Discover "The Old Farmer's 2020 Almanac"

In 1792, Robert Thomas, founder of the "Farmer’s Almanac," a bookseller, schoolteacher, and amateur astronomer living near Boston, Massachusetts, began a North American institution when he published the first issue of his "Farmer’s Almanac."

The word "Old" was added in 1832. He soon distinguished his almanac from others, writing in one of the early issues, “we must strive he said to always be useful, with a pleasant degree of humor.”

This timeless formula has made "The Old Farmer's Almanac" an indispensable reference for generations of readers.

It is a month by month information review on many assorted subjects:

· The annual garden guide from the assorted plant zones.

· Moon plantings for the garden throughout the year.

· Assorted old-time recipes like grandma used to make.

· Long-range weather forecast and understanding your planting zones.

· Romantic facts and fun to add to your life.

· The art of decluttering, time to thin and give away or recycle items of the day.

· Questions of the day and perhaps some answers, maybe?

· How to lose weight the simple way and eat healthier.

· How to pickle the overabundance of summer’s veggie garden.

· Romantic flowers to share with meanings of some flowers

· When to start seeds at different seasons in different plantings zones.

· Fascinating ideas that define our lives and the times we live in.

· DNA kits that help us to choose foods based on genetics.

· Edible flowers are everywhere to dine upon and outside in your garden.

· Gardeners are wanting to reduce their footprint; do you?

· 7.2 % average reduction in home energy use is due to trees; thanks trees.

· 52% of Americans use indoor plants to clean the interior of their homes.

· $1 billion is the annual revenue of the dog-walking industry.

· While older collectors crave nostalgia, younger buyers seek simple technologies; line rotor phones/film cameras/manual typewriters, and View-Masters.

· Plants hanging on a piece of driftwood can be art in the home.

· The rise in minimalism, tiny homes, tiny furniture and clever storage ideas.

· Shoes with vibrating insoles to improve your balance.

· Falling asleep to movies of sheep grazing in a field and clouds in the sky.

· 94 % of the U.S. population has a recycling program available to them.

· Nature can be eco-therapy by just being outside and smelling the roses.

· Join the Green Revolution for a healthier earth…you can help.

· The ABCs of pickling asparagus, beets, corn and cucumbers.

· Raising goats, pigs, camels, and other animals and their benefits.

· How to make sausage at home with all the ingredients you’ll need.

· Sowing the seeds of veggies to feed your family and friends.

· How to milk a goat and then make some delicious homemade cheese.

· How to find your family tree and understand your heritage.

There are lots of laughs and cheer sprinkled throughout the pages of "The Old Farmer’s 2020 Almanac," which has a wide range of subjects, fun, data, and just a way to have a wider perspective about what's going on.

Perhaps, you'll get a greater view of the world around you, so get a copy and broaden your horizons with a two-century-year-old accumulation of bits and pieces that have been used in the building of America and enjoy.

Every year a revision comes out with new information that you may use or not use, that’s the beauty of "The Old Farmer’s Almanac," for it’s a fun read and you can pass it along to others and have some discussions of subjects within, for it’s a good coffee table book to open up for new ideas and just to ponder.

Roger Boddaert creates beautiful and sustainable gardens in San Diego and can be reached at (760) 728-4297. Do your trees need help? Roger and his crew can aid in their preservation and artistic tree care.