The Old Farmer’s Almanac has been around since 1792. To give tribute to its long and honorable history, we are pleased to present The Old Farmer’s Almanac Documentary to our readers.
Sit back and enjoy stories about this Almanac’s origins, history, and odd moments along its path to North America’s most popular reference book and oldest continuously published periodical.
In the words of our founder, Robert B. Thomas, we hope you find it, “useful with a pleasant degree of humor!”
Click here to watch Part 2.
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I am curious to know how long the Farmer's Almanac has had people submit recipes and their own original, brief essays? Please advise!
Hi, Marjorie. Thanks for your interest in The Old Farmer’s Almanac. We have been doing those contests since the late 1970s.
I am curious as to whether or naught The Old Farmer's Almanac had any ideas of the ensuing drought that would usher in the Dust Bowl?
Is the farmers almanac research based primarily on astrology and nothing beyond that?
Great question! Do you mean how we prepare our long-range weather predictions? These do not use astrology. Instead, they are based on a formula from our founder, Robert B. Thomas, and only use the scientific disciplines of solar science, climatology, and meteorology. We predict weather trends and events by comparing solar patterns and historical weather conditions with current solar activity. Our forecasts emphasize temperature and precipitation deviations from averages, or normals. These are based on 30-year statistical averages prepared by government meteorological agencies and updated every 10 years.
The times of sunset/sunrise, planetary conjunctions, eclipses, etc.--are all based on astronomy, not astrology.
We do offer astrology-based information in our astrology section, which features the Moon's astrological place (please note, this is different from the Moon's astronomical place mentioned on the Calendar pages), the Best Days to do various tasks, such as prune to encourage growth, setting eggs, etc. We also offer zodiac profiles as well as other astrology articles.
Except for those gardening activities in the Best Days section that are tied to the Moon's astrological place (such as those mentioned above), our gardening information is not based on astrology; instead, it is solely based on horticultural science as well as tips and folklore from experienced farmers and gardeners throughout the ages. Our Planting by the Moon's phase information does not use the zodiac signs, just the Moon's lunar cycle combined with average planting dates for various regions.
Hope this helps!
