■ farm and garden august
Best days according to Moon phases.
Best planting days Above ground crops . . .
Root crops . . . . . . . . . . . . Seed beds . . . . . . . . . . . . Kill plant pests . . . . . . . . .
Best fishing days Best . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Good . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Poor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10-13, 17-18
1, 4-5, 22-23, 27-28, 31 4-5, 12-13, 31 2-3, 29-30
Folksy Tips, Hints & Wisdom
It’s smart to save seeds Seed saving offers benefits for gardeners
G 19-23, 31
4-5, 12-13, 17-18 1, 9, 27-28
2-3, 6-8, 10-11, 14-16, 24-26, 29-30
Best days to do other stuff Begin diet to gain weight . . . . . . . . . . . .
Begin diet to lose weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . Begin logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Breed animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Make sauerkraut, can, or pickle . . . . . . . Cut hair to discourage growth . . . . . . . . Cut hair to encourage growth . . . . . . . . Cut hay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Destroy pests and weeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . End projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Go camping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Graft or pollinate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Harvest above ground vegetables . . . . Harvest below ground vegetables . . . . Go to the dentist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Plant above ground vegetables . . . . . . . Plant below ground vegetables . . . . . . . Prune to discourage growth . . . . . . . . . . Prune to encourage growth . . . . . . . . . . Quit smoking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Set posts or pour concrete . . . . . . . . . . . Start projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wean animals and children . . . . . . . . . . .
19-13 22, 26 17-18
3-4, 30-31 3-4, 30-31 25-27 11-12 23-24 23-24 4-5
15-16
3-4, 30-31 8-9
25-27 8-9
13-14
2-4, 30-31 23-24 15-16 22, 26 17-18 7-8
22, 26 —from the Old Farmer’s Almanac
ardeners tend to be a thrifty lot, and saving seeds from one year to another just makes sense. It's what the old-timers always did, and there are three good reasons to learn the techniques:
1. Saving seeds ensures that you'll always have seeds of a favorite variety.( Just because you've been able to order a seed variety from a commercial source in the past doesn't mean it will always be available.)
2. Saving seeds saves money. It makes no sense to buy seeds that you can grow yourself.
3. Saving seeds opens a whole new world of seed trading. At least half the vegetable varieties grown today have no commercial sources. If you'd like to try them, you have to trade seeds that you have for seeds you want.
So how do you know when a seed is ripe? From a plant's point of view, ripeness is when the seeds are viable, which is not always when the plant is most edible.
Pepper seeds are ripe when peppers are in full color—this could be red, orange, yellow, purple, or black—and start to shrivel.
Tomato seeds are ripe when tomatoes are firm but tender. If you press them, they have some give. Like peppers, they will also have reached their full color.
Cucumber seeds are ripe when the cuke turns fully yellow—overripe for eating. Harvest it and put it in a safe place for another 20 days.
Winter squash seeds are ripe when the skin turns hard.
Summer squash seeds are ripe when the squash is past the edible point, with a hard rind. .
Watermelon seeds are ripe when the tendril directly opposite the stem turns from green to brown and becomes dry.
Canteloupe and muskmelon seeds are ripe when the stem turns brown and dries, and the melon readily separates from it.
Peas and beans are ready when the pods turn brown on the vine and shrink.
Proper drying is a key to saving seeds. To test dryness, squeeze one seed with pliers or hit it with a hammer. If it's dry, it will shatter. If it just crushes or feels soft or spongy, then your seeds still need more air-drying before being stored away. Store seeds in any suitable containers and kept in a cool, dry area.
10 | august 2013
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