Do you keep records?

14 years ago

In trying to make it easy on myself:

I keep accurate & detailed records on all my plants, though I have found a way to simplify the process and minimize the amount of time and effort it takes to keep these records up to date. I decided that for my purposes, there were only three areas that warranted the keeping account of what my plants were doing & when. The careful selection of these three areas was key in freeing up my time to pursue plant interests aside from record-keeping.

1) Each time a plant leaves the growing bench without authorization, I mark it down. I strictly enforce the "three strikes & you're out" rule - I simply don't have time to be chasing after plants all day. The "three strikes" strategy seems to be working as the incidence of AWOL plants is very low this year.

2) When a plant pitches a fit & stops transpiring until it turns brown, I make a mental note of it. Before placing a "black mark" on the record, the plant is first put on notice that if it doesn't mend it's ways, it will be discarded, along with its own special page in my book of records. Often, just one quick trip to anywhere in the near vicinity of the compost pile is all it takes to correct this aberrant behavior.

3) Plants that pretend they are suffering for trite reasons (like lack of water or fertilizer, insect infestations or pesky diseases) will be threatened with the same three strikes rule as outlined in example #1. I remind them with something like "There are millions of starving plants in China - so you don't have it so bad". I often tell them if they don't straighten up they will have to wait until spring to be fed. At this time, I still don't mark anything down, choosing instead to put the plants and their records from example #1 in plain view; the obvious implication here being "You could be in their shoes". This usually gets them (and me) through 'til spring without having to mark anything down - but I would if I had to!!!

Let me know, please, if you have need of additional aid in structuring your own record keeping format.

Comments (11)

jojosplants
14 years ago
Good Morning Al~

Great reading here..LOL!

I'm sure a trip past the compost pile would get them to behave...LOL!

I am planning on some sort of Jornal this year, and this info is a great starting point!

Thank you!

Have a great day!
JoJo
meyermike_1micha
14 years ago
Good morning A!!

Great ideas! I would pretty much know the ages of my plants for sure if I starting keeping track..

In fact, I wouldn't of forgot that gardenia I forgot to bring in last fall that froze to death, if I had taken a tally of all the ones I brought out in the spring. I just found that porr thing under my shrubs raking, dead as a door nail!!! I forgot about him....lol

I did threaten my only "tall" gardenia this fall, and it seems to have taken my advice! It is doing great now, like never before!lol

Thank you

Take care of your self!

Hi jojo..;-)

Mike
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I use 2 ways to keep records. I keep the hard data in Excel spreadsheet and the thoughts and comments in a beautiful garden journal my daughter gave me several years ago. I find the data helpful in remembering what was successful and what was not but the journal reminds me of all the joy of gardening, and some of the distress, too. I record the variety planted, date planted, date transplanted for those not direct seeded, germination date, and first picking date. I haven't put the pricing into the spreadsheet but keep receipts. Believe it or not, I get far more back from the garden than I spend. Some things are carried long term, like the boards for a raised bed, but the annual expenses are usually recouped by early summer by the value of the produce I harvest. I keep track of rainfall for watering purposes but don't record it. General weather patterns usually make up some of the comments in the journal. Looking back over the journal and other records is pleasant in the winter. It helps plan next year's garden and is a warm reminder of summer days in a cold and dreary season. Sandy
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I currently have about 350 varieties of roses and 500-600 plants scattered over a garden of two acres or so. Most of the roses are old or older varieties, which means I not infrequently get mislabeled or misnamed plants, probably more than if I had mostly modern varieties (I'm guessing about this). So a system for keeping track of my roses is imperative. I put a label on every rose or on a stake next to it. In my experience labels get lost easily. So I also make maps of the various sections of the garden, with roses and other plants shown by name. Then I maintain an Excel spreadsheet with rose name, class, nursery or person I got it from, and a comments section. I have my roses listed on Helpmefind as well, though this is more for other gardeners who want to know what roses I have than for myself. If I do all this religiously I can keep track of my roses, though there are always a number of mysteries, many of them roses I'm given by other gardeners or propagate from cuttings. I'd go crazy with frustration if I had to rely on memory alone. Melissa
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I use my flicker page to catalogue when I buy and what they are and then I stick them in the ground or the pot. I use # pencil on plastic tags or cut venetian blinds I put on cold hardiness info. I think I aim going to switch to a color code on them so I know when to haul in or cover. I am slowing down on my purchasing. The ones I love are getting BIG and the ones that bore me get left out in the cold. (I am a bad bad bad plant mom.) I am not that organized and I am much more worried about the aesthetics than remembering the name. I figure if I need the name , I can find it out by getting on the web fairly easily. Perfect records was never important to me. They say the devil is in the details, and that is why I stay away from details. I am a big picture person.
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Sorry it took me so long to respond. Carrie,I think the others have given you good advice. Regarding POA, the laws might differ from state to state, especially when it comes to health care. You'd be wise to consult with an elder care attorney before any move. You wouldn't want to get stuck waiting for the legalities to work out before you can take charge. I also agree about keeping fastidious records of everything. Keep receipts, label them carefully so you know exactly what they are for. Make copies of everything if you can. It's extra work but might save you a lot of heartaches in the future. My mom lived with us for a while and then moved to an assisted living/memory care facility. The finances were easy because she had enough money on her own to pay for everything. So I don't have first hand experience dealing with Medicaid issues.
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greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
14 years ago
I feel the same way, Al!
With so many plants, and so little time, we can't cater to ailing, sulky, or tempermental plants.

I've been sprouting pepper seeds, and I always plant extras that must inevitably be "thinned."
I think of it as a race to the first True Leaves...and then the loser gets its head removed.

Josh
tn_veggie_gardner
14 years ago
Yet another great idea! =) I have information like this for at least all my vegetable plants, but it's scattered about mostly on my blog & some in my brain. It would be great to gather it all into one place, kind of like a reference of sorts. Oh, I grew this plant 2 years ago and had these 2 problems. I figured out that I need these things to fix those 2 problems so I can grow a healthy plant, etc., etc.. One if these days soon, hopefully i'll have time to gather the info together.

- Steve
garden_newbie_2010
14 years ago
I like the idea of threatening plants!

Last year I grew herbs for the first time. I should have kept notes, but I didn't--we only did three varieties, so it was easy to remember which plant did well with little water, which was a total prima donna, which got eaten by bugs, etc. Maybe I should actually write things down this year.
crackingtheconcrete
14 years ago
This totally made my night, Al. Fantastic!!!
I freaked out and used a guilt trip on a Plumeria (" I BARELY have room for you and yet I keep you around, hoping that you'll bloom and NOTHING!! NOTHING!!" .. it bloomed the next season.. bummer that it had to come to that though.

I'm awful at records.. and unfortunately even plants that aren't behaving I keep thinking "One more year...one more year.. one more year and it will do what I want it to)
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
14 years ago
These tactics never worked with my children, never thought it would work with my plants. In both cases I have been feeling there must have been something wrong in my care. Perhaps genetics in some cases. I have never been too sure of some in my wife's family. As for keeping records, I have great admiration for those gardeners so disposed to do so. Al
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
Original Author
14 years ago
What I wrote was totally in fun - not serious at all, of course, but I do have to say that I'm almost always unwilling to just give up on a plant and toss it. Usually, if something has gone wrong I (personally speaking) consider it grower error and need to find out where the error was and correct it. For me - it usually involves my having been lax and letting repot time slip past w/o the 'repot' part of 'repotting time' taking place, so the plant has to go through another entire growth cycle under extremely root-bound conditions. I rarely have any problems growing something that has room for roots to run; ...... and then too, I've got that whole bluff/bluster/threaten thing perfected to help keep any stubborn or aberrant plants in line, so ....... ;o)

Al
rawb
14 years ago
I don't keep a written record as for the few veggie types I grow I can maintain a mental record.. as I hope to be expanding this yr a witten record may be in order, till I know what I am doing.. As this is only my second yr gardening .. shall I say ,.. as a full time hobby!

With that said... I did try playing classical music for my plants.. I must be buying the wrong seeds.. as my plants seem to respond better to Rock n Roll.. Go figure?
ykerzner
14 years ago
Actually, nice that you bring it up, even in jest. Does anyone know of some type of label that can be put on plastic pots to mark them, preferably waterproof and able to last several years? It'd be really useful to keep track of my pots and the soil in them (I still use commercial potting mixes for most of the plants). Anyone?
rawb
14 years ago
I would imagine any sticker and an a permanant marker would work. Or maybe you could use a grease pencil to mark your numbering system right on the pot. That way it can be washed of if needed.

Do you keep records?

Comments (11)

jojosplants

meyermike_1micha

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Do you keep records?

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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)Original Author

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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
Original Author