| Gardening and Farming Trends
Get the latest forecasts, facts, and fascinating ideas that define our life and times, then decide for yourself if you’re ready to take the plunge into the future (which is eerily similar to the past in some cases!). |  |
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Dear Tentative Trendwatcher,
100 years ago, in the 1919 edition of the The Old Farmer’s Almanac, trends in gardening focused on the proper preparation and cultivation of the soil for gardening, which could be secured with the right equipment and intelligent use of garden tools. What were those tools? “A hoe, light grub hoe, spading fork, shovel, rake, crowbar, hand cultivator, weeder, and trowel.” And what would all those tools get you? We said, “With all of these tools in one’s possession, gardening should become a profitable and healthful pastime.”
While still true, today’s trends are very different.
Today, people are playing computer games in which players sample an agricultural career. They are “renting” a farm animal, beehive, or maple tree; getting photos of its growth cycles; and, eventually, consuming its harvest. And in cities, indoor farming technology is helping urban agriculture to evolve and develop. People are looking for lifestyle-friendly, plant-related projects that cater to short attention spans and hectic schedules.
And we’re taking our gardens online. Gardeners are looking for bold, tropical foliage with unique colors, shapes, and patterns that look great on social media. Indoor hydroponic gardens are Internet-connected, and our homes have “breathing rooms” filled with plants to clean the air and clear our minds. We could be living with the Jetsons! |
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| Special Charter Membership Offer for You—
Introducing The Old Farmer's Almanac Gardening Club! |
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The “Gardening Club” is really an incredible value!
Just $19.97—That’s a 62% savings! | |
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| It’s Not All Futuristic Flora | Between these two extremes lie some hopeful facts and trends about our relationship with gardens and farming. Some of these “trends” sound more like things that our grandparents would recognize, albeit with a modern twist. Did you know that “ecotherapy” is gaining popularity? As you might guess, ecotherapy is interacting with nature to treat conditions like anxiety, depression, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
Another buzzword we’ve seen is “agrihood.” An agrihood is a community where fruit and vegetables are grown for the residents to consume. Meanwhile, over 114,000 U.S. farms sell directly to consumers.
We’re also making better use of our space by planting pollinator gardens on “hellstrips”—patches of grass between roads and sidewalks. And we’ve finally realized that “pests” are actually helpful in the garden, with new trends that include letting rabbits eat dandelions and using tachinid flies to manage insects.
Many gardeners are composting and reducing their footprint in an effort to reduce waste. Mini-farms are showing up on rooftops, and all those “imperfect” fruits are being pressed into juices. |
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 | | What ARE We Planting? | Hardiness is in high demand. Gardeners want plants that can stand up to extreme weather. In regions with high winds, we’re planting native grasses, evergreens, and yarrow. For areas prone to flooding, bayberry, ferns, and shrubs are in vogue. In regions subject to drought, fennel, the date palm, iris, and poppies are all the rage.
City dwellers are going with Burpee’s Space Saver series: ‘Patio Baby’ eggplants, ‘Tidy Treats’ small-fruit tomatoes, or ‘Tangerine Dream’ sweet peppers. Edible flowers are popular, too, with pansies and nasturtiums in salads and pot marigold (calendula) and impatiens in ice cubes. (Those are some frigid flowers!) | | The Circle of Trends | | 100 years ago, no one could have imagined some of these gardening and farming trends. Nor could they have imagined that it would be unusual to eat food grown on nearby farms. You certainly weren’t going to get your produce from the other side of the country! This year’s Almanac has page after page of trends, from the absurd (you won’t believe how much we spend on dog-walking) to the creepy (guess how many Americans would be willing to live in a haunted house?) to everything in between. But you’ll have to get your own copy to read them all! |
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| Special Charter Membership Offer for You—
Introducing The Old Farmer's Almanac Gardening Club! |
|
The “Gardening Club” is really an incredible value!
Just $19.97—That’s a 62% savings! | |
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| Tap into the deep well of resources at The Old Farmer’s Almanac for a bountiful harvest of gardening tips and tools—with a Charter Membership in The Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Club! | Announcing The Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Club! This new and exciting club is designed especially for you—with just the inspiration and information you need for all your gardening projects!
We’ve put together essential Old Farmer’s Almanac resources to celebrate your love of gardening and give you tons of tips for making your next gardening project as lush and lovely as it can be. And it all starts, of course, with The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
You’ll be prepared for any gardening project. Whether you garden for food, for flowers, or just for fun, a Charter Membership in The Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Club will keep you entertained, informed, and inspired all year long!
Since 1792, The Old Farmer’s Almanac has been a traditional resource for dedicated farmers, avid and casual gardeners, folks who like to get a long view on upcoming weather trends, and people who love to collect little snippets of country wit and wisdom that they can share with family and friends.
We’re not just the oldest published almanac, but the oldest continuously published periodical in North America— and we’ve been around longer than any newspaper or magazine, too. |
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| Special Charter Membership Offer for You—
Introducing The Old Farmer's Almanac Gardening Club! |
|
The “Gardening Club” is really an incredible value!
Just $19.97—That’s a 62% savings! | |
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| Get your Charter Membership in The Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Club today—with resources to inspire you in the garden. From time-honored country gardening tips to modern garden gadgets, come share in the bountiful harvest! | With your Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Club Charter Membership, you get everything you need to keep your garden at its greenest:
- Our new Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Guide—packed with no-nonsense tips, tricks, and shortcuts to make your garden a jewel in the neighborhood or out in the country. Grow food and herbs you love, surround yourself with spectacular flowers, and get tips on the latest gardening tech!
- 2019 Gardening Wall Calendar: Our perennial best-seller for over 40 years! Rich illustrations accompany useful gardening tips on everything from planting to preserving.
- The special softcover, hangable edition of The Old Farmer’s Almanac, loaded with the tips, trivia, and insights that make it a family favorite.
- The Old Farmer’s Almanac EXTRA! Our monthly digital magazine includes articles on gardening, food and other content not found in the print edition. It’s a great way to keep up-to-date on Almanacky topics throughout the year.
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| Special Charter Membership Offer for You—
Introducing The Old Farmer's Almanac Gardening Club! |
|
The “Gardening Club” is really an incredible value!
Just $19.97—That’s a 62% savings! | |
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| An Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Club Charter Membership will deliver exciting rewards for you—and at a special introductory rate, right now, for all new Charter Members. | When you join today, you’ll ensure that you are planting the seeds of success for your garden when you tap into the time-honored wisdom of The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Enjoy all these benefits as an Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Club Charter Member:
- Your best garden ever—Almanac gardening advice, planting dates, timesaving tips, and detailed guidance from experts will get you growing like never before.
- You’ll know in advance about every important astronomical event in 2019—and how the phase of the Moon can influence the success of your garden.
- You’ll save time and money when you follow all of the practical advice and tips that we deliver to you about everything from gardening to food preparation and cooking.
- You’ll be the first to know about top tips, tricks, and shortcuts for taking your garden from good to great.
- You’ll learn more about gardening gadgets and gear that can make your work in the garden even more enjoyable.
- You’ll discover new approaches to planting—for color, for purpose, for stress relief.
- Whether you’re a beginning gardener or a skilled green thumb, you’ll find do-it-yourself projects to fit your schedule—and your garden.
How can you not consider becoming an Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Club Charter Member? | | What You’ll Get With an Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Club Charter Membership | There’s so much gardening knowledge to gain as a Charter Member of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Club:
In the convenient, hangable, softcover edition of the 2019 Almanac, you’ll find a bumper crop of gardening tips. Many gardeners consider the Almanac their most valuable tool, so this year, for all of you trying to grow food, we’ve got foolproof advice that promises a harvest the first year and every one thereafter. Perhaps you grow flowers—or want to: In the 2019 Almanac, you’ll learn which flowers are edible, when to pick them, and how to use them (e.g., pick apple blossoms in late spring and sprinkle them onto a Waldorf salad and use impatiens all summer long as a garnish).
But that’s not all. Here’s a taste of other tips you’ll find in the 2019 Almanac:
- The Faces of Farming: ambitious folks from across the country tell about how they got started, hurdles they faced, and the rewards of working the land.
- Best days for planting, pruning, weeding, grafting, and controlling pests, plus the easiest-ever soil test (all you need is a pair of men’s clean, white, 100% cotton underwear and a small shovel).
- Daily weather forecasts for all regions of the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.
- Fresh new ways to savor the asparagus, beet, corn, and cucumber harvests, with “The ABCs of Pickling!”
- Easy, delicious, Almanac prize-winning recipes using oranges.
Each month, you’ll get new articles and original content with our digital magazine, The Old Farmer’s Almanac EXTRA! It’s a treasure trove of Almanac information that you won’t find in the printed edition, including audio and video content. EXTRA! leads you to some interactive fun when you’re ready for a change of pace. |
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| Special Charter Membership Offer for You—
Introducing The Old Farmer's Almanac Gardening Club! |
|
The “Gardening Club” is really an incredible value!
Just $19.97—That’s a 62% savings! | |
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As you count the days until you can get out and garden again, enjoy the rich illustrations in our Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Calendar. This compact calendar is the perfect size to fit on the wall in your kitchen, den, or potting shed. Each month features rich, full-color illustrations along with tips, history, or background information on the artwork.
Here are just a few of the tips you can find in our 2019 Gardening Calendar:
- Start an indoor herb garden (no waiting for the last frost!).
- Choose the perfect fast-growing ground cover.
- Enhance your garden’s growth by inviting beneficial fauna.
- Pick the perfect time to plant peas—based on fact and folklore.
- Build your own bog—in a garden container!
- Find out why ladybugs are such great garden friends.
- Grow your own flower garden designed to create custom fabric dyes.
- Praying mantises: helpers or hindrances in the garden?
- As you do your garden planning, save some space for flying saucer squash.
You’ll love the advice, folklore, and gardening secrets in our 2019 Gardening Wall Calendar!
As you count the days until you can expect the last frost, peruse the pages of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Guide for tips on how to grow better, naturally!
From the practical to the ornamental, plan your prolific garden with some of these tips:
- Plant edibles indoors and out, no matter how small your space is.
- Create a fun foodscape (or: How to get beyond the basic lawn).
- Get your garden off to a good start with tips on successful seedlings.
- The plants that keep on giving: Pick perennials to serve up year after year.
- Serve up your harvest in style with recipes that will let you savor the flavor of homegrown food.
And all of this is available to you—right now—when you claim your Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Club Charter Membership. |
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| Special Charter Membership Offer for You—
Introducing The Old Farmer's Almanac Gardening Club! |
|
The “Gardening Club” is really an incredible value!
Just $19.97—That’s a 62% savings! | |
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62%-OFF Charter Offer for You—Join Today!
When you respond today, you’ll be among a select group of Almanac friends to take advantage of this special Gardening Club Charter Membership offer.
With your Charter Membership, you’ll receive The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Guide, The Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Calendar, The 2019 Old Farmer’s Almanac, and a subscription to our monthly digital magazine, The Old Farmer’s Almanac EXTRA!
Plant the seeds of success for your garden today—with this incredible deal!
This is a limited-time offer that you should take advantage of right now. |
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When we first created the Gardening Club, we wanted to make it easy to use, easy to order, and packed with valuable gardening content that you could put to use right away. Be the best gardener you can be with your Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Club Charter Membership.
Sincerely,
Janice Stillman
Editor, The Old Farmer’s Almanac
P.S. Why not be among the first to join us today and benefit from the valuable Almanac gardening information that you can’t get anywhere else? Become an Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Club Charter Member today—while this special offer lasts! |
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| Special Charter Membership Offer for You—
Introducing The Old Farmer's Almanac Gardening Club! |
|
The “Gardening Club” is really an incredible value!
Just $19.97—That’s a 62% savings! | |
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