Cultivate a practical garden accessory

The pockets will hold small gardening tools.
By KATHY ANTONIOTTI
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
You might think the Farmer's Almanac is all about predicting the weather. Television meteorologists love to compare their scientific long-range forecasts with those of "Caleb Weatherbee," the weather prognosticator for the annual homespun publication.
You might not have faith in Weatherbee's predictions, but he must be doing something right. He doesn't even exist and he's still pretty famous. Weatherbee is actually a pseudonym for the magazine's weather forecaster. His identity is a close-kept secret, along with the formula used to make the weather predictions featured in the Farmer's Almanac each year.
People have been turning to the publication for almost 200 years for advice on everything from fishing to household tips.
I even found a page first published in the 1967 edition titled "How Children Should Act With Their Parents in Public." It includes the admonishment: "Treat your mother like a lady and your father like a gentleman, and you can't help impressing the world with your own charm and poise."
Still good advice, but I bet you are all out there giggling as you read this.
Did you know that you can get a stuck ring off your finger with window cleaner, or knots out of your sneaker laces using talcum powder? Or, try using dryer lint for kindling at your next campfire.
That's just a smattering of the wisdom gleaned from the "Helpful Hints" page of the Almanac.
Advice for gardeners
Gardeners have long agreed they can rely on the almanac for its sage, sensible advice. They know they can trust the tips presented in the book, where they can even find monthly timelines to raise flowers and vegetables successfully.
"Scatter crushed eggshells in a thick ring around roses to deter slugs." Ugh, don't you just hate slugs?
"Mulch between rows and keep the garden weeded to give emerging seedlings a fair chance." That sounds like sensible advice.
"Plant above-ground crops in the light of the moon." What?
Almost all gardeners will admit that they still love to play in the dirt just as much as they did as children.
These garden gloves and apron are handy items for yourself or that person in your life with a green thumb. The carpenter's apron will hold all the tools you need while you putter around the garden, chasing those slugs and nurturing those seedlings. I don't have any advice about that moon thing.