Old Farmer's Almanac

Hi All,

The Old Farmer's Almanac.  It's old - the first issue was published way back in 1792! And it is an almanac!  Click on this link to visit the The Old Farmer's Almanac website.

So, what does the site include you ask?  It has lots of juicy nuggets on topics as varies as tide tables, sunrise/sunset charts, recipes, forecasts and much, much more.

Click on the following links to learn more about TOFA take on that topic: Weather, Astronomy, Gardening, Calendar, Food, and Advice.

Best known for its weather advice and forecasts, the link to Weather enables users to enter a location by city, state or zip code. 

A four day weather forecast is also shown.  But wait, there's more! Complete 7 day weather forecasts are available as if the long range weather forecast.   Weather history is available - which is a rarity on the web these days.

Long Range weather information is available for various regions around the United States.  For example,  the weather report for the Atlantic Corridor can be found here.

Free newsletters are also available from the TOFA. Topics include the Almanac Weekly Companion, The Almanac.com General Store, Almanac Recipe Box  and the Great Almanac Giveaway. 

The TOFA Gardening link has a myriad of links and vital information for gardeners of all stripes.  For example there is a gardening question of the day, a planting calendar, a link to gardening articles, growing guides to vegetables and more, a section on garden pests and disease and links to gardening for beginners.  

What a site - now we know why The Old Farmer's Almanac has been around since 1792.  Its filled with useful, timely information!

Enjoy the site.

Regards,
Stu

Spring+Warm Weather=Gardening Time

 
Hi All,

You might not be able to recognize it from todays' weather, but spring is here. Over the last few weeks we've been getting less rain and more sun in this area and that's great for backyard gardeners.  Central Nassau - and from what I hear from patrons at the reference desk - and our patrons are ready for a traditional spring that is full of warm weather, sunny skies and blooming flowers.  Bring it on!!!!

So, without further ado, I've found a really excellent gardening site called Treehugger.com. Click here for a link to the site. 


The site has an excellent article titled '10 Great Gardening Websites You Must Read' - which is basically a list of 10 high-quality, unbiased, current gardening websites.  One of which is 'Kitchen Gardeners International'.  Tabs on the homepage of the KGI site include 'Education', KGI Garden Planner and more.

Other sites that Treehugger covers include the Royal Horticultural Society, You Grow Girl, and Plants are the Strangest People.

Plants Are the Strangest People (aka PATSP) is a self-proclaimed 'long-winded but frequently humorous blog about houseplants or working in a garden center'.  The blog has been around since 2007 and is well-written, interesting and darn clever.  The clever part is self-evident from the tab entitled  'Praise for PATSP From Spambots'. 

And finally, indulge me for a shameless plug...here it goes.


Finally, the library is hosting a program on Thursday, April 18th at 6:30pm called 'How Does Your Garden Grow?'  The program will be held in Room E and we are expecting a large turn out.  So, be sure to register for the program ahead of time on the library Calendar of Events page.  Click here for the link to that page.

Here's to all your gardens blooming and for all your plants growing abundantly this Spring.

Enjoy the sites!
Stu

The Old Farmer's Almanack

Hi All,

Neat, fun, interesting reference alert!

I suspect that you've heard of the 'Old Farmer's Almanack', right? Well, if you haven't, the book is a staple reference book in virtually all public libraries in the United States.

Yes, the Farmingdale Public Library has a copy for you. Just visit the library and come to the reference desk. The call number for the Old Farmer's Almanac is RR528.1 O. We own the 2011 edition which is the most current copy.

Here is a quick summary of the OFA (Old Farmer's Almanack) for those who aren't familiar with the book: The book is a paperback and printed on paper that is similar in texture to a newspaper.

OFA covers topics as varied as weather, gardening, the calendar, facts about the Moon, the Sun and Astronomy. In addition the material has cooking and recipe hints and advice. Finally, there are sections on home hints, astrology and birding/fishing.

The book is filled with homespun advice and thoughts and has a 'country-ish' theme running through the various articles and tables and charts. It is well worth looking at when you are in the library.

However, when you are not in the library you can still get your Old Farmer's Almanack fix by visiting their website at Almanac.com. Click on the link that follows this sentence to go to the website for the Old Farmer's Almanack: http://www.almanac.com/

Enjoy this time tested, nostalgic website - and don't forget to use the information that is in the book - it is great stuff.

Regards,

Stu

Summer - Gardening?

Hi All,

While summer is NOT typically the time to start gardening, somewhat cooler weather (think temperatures' in the high 70's and early 80's) might not be such a bad time to do some gardening work.

Some caveats though:
1. drink lots of water and stay hydrated

2. try to do the gardening in the early morning (before 10am perhaps) or the late afternoon (after 4pm perhaps) so the heat isn't too intense for you or for the gardening

3. wear a hat and take lots of breaks while you are gardening...

Okay, that being said, on to the gardening aspects...

Click on this link for a few summer gardening tips from Michael McGroarty - the author and owner of the popular gardening website Free Plants.

This next link is a bit more generic, but still worth reading nonetheless. Click here for an article from Ezinearticles.com.

Got vegetables, then you'll want to view this next site. And while the site is pretty basic (no flashing icons, no pictures, and lots of text), you'll want to click on this link for a brief intro on how to 'Grow Vegetables and Culinary Herbs in Summer'.

Click on this link from PlanetGreen.com - the link is to a site which is 'Your Complete Guide to Summer Vegetable Gardening'. The article discusses summer gardening for tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, eggplant, peppers and corn. Yum!

I've mentioned the Cornell Cooperative Extension in a previous post - but I'll mention it again since it is such a valuable resource. This is the link to Gardening which has other links to the following: Gardening news, Children's Garden, Horticulture Leaflets, Long Island Gardening Quarterly, Farmers Markets (yum) and Gardening Links.

Enjoy the free information and I hope your green thumb gets even greener!

Regards,
Stu

Gardening Websites

Hi All,

Spring has sprung and the sun seems to be shining - occasionally anyway. With the coming of spring, homeowners everywhere on Long Island hope to have their lawns looking better than they did during November, December, January and February period.

With that introduction out of the way, I'd like to discuss - in some detail - one of the really, really excellent, educational and easy-to-navigate gardening websites that internet users can find on the web. Its name is...The National Gardening Association and you can click here to get to the site.

The National Gardening Association has a very, very helpful website - click here for a link to the site. When you visit the site, immediately on the left side of the screen you'll see a link for 'Expert Advice'. Individual links under this category include, Plant Finder, Weed Library, Gardening Articles, Q&A Library, How-To Projects, How-To Videos, Pest Control Library, Food Garden Guide and Plant Care Guides. Click on any of the previous links to go to that particular topic.

When you visit the site, you can connect to links at the top of the page like, 'Themed Gardens', 'Kids Gardening', 'National Garden Month', and 'Research'. You can also search the site by clicking on the dialog box at the top right of the homepage that says 'Search NGA'.

The site is national - I suspect that you already knew that - but one part of the site is very interesting if you are interested in getting information for different regions of the country. On the homepage, scroll down about halfway down the page and click on the link that says 'Regional Gardening Reports'. Click on this link for the current report - which deals with Hummingbirds. Meanwhile, back on the homepage, you can tailor the reports you see by entering your zip code in the dialog box.

Finally, from the homepage you can connect to other garden related links as varied as 'Garden News' and 'Tip of the Day' (the link wasn't working the night that I created this blog entry...)

Enjoy the gardening - hope your flowers and bushes grow as fast as you want them to!

Regards,
Stu

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Spring Home Maintenance

Hi All,

Attention home owners, attention home owners. Spring is here - heck after the winter we had it is a very, very good thing that spring is here already! Enough of that wintry, rainy, cloudy, cold weather. Be gone with you bad weather!

That being said, homeowners should be constantly vigilant about home maintenance at any time of the year; but spring especially is known for maintenance. What with rain, wind and the thawing of rivers, streams and canals it is a good time to take a once over look at your house.

So, without further ado a few good websites (and some comments and narrative about the sites) about spring maintenance for a single family dwelling (aka a house).

Straight from Consumer Reports is this link -and any time you can get something free from CR its a good day. Click here for the link entitled "Spring Checklist For the Home: Don't Let Problems Around the House Turn Into Money Drains'. The article talks about dirty air conditioners, hazardous decks, foundation fissures, faulty garage-door openers, clogged gutters,
leaky roofs', weakened trees, and cracked pavement. Good basic stuff for the homeowner.

Next on our list is a site from HGTV entitled, 'The Slackers Guide to Spring Home Maintenance'. This is my kind of article!

The article talks about diverting water, retaining the roof, checking the paint job on the exterior of the house, cutting shrubs and trees, lawn maintenance, maintaining windows and doors (an interior issue), pest control, plumbing issues (leaky and or sweaty pipes) and tile maintenance in the kitchen and the bathroom (check that grout!)

From a website by the name of Handyman Matters comes this site - click here. What's so good about this site you might ask? Indeed, good question!

For starters the site has a checklists for each of the four seasons - its a simple list but very handy if I might say so myself! What else does the site have? Click here for a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) section that has some Tips and Tricks on various home repair projects. Each tip is a sentence or two in length but combined they are darn useful. There is also a section of DIY videos which you can view by clicking on this link.

Finally, since we reopened the remodeled library we have created a separate section for home repair and home maintenance books. We thought that this would be a great way to help our patrons find material (think books and DVD's) on home repair and maintenance more easily.

Note that the material is down the first aisle next to the Children's Room in the library. Also, don't forget that the books and DVD's in this collection are further broken down into sub-sections like gardening, fireplaces, plumbing, landscaping, plants, trees/shrubs, home repair, home organization, furniture, storage, kitchen, home improvement, indoor structures and outdoor structures and probably a few others that I've mistakenly forgotten.

Enjoy the sites and the home maintenance advice - hope you don't need it!

Stu

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Hobbies For Your Spare Time

Hi All,

Welcome to a wet, dreary, rainy, windy, cold Monday morning.

If that doesn't make you want to stay in bed nothing will. Alas, the day has started...so what better way to start the week with...not a work related post, but with an entertaining, fun related post.

I'm talking hobbies here. Everything from stamp collecting, to wood carving, to playing the piano to ballet, sports, antiquing and much more is fair game here.

I'm going to post a few links relating to hobbies and where to get more information about said hobbies from the internet.

The web is filled with interesting website on hobbies and each individual hobby could be made into not just a blog post, but into a whole darn website. Such is the nature of the web - there is a veritable treasure trove of hobby information available to users - you just need to know where to look....and that is where this blog entry might help.

Wikipedia link to hobbies.

Ezine Article on Hobbies

Gardening as a Hobby

About.com entry for Hobbies - one of my favorite go to sites (About.com)

Discover a Hobby.com

Hints and Things - Hobbies

Antiquing - Collecting as a Hobby

Enjoy your busy - but fun - spare time!
Stu