This year I did my required volunteer hours (and then some!) for the Madison Area Master Gardeners Association by co-editing its Wisconsin Garden Journal.  The efforts and expertise of many Master Gardener Volunteers were poured enthusiastically into this volume.

 THIS BOOK WOULD MAKE A GREAT GIFT

FOR EVERY GARDENER IN ZONES 3-5 ON YOUR GIFT LIST!!!!

 My co-editor, Rae Vogeler and I didn’t pick the theme, Celebrating our Past – Cultivating our Future, but we found it easy to work with.  We quickly agreed that the underlying premise would be sustainable gardening – something that past generations took for granted and the only way we are going to get a future.  The photograph for July came from the Wisconsin State Historical Society and features some massive vegetables that I would suspect had been photo-shopped, if I hadn’t held the original print in my hands.

 This 196-page weekly engagement calendar is packed with tips on how to make the most of your garden all year long.  Each month starts with a tip I ferreted  out of an old garden journal or almanac at the Historical Society. ( It’s really a hoot to sit there wearing white cotton gloves and handling catalogs printed 150 years ago.  The contemporary tips were researched and written by master gardener volunteers from around Wisconsin.  I learned a ton editing them.

The Journal includes three commissioned articles:

Gardening in Grandfather’s Time by Jerry Minnich, a Wisconsin author well credentialed to chronicle some of the best and worst of how things used to be grown.

Growing Your Own, by Vincent M. Smith, detailing his Ph.D. research into how much food Madison area gardeners are growing and why.  Vincent broke the mold in his research, reaching out to dozens of citizen scientists to help gather this interesting data.

We Seed into the Future by Janet Macunovich and Steven Nikkila who publish a weekly newsletter for gardeners, “What’s Coming Up?” which you can request at JMAXGarden@aol.com.

This is not flagrant self promotion.  All of the $14.95s that are collected in selling this book are donated to promote gardening projects.  This is gardeners helping gardeners. 

Does it get better than that?

MAMGA has published the Wisconsin Garden Journal since 1984 to share gardening information and raise funds for Gardening Project Grants.

This really is the gift that goes on giving.

In 2011, we awarded a total of $4,758.61 to six community or school gardening projects

and a total of $2,800.00 to five public gardens important to master gardeners:

• Allen Centennial Gardens
• the Dane County Extension Office Teaching Garden
• the Native Plant Demonstration Garden at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum
• Olbrich Botanical Garden
• University Display Gardens at the University of Wisconsin West Madison Agricultural Research Station

THERE ARE PLENTY OF THESE DANDY BOOKS LEFT, AND YOU CAN ORDER THEM HERE.