Another bit of information that is good to know/keep is which tree goes through which stage of bud development at what time. For example... I know that I need to do Spray X when my trees are at bud stage Y. But, it's a little hard to know exactly when to spray if you don't know when, on average all trees are in a particular stage. So, I keep a calendar table:

On the top row are all the bud stages: Silver Tip, Green Tip, 1/4 Green, 1/2 Green, Tight Cluster, Pink, Open Cluster, KingBloom, Pedal Fall, Harvest Date.

In the left column are all the varieties I grow.

Then, in each cell, is the date at which a given tree is in a given stage. In my case, these cells are multi-lined, and each line is a new year.

I then sort all trees as best I can based on bloom order.

Anyway, after I have a table like that, when I want to know when I should do my Spray X during stage Y, it's easy for me to look at a table to know when to do that.

Make sense?
-Glenn

What I keep track of in my excel spreadsheet is location (e.g. A13 for row A spot 13), variety, rootstock, date planted, bloom and harvest dates, optimal eating date (to indicate storage time needed) plus any comments. I only keep one bloom/harvest date which represents an average of the last few years. I keep a separate log of all orders by year and that is where I keep the nursery information.

Glenn, I'm not sure why you are keeping all the bud stage info when you can go outside and look. Even my bloom data I find I rarely use, and I have only been good about keeping it on the early bloomers like apricots and japanese plums where I want to monitor how early they are blooming. The harvest date I find very handy since I have 500+ varieties, its easy to forget something is ripening. Once a year I sort the spreadsheet by harvest date and print that out so I have a field record of whats coming up.

Scott

Oh one thing I forgot is I also keep a separate spray log with the date and what was sprayed and why. In the spray log I also comment on disease and pest pressure and how I think past sprays worked etc. The spray log is pretty important in my mind, it is how you remember to do better next year (and in the same year it can help you remember exactly when the last spray was). Each year in the early spring I write out a rough spray plan for the coming year based on what I did last year and what did and didn't work. And I keep a tasting log by year of all varieties tasted and my comments on them.

Scott

Hi Scott-
It seems like I have to do a lot of traveling for work in the springtime, so I like to know when I'm going to miss my sprays and then make other arrangements. The other thing is... If I don't make a chart, I find myself going out each day and studying each tree and trying to determine when I'm at the best time to do the spraying. I think 2 years ago I was out studying each tree for a month before I was actually ready to do any spraying. Perhaps it's just me being a little obsessive, but I like to know in advance when I'm most likely going to spray.

Yes, I too keep a spray log of exactly what I sprayed, why, how it worked out, and suggestions for next time.

Thanks,
-Glenn

I used to keep blueberry shrub records in the computer, but some of the records from past years are gone, when the computer died. Now, I use small notebooks for keeping essential records.

I was wondering about the size of the orchard. Whether they are for business or residential??

I started a mini orchard in my house in Milpitas. In last 28 years it has reached 14 fruits & nuts trees & 2 grape vines.
I intend adding 2 blueberry plants in 2010.

All these years I did not use any chemicals for pesticides & fertilizers. Wify gets fed up because of the bumper crops we get and keeps distributing true organic products to friends & neighbors.

In my opinion, unless, you want to experiment and graft for or start new varieties, how would data collection help you??

Going through the hassle (!!) of hard work and feeding similar chemicals as the commercial product you get in market, what difference in products you would produce, except for the convenience of vicinity.

I was watching a DVD, from County of Santa Clara, "Do the ROT thing" about "The simple art of Home Composting". There was a mention of how WENTE create & apply compost on their grapes orchards . . . . . that is commercial.

I would rather, create an organic orchard . . . .
whether for residential use & commercial use.

Simlakid, you asked about the size of my orchard and whether it was for business or residential. This is my growth pattern:

2008: 3 apple
2 pear

2009: 13 apple
2 pear
1 peach
3 blackberry vines
60 rasberries
4 grape vines
75 strawberry plants
3 blueberry bushes

So, you can see the problem :^) All residential, fresh eating, preserves, and sharing with family and friends.

I appreciate the replies. I will create a better record of my spraying this year. I can also see the value of keeping the tree's characteristics (bud, flower, fruiting, ripening).

Thanks again.

simlakid, if you were to move your orchard to the east your no-spray regimen would produce nothing but bug-ridden rotting fruit.

Glenn, its always good to keep more data, my comment was only directed at others who may get scared from the idea of keeping any records if there are too many things to keep track of.

Scott

It doesn't hurt to keep some general weather data. You can always get historical data from a nearby weather station, but you might want to record the weather trends each year along with pest pressures. That could be useful in matching your pest control with likely pest pressure which seems to be influenced by weather. For example, coddling moth in apples seems to be influenced by temperature and moisture in late May and June. Cold, wet years and we don't have any worms to speak of regardless of whether the apples are sprayed or not. In warm, dry years, you have to be on top of the spraying all the time and still there is a tremendous amount of damage.