# Farmers Almanac anyone?



## spotropaicsav (Aug 1, 2017)

Anyone find it useful for planting, growing, maintaining gardens etc? Or just enjoyment?


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## schmiggle (Aug 1, 2017)

Their long-range weather forecasting seems a bit ridiculous, but I've never actually tried using the almanac. It must be good for something or they wouldn't keep printing it. Do us and science a favor and try it out for a garden 

Do you have a garden, and if so what are you growing there? You know how it is with me and plants  Also, farmer's almanac is mostly useful for edible plants, right? Just my impression based mostly on the name.


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## MetalMan2004 (Aug 1, 2017)

I actually bought one this year because I have always been curious.  Its cool but I don't think there is too much useful information that isn't googleable.  It also has horoscopes which makes me believe the actual scientific information in it less.

Reactions: Like 1


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## spotropaicsav (Aug 2, 2017)

@MetalMan2004 

I think the planting advice is sound, but like you said easy to google.  The rest of the info IMO- some valid, some not. Fun to peruse, enjoy the historical anecdotes myself


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## spotropaicsav (Aug 2, 2017)

@schmiggle 
Only potted plants garden, mostly indoor. No edibles except mushrooms from a box kit a couple times, which was fun. Eventually maybe keep a few outdoor garden beds. Your knowledge of plants far exceeds mine, which is why I enjoy reading your posts. However, my passion for learning about plants is never ending.  The almanac is fun so far, I like the tidbits about the old farming knowledge, suppose it's a remnant of growing up in the Midwest

Reactions: Like 1


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## schmiggle (Aug 2, 2017)

My knowledge about plants is shallow and often wrong  there's quite a lot to learn...

A simple, handy trick with those mushroom boxes--if you want, you can get mushrooms indefinitely. I assume you're using oyster mushroom kits? If so, take out the bag and add a substrate, ideally pasteurized (though I never pasteurized and it worked fine for me). I like to use cardboard because it's super easy to get, some people use coffee grounds but I was unsuccessful with those. The only rule is something woody with a high lignin content. Add it to the bag or transfer to a new bag, wait for the mycelium (the white, growing, moldy-looking part) to grow over the new substrate, and then treat it the same way. Just be careful--multiple times I got tiny, deformed mushrooms because they had insufficient oxygen, which happened because they were trying to grow out the top of a cut open bottle I used or in the bag I was using. So make sure they're growing out the side of the container, if possible, or that the substrate really reaches to the very top of the container. After all, if you're successful, there's nothing quite like fresh mushrooms  a similar method can be applied to Portobello kits, but it's harder because the mycelium is hard to see. Usually you just have to take the whole substrate and mix it with the new one, or you could use spores from the mushrooms. One thing to remember is that you don't have to use the whole mycelium every time--this would quickly get out of hand. Only use the new, growing part, since the old mycelium often senesces anyway and grows less vigorously.

One of these days, when I have a little more space, I'm going to try something bigger and harder, like hen of the woods. Actually, maybe I'll just try it shortly...


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## spotropaicsav (Aug 2, 2017)

schmiggle said:


> My knowledge about plants is shallow and often wrong  there's quite a lot to learn...
> 
> A simple, handy trick with those mushroom boxes--if you want, you can get mushrooms indefinitely. I assume you're using oyster mushroom kits? If so, take out the bag and add a substrate, ideally pasteurized (though I never pasteurized and it worked fine for me). I like to use cardboard because it's super easy to get, some people use coffee grounds but I was unsuccessful with those. The only rule is something woody with a high lignin content. Add it to the bag or transfer to a new bag, wait for the mycelium (the white, growing, moldy-looking part) to grow over the new substrate, and then treat it the same way. Just be careful--multiple times I got tiny, deformed mushrooms because they had insufficient oxygen, which happened because they were trying to grow out the top of a cut open bottle I used or in the bag I was using. So make sure they're growing out the side of the container, if possible, or that the substrate really reaches to the very top of the container. After all, if you're successful, there's nothing quite like fresh mushrooms  a similar method can be applied to Portobello kits, but it's harder because the mycelium is hard to see. Usually you just have to take the whole substrate and mix it with the new one, or you could use spores from the mushrooms. One thing to remember is that you don't have to use the whole mycelium every time--this would quickly get out of hand. Only use the new, growing part, since the old mycelium often senesces anyway and grows less vigorously.
> 
> One of these days, when I have a little more space, I'm going to try something bigger and harder, like hen of the woods. Actually, maybe I'll just try it shortly...


Good tip! I reused a bag once simply because we had only grown on part of it the first round, just like you said. There is so much to learn


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