Breeding, Planting, and Setting Eggs by the Almanac

I just used my almanac and went through the calendar for 2022 adding all the best days for breeding rabbits, setting hatching eggs, and planting crops depending on if they’re aboveground (like tomatoes and peppers) or belowground (like potatoes and carrots). I figured now was a good time to write about using an almanac. 

I grew up in a household where my dad and aunt did everything by the almanac. My aunt carried it with her in her purse. I distinctly remember my dad needing dental work done once and he wouldn’t schedule it until my aunt checked the almanac to see when was best. I remember my aunt being very adamant that certain things couldn’t happen until a specific date because of the almanac. I didn’t really understand it when I was younger though.

These days I get my own almanac every single year and I use it pretty regularly. I won’t lie and say I’m as strict as my aunt was, but I do always breed my rabbits according to the sign, and if I have the option I schedule planting accordingly too. Setting eggs is just done every week on the same day of the week so I always know when the next hatch is due. I use a different almanac than my aunt too, despite the number of times she’s told me I’m using the wrong one. I use The Old Farmer’s Almanac if you want to get your own or use their online version.

Now I don’t actually know why the almanac is supposed to work. I know it’s based on the signs and where everything is in the sky at a specific time. But I don’t exactly know a scientific reason for why it works. Like it’s been clearly documented that the moon has a pull on tides and behaviors. Or that in the winter when the sun isn’t as prominent many people have mood issues. So those I understand. Doing things by the signs I don’t actually understand the science behind, I just know it works for me, so I do it.

I can however explain the reasoning behind choosing each sign/phase even if I can’t explain the why. Every sign has certain properties it’s supposed to embody, or rule over. So some are considered masculine or feminine. Some are considered fertile or barren, or somewhere in between. Each sign also has a body part it “governs”. The moon’s phase (new, full, waxing, waning) has certain properties too. New and waxing moon for increasing, full and waning for decreasing. It’s somewhat complicated and I’m going to suggest you buy an almanac and let them calculate it all for you.

So how do we apply this to farming stuff? Well the three signs I breed in are Cancer, Libra, and Scorpio. All three of these signs are considered “fertile” signs. Cancer and Scorpio are both feminine signs and Libra is masculine. Cancer governs the breast and Scorpio the “secrets” or genital area. Libra is the “reins”. Last year I chose Scorpio for the most part, but this year I’m going back to Cancer, my thought being because it is over the breast, perhaps that’s why my kits always seemed to be so fat, maybe either does bred then produce more milk or maybe the babies grow up to produce more milk themselves. It’s not scientific but I’m going with it. I also have a YouTube video explaining other signs you can breed in to improve other qualities in your rabbits.

The days to plant are based on the moon being new/waxing for aboveground crops and full/waning for belowground crops. There’s also days for pruning, and harvesting, and pretty much every other aspect of gardening, but probably to my aunt’s dismay, I’m not as hardcore on those dates. Mostly because I just have to do things when I have both the time and correct weather to be able to do them. So I just do them whenever is convenient for me. Although I’d probably have better results if I just made time to do them in the correct phases. It also has a handy section that compares the best time to plant specific crops for your location and also when the moon is favorable. It lets you quickly pick a day that is best both seasonally and by the moon.

The other dates I have marked are the best days for setting hatching eggs to get healthy robust chicks. These dates are based on wanting the eggs to hatch during a waxing moon in Cancer, Scorpio, or Pisces. So you count back 21 days from that sign on the calendar and set them then. Chicken eggs take 21 days to hatch, but ducks and turkeys take 28, while quail only take 28 so plan accordingly based on what you’re hatching. Like I said I don’t do this because in the past I’ve just picked one day of the week to be my egg setting day based on what my schedule for the year looks like, such as not doing it on Thursdays cuz that’s a really busy day for me, etc. However this year I’m not planning to hatch as many chicks as normal, so maybe I will try only setting eggs on the “good” days and see what happens.

Besides having dates for farm related stuff, and dental care, the almanac also has best days for things like cutting your hair to encourage or discourage growth. There are days for painting, quitting smoking, going on a diet, all kinds of things, so I truly believe it’s worth investing in your own. Not to mention there’s useful articles and fun stories in it too. So definitely worth the $8/year as far as I’m concerned.

I know this wasn’t super in depth on how or why using an almanac works, but it at least helps you understand how the almanac breaks things down. And it does sort of make sense if you can look at each sign and what they govern and what properties they may have and translate that into what you’re trying to accomplish. Using the almanac may not work for you, and that’s fine, everyone has their own method. But you won’t know if you don’t try it, and I’ve made it super easy by making a Best Days calendar here on the website, so you don’t even have to buy your own to start testing and see if it works for you. Just try it out and see, you might be surprised!