“Almanac” may seem like an old term, like “atlas.” When you first hear the word, one of the first things that comes to mind is “Back to the Future: Part II.”
However, if the first thought that comes to your mind is incredibly old-looking books like the ones seen above, you’re not wrong! Still, just as we now use updated maps, there are great ways to find a modern farming almanac online.
Before we go on, a quick note: General almanacs are annually published volumes that have information for each day of the year.
The Farmers’ Almanac is also compilations of information organized on a day-to-day basis for the year ahead. However, the facts, tables, and advice are applicable to farming. Also, don’t think you have to own a large plantation to benefit from the information found within. Hobbyist gardeners can put almanacs to good use as well. If nothing else, they make a cool and rustic coffee table book!
So, if you want to find Farmers’ Almanac information online, there are a few ways to do that:
Where to find a digital farming almanac
Websites
Old Farmer’s Almanac
“The Old Farmers Almanac” is a classic. Founded in 1792, it continues to lead the farming almanac industry. Holding to the words of its creator, Robert B. Thomas: “Our main endeavor is to be useful, but with a pleasant degree of humor.”
Their information focuses on three things: planting guides, cooking recipes, and weather charts for the coming year. You might be surprised to know they have a number of unusual metrics. For example, they use the hardness of apples to tell how cold winter will be. They pride themselves on using tried-and-tested common sense methods to determine the outlook of next year’s weather.
As time went on, the OFA added modern aspects and created a website. The website includes articles, new products and more, in addition to their almanac. Still, you can use their almanac online for the usual reasons or buy a physical copy if you wish!
Interesting note: of all the almanacs here, they also have the best YouTube channel, with over 6,000 subscribers. Quite a count for an almanac!
Farmers’ Almanac
“Farmers’ Almanac” attempts to improve on the formula with even more online assets. In addition to their almanac, they have a promotional almanac for businesses, online edition, and E-newsletter for those that want to stay in the know via email.
Like “The Old Farmer’s Almanac,” they’ve also begun writing interesting articles that you might just find interesting. A recent publication on lunar rainbows caught our eyes in particular. How cool!
The real question is: which should you choose? Frankly, they both have great strengths, though we do lean toward the classic “The Old Farmer’s Almanac.” Still, these two venerable businesses have separate viewpoints, different styles, and various design aspects. We suggest visiting each and determining whether one works for you personally. Enjoy!
An App Option
Moon and Garden
Moon and Garden is the go-to app for planting cycles on both the Apple and Google Play Store.
Unlike a full farming almanac, you won’t have the full benefit of recipes, advice, and articles for each day of the year.
However, you will have an app that helps you schedule cycles for your organic garden and make plans for its maintenance. Yes, it’s not an almanac, but it can be a wonderfully simple tool for small-time gardeners looking to better organize their time. Give it a shot!
Wrapping up
Once again, there are more reasons than one to try a farming almanac. Whether you pick it up for gardening advice, weather information, recipe suggestions, a bomb-tastic coffee table book, or an interesting source of agricultural articles, you can’t go wrong!
