Do you remember the Farmer’s Almanac? That wonderful little book, crammed full of weather and gardening advice sorted by month and region of the country, put out annually since 1818. I had forgotten about this treasure until a copy landed on my desk a couple of weeks ago – “Farmer’s Almanac for the year of our Lord 2009. Being the first after bissextile, or leap year, and until the Fourth of July, the 233rd Year of the Independence of the United States.”

Now, I find myself perusing the pages, looking for the most auspicious date to plant potatoes and onions,  what the best dates are to prune trees and which phase the moon will be in on my birthday (October 21st – a new moon).

My mother bought a new Farmer’s Almanac every year. And as with the National Geographic that sat on the coffee table, I would sit on the red, nubby couch and turn the pages, trying to understand the Almanac’s monthly charts, filled with symbols of the Zodiac and the stages of the moon. It somehow seemed like sorcery – I wondered if I would understand it when I was as old as my mother. Today, I noticed on page 126 that the sun rose at 7:23, plus 18 minutes to account for my living close to Kansas City, mystery solved.

That is the magic part of the Almanac, not the symbols, but that you can calculate for your locale the best times to plant, harvest, cut your hair and quit smoking! In addition to the astronomy, astrology and gardening charts, the Almanac includes regional recipes, household hints, extreme weather stories and quite a bit of humor. One of my favorite entries is the two-page list of “American Slurvian” – words we slur together to make new words, such as “mere,” “mere, mere on the wall …” or “dense,”  “yuck, I have a dense appointment!”

Of course, today, no book as packed with info as the Farmer’s Almanac would be complete without its companion website.  One of the neatest features of the website are the videos, such as this one on Groundhog Day and Punxsutawney Phil.

Well, I guess that's enough sharing. I could keep telling you about all of the neat stuff there is to discover in the magazine and on the website, but I think its time now for you to do some of the exploring yourself. Enjoy!

PHOTO BY ISTOCKPHOTO/DAVID T. GOMEZ

The urban chicken movement should move to Worthington, Ohio, according to columnist Ann Fisher. Earlier this week she wrote an article for The Columbus Dispatch, discussing the city’s unfair animal ordinances. One — set in 1973 — makes it illegal to keep chickens, horses and cattle in the city within 150 feet of any residence (except for that of the animals’ owner). Another law bans animals that “create offensive odors, excessive noise or unsanitary conditions which are a menace to the health, comfort or safety of the public.” So, technically, any animal could be outlawed in Worthington. I know for sure that my dog makes a good amount of noise and never hesitates to clear out a room with a close-to-stifling stench — but I love her. And she doesn’t even provide me with breakfast in the morning. So, if my wonderful little pooch can live in confined urban quarters, I don’t know why a few hens can’t.

To discuss the urban chicken movement further, please visit our online forum and post a comment.

The Ethicurean, a fantastic blog about sustainable eating (eth•i•cu•re•an n. Someone who seeks out tasty things that are also sustainable, organic, local and/or ethical), contained an eyebrow-raising post yesterday: A report from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy found that many widely consumed food products containing high fructose corn syrup also contain mercury. The connection? HFCS is manufactured with an ingredient that is sometimes still produced in outdated industrial chlorine plants that rely on mercury-based technology. The ingredient (caustic soda) becomes contaminated and in turn contaminates the syrup. 

Researchers tested 55 products and found mercury in nearly one-third of them, including Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup, Nutri-Grain Strawberry Cereal Bars, Jack Daniels Barbeque Sauce and more. 

The full list of tested products and results: http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?refID=105040 

The report from Environmental Health: http://www.ehjournal.net/content/pdf/1476-069x-8-2.pdf 

Wondering how you’ll live without Hershey’s Syrup? Here’s some comic relief from the guys who brought you King Corn. It’s a hilarious spoof of those ridiculous HFCS ads that were sponsored by The Corn Refiners Association.

PHOTO BY FREDERICK J. DUNN

Today, chickens are popping up in the most unlikely and unexpected parts of the country. City chickens are no longer rare and there are chicken-friendly cities all over the United States.

If you're considering keeping poultry, check zoning and local ordinances to see what restrictions, if any, there are on owning chickens. In the suburbs, expect limitations on quantity and sex — often there are “no rooster” regulations.

Next, consider why you want chickens. There are many purebred chicken varieties and hundreds of breeds. Each chicken breed was developed for a specific purpose, and it would be wise to select the breed that best suits your purposes.

In these difficult economic times, many people will choose chickens to provide fresh eggs with some regularity. Few white egg layers out-perform the Leghorn breed. The Rhode Island red would be a very good choice for brown eggs. There are many hybrid birds available, but personally, I stick with traditional purebred stock. Spend some time researching breeds and you're certain to find a good match for you. (Check the Mother Earth News Hatchery Finder to help you find the breed you're looking for.)

Consider the availability of feed rations in your area. If you want strictly organic feeds, a visit to the local feed mill will be important. Talk to the mix master and see if the mill offers organic mixes in the quantity you need. Commercial rations are more widely available and have a longer shelf life. If you're in an urban setting where chickens are not the norm, find out where horse owners get their feed, or ask your pet store to order it in for you.

If you start with day-old chicks, a wide variety of breeds is available through the mail. All the large hatcheries offer fliers or catalogs. Look for a hatchery with a long record of healthy stock. I recommend buying day-old chicks instead of purchasing mature chickens that are ready to start laying eggs. That way, you won't have to determine if the chickens are healthy before you buy them.

You will need a place to keep your chickens. A fancy coop is not necessarily better chicken housing. In northern climates, shelter is necessary to protect birds from the weather. In all areas, shelter is necessary to protect your birds from predators. Housing needs are also determined partly by the breeds you keep. A lightweight chicken, capable of flight, will require a covered run. Heavier breeds may not be able to clear a three-foot fence. The general rule for housing is to allow 4 square feet of floor space per chicken. There are many solutions for portable chicken housing. If you're handy, constructing your own coop will result in greater comfort for you and the birds. Often you can make use of an old tool or garden shed. (For an easy, affordable option anyone can make, see the Portable Chicken Mini-coop Plan.

If you'd like to learn more about raising chickens, check out the DVD, Regarding Chickens.

PHOTO BY FREDERICK J. DUNN

It’s January, and in much of the country that means that the sight and smells of green growing things is buried under icy brown leaves and inches (feet?) of frozen white stuff.

Last weekend I was trying a new recipe that called for arugula. Not wanting to make another trip to the grocery store, I went out to the garden to see if any of the fairly hardy greens were surviving under the layers of leaves I had heaped on the garden last fall. I pushed aside the slightly frozen, damp leaves to find … mush! The merest hint of arugula leaves were languishing under the composting leaves, looking exactly like the sodden mass that they were. Ah – it was a noble effort.

However, the serendipity of the situation was discovering that the brown, seemingly lifeless stalks of Sweet Annie (artemesia annua, also known as Wormwood, a tall, aromatic plant with fernlike foliage) were still giving off their distinctive sweet aroma. I cut a few branches to hang in the kitchen. On the way back to the house, I checked out the sage green stalks of lavender by the back patio. Their leaves, also, were wonderfully aromatic, so I cut some sprigs to add to the bundle

Now, despite the melancholy, dark days of winter, my kitchen is graced by the smells of summer. It makes the wait for spring less arduous.

A familiar scene: You’re standing at the refrigerated case in the supermarket, staring at a carton of eggs and trying your best to remember if it was “free range” or “cage free” that most benefitted the birds and produced the healthiest eggs. Good news: Sustainable Table has created a handy wallet-size reference card to eliminate the confusion surrounding the multitude of meat label claims we’re faced with these days. Just print and fold the card, and be sure to have it with you when grocery shopping to help you decipher the true meaning behind claims like natural, hormone-free, artisan, grass-fed and many more. 

Not sure what the label “biodynamic” means, if anything? Just whip out your glossary card and decide for sure if it truly is a premium product that’s worth that premium price tag.  

Happy shopping!

DON BAYLEY/ISTOCKPHOTO

There are all types of auctions, including farm auctions and real estate auctions, but livestock auctions are a different breed of animal, pardon the pun. Auctioneers still try to get the best prices for sellers. And your adrenalin can start running quickly in the environment created by auctioneer's cadence and the ringmen's "Yep!"

If you're not sure how to handle yourself at a livestock auction, take a couple minutes to read How Not to Act in the Sale Barn. The article includes lots of great tips and a good overview of the process.

One additional thing to consider: Critters can pick up diseases in sale barns, so be careful to buy only healthy animals and minimize stress for them.

PHOTO BY SEAN LOCKE, ISTOCK

Mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) is scheduled to take effect March 16, and while the full text of the rule won’t be published in the Federal Register until Jan. 15, final details were released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Jan. 12. The ruling has been criticized by consumer interest groups, who contend that a large majority of the meats, fish and produce available for purchase will be exempt from the guidelines, including:   

• Anything cooked, cured or smoked
• Food service establishments
• Items that have been combined with other commodities 

Also, processors in the United States that handle meat from both domestic and foreign sources can carry a “multicountry designation.” In other words, a package of ground beef may sport a sticker that says, “Contains meat from the United States, Canada and Mexico.”  For official information regarding COOL from the USDA, click here. A statement from consumer advocate Food and Water Watch can be read here.

Children are such willing learners. If we are doing something, they want to be right in there “helping.”  A friend recently told me about her son’s enthusiasm for making coffee. He had been watching his dad fill the coffee maker with water and add the aromatic coffee to the little paper cone – and he wanted to help. So after a few “lessons,” Dad let him try it on his own. Within a week, the little boy was making the coffee each evening for his dad – with supervision, of course. Oh – did I mention that the little boy was just two years old?

During my preschool years my parents built a lovely two-story Cape Cod-style house. This was in the 1940s and Dad didn’t have any power tools to assist his efforts, so the house was built the old-fashioned way – using only hand tools. We lived in what would become the garage while the house was being built, and I was always under foot and wanting to “help.” What I remember most fondly about that time period was being Dad’s go-fer - finding the hammer, crescent wrench, nail set or flat-head screw driver, wherever it had been used last and left. At four years old, I could identify the different kinds of screw drivers and wrenches, and enjoyed the job of being Dad’s special helper.

I am wondering if we take the opportunity often enough to teach our children to enjoy helping and thus learning the skills that keep a home (and community) running and thriving. Sure, if you live on a farm there are eggs to collect and other useful chores. But what meaningful jobs can suburban kids do on a regular basis? Making a bed, filling the dishwasher and taking out the trash are good skills to know, but don’t always give children the feeling that they are contributing to the necessities of life. On the other hand, gardening, cooking and sorting the recyclables are tasks that just about any child can participate in. (It has been said that kids are more apt to eat the vegetables that they help to grow and pick.) And kids can learn about tools and how to be part of a team, just like I did, by helping to put up a garden fence, change the oil in the car or build a backyard tool shed.

The bottom line is that our children are our future. The skills they learn and learn to enjoy when they are young will stay with them their whole lives. What we all want is a world of folks for whom sustainability is a goal – living a life that is kind to the Earth and fosters wise use of its resources – including its people.