Garden journal and calendar available from MU Extension

“Extension on the Go” by Debbie Johnson. Episode 110: Garden Journal

PERRYVILLE, Mo. – There are many steps to creating a beautiful, productive garden. Soil preparation, mulching, adding compost, starting seeds, when to plant and when to harvest are just a few things you need to understand to create a successful garden.

Donna Aufdenberg, Sarah Denkler and Katie Kammler, horticulture specialists with University of Missouri Extension, have created “From Seed to Harvest and Beyond: Garden Journal and Calendar” to help both beginners and experienced gardeners.

The spiral-bound book includes graphs for designing both spring and fall gardens. There’s information on gardening with children, container gardening, planning a flower garden and more.

“The more information you can add to this journal the better,” Aufdenberg said. “It’s helpful for tracking fertilizers, pesticides, what you did in the garden that made it a great year or what happened to make it a bad year.”

Sharron Unterreiner, a Missouri Master Gardener in Perry County, uses a garden journal every season.

“That journal can help anybody. It gives you month by month what you should be doing in the garden,” Unterreiner said. “It’s an awesome tool.”

The garden changes from year to year because of weather and other environmental factors.

“It’s like life. We all change and so does the garden,” Unterreiner said. “Two years ago we had a terrible drought; things were different last year, things are different this year, and that journal helps me keep track.”

The journal has pages of pests and diseases, pages for flower gardening, and tools for rotating crops and tracking pH and nutrients, Aufdenberg said.

While there is a lot of gardening information on the Web, the notes you make in your journal will be specific to your area and your garden, she said.

“Soil types are different. The environment can be different depending on whether you live north or south,” Aufdenberg said.

Many gardeners will tell you that to succeed you need to get your garden plans on paper and then keep good records. “From Seed to Harvest and Beyond: Garden Journal and Calendar” can help you do both, she said.

To order, visit http://extension.missouri.edu/p/mp928.