Almanac offers advice on everything

From plants to skin, you can discover something new.
By Kathy Van Mullekom
Knight Ridder Newspapers
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The newest Old Farmer's Almanac is a far cry from the days when it was a little manual your grandmother used as a planting guide for her beans and potatoes.
Over the years, it's become a forecaster of lifestyle trends, giving tips and takeouts on what will be popular in paint colors (in spring, cover your white walls with reddened oranges and yellows) and even fashions (think "minimalize me" with tailored skirts and jackets.)
It also covers what collectibles are hot -- rescue those 1950s florist vases shaped like peasant ladies, teddy bears and baby buggies from the bag you're taking to the thrift store.
The 2006 paperback-style publication, $5.99, is a great stocking stuffer or addition to a gift basket for the curious gardener or avid reader on your gift list.
I especially like the section on peaches where you learn to grow your own in a pot. The time, so they can be conveniently stored in a barely heated garage or three-season glassed "Florida room" during winter.
In the article "The Seedy Secrets of Your Garbage," you find out how to use the seeds and pits of citrus fruits and the crown of a pineapple to grow your own houseplants.
There's an exceptional section on growing, harvesting, storing and using onions. Did you know a raw onion rubbed on a bee sting or insect bite relieves the pain and itching? That's the kind of helpful information you find throughout the almanac.
If you've been thinking about starting an herb garden, you'll find tips on how to site your garden and a layout for putting in 18 different plants in an 8-foot-by-3-foot border.
Alternative uses
And, if you don't like to eat your veggies, you can at least use them to make you look better. A "tomato tingler" can be concocted to treat blemished skin (first, test a spot on your skin). To make a face scrub, combine a peeled and seeded tomato, one teaspoon of lemon juice and one tablespoon of oats in a blender. Apply the mixture to the affected area, wait 10 minutes, and then rinse with lukewarm water. You also learn that washing your hands in boiled potatoes cleans the skin while keeping it soft and healthy. Suggestions for cucumber compresses and fruit smoothers are also given.
Of course, weather plays a major role in the almanac's content. It tells us what to expect in the way of rainfall, temperatures and snowdrifts for different parts of the country.
What I don't like to read is the article on "Climate Change" where experts state they are not sure how much Earth is warming or why it's doing so. Even the size of raindrops in some countries are changing -- getting so large they are turning into jellyfish-like shapes. It also brings home the point: The world is constantly changing and so is its climate. Mankind is not in charge.