O R F U N A N D F E A S T I N G

F oraging—finding food in the wild—is a timeless tradition. Today, the foraging trend is gaining popularity as more people are seeking fresh,

locally grown, “free” foods. With a little practice, knowledge, and a good identification guide, you can find ingredients for your next meal in nearby fields, woods, and—if you’re lucky—even your own backyard. Dig in!

Look for WATERCRESS (Nasturtium officinale) near bodies of water. It can be found in every state and much of southern Canada. Although often considered a harbinger of spring, it can be picked year-round in some locations. Carefully cut the edible leaves at the surface of the water; be careful not to pull up the roots. Use in salads, soups, and sandwiches. (continued)

WATERCRESS

Nasturtium officinale

B Y S H E R Y L N O R M A N D E A U

G ot a favorite vegetable? Ev-erybody has a few. They’re the ones that we grow ev-

ery year for all of the right reasons: They produce reliably, taste great, and keep or cook up wonderfully. Grow them again—but also set the seeds of a surprise or two for the kid in you (or those of any age). This sea-son, make space for one or a few of these uncommon and uncommonly good-tasting crops!

Ediblesfor the

Kid in You

PRECIOUS KERNELSEvery garden has hidden jewels, but none sparkles quite like ‘Carl’s Glass Gem’ corn. Each ear fairly glows with brilliant blue, green, pink, white, yel-low, or purple kernels. Named for Carl “White Eagle” Barnes, a Chero-kee farmer from Oklahoma who spent decades breeding species of corn with significance to the indigenous peoples who lived in the area, glass gem corn is quick to mature and harvestable in 110 to 120 days. It is best used as a flour corn, although kernels can be popped (the kernels do not keep their amaz-ing colors after popping, but they are tastier than other popping corns).

(continued)

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