I use a spreadsheet as well. I'm far from an Excel expert. I mostly fumble my through it.

Shoot me an email and I'll send you a copy of mine if you want to see it or even use it for yourself.

Diane

I simply do a separate word processor document for each year. For instance this year will be 2010garden.doc (or given my favored word processor, more probably 2010garden.odt). I tend to make all kinds of notes, things like the weather, misc. observations, when a given variety first flowers, when I harvest first seed, etc. This system has worked well for me, other than, I sometimes get busy and forget to write things down.

George

When I lived in Fort Worth and had a smaller yard and garden, I did a wonderful job of keeping a journal. I wrote in it daily and recorded all kinds of useful information. I loved my garden journal.

After we moved here, I tried to keep a journal and it was pretty easy the first couple of years. I even drew little diagrams of each bed, carefullly noting what I planted where. As the veggie garden and flower beds expanded more and more every year, I wrote in the journal less and less. Finally, the journal became nothing more than brief notes scribbled on a calendar--generally the high/low temperatures, precipitation if any and something really brief like "Harvested beans, potatoes, tomatoes."

I'm going to try harder to keep records this year, but don't know how well it will work out. When I get really busy, keeping records/notes is the first thing to go.

Dawn

Well, I have been called an Excel expert, but I don't keep one for gardening. LOL

I thought I might try to keep better records this year, but to me the fun is in the gardening, not the record keeping so I am sure it won't be anything wonderful.

I have been thinking of starting a database for all of my seeds though, because I think it would be easier to decide what needs to go in the garden, what needs to go in a container, what is an early variety, etc. I will probably do that in a few weeks as I start my seeds. So many of my seed packets don't have planting info, or size info on them that I find I am always running to the web to look something up. With a database, I can just add dates and results as I go along.

Paula, e-mail me and I'll send you my spreadsheet and you can modify it and make it yours. Anyone else, too. It's really nothing fancy but I don't know how I'd keep track of things any other way. It does get outdated really easy in the fall when I start saving seed and it takes me several months to get it back up-to-date. I like to use ExCel because you can sort the data in several ways -- by plant name, or by seed status, or by what kind it is (veggie, flower, herb, etc.) ExCel sorting can get you into trouble if you don't know what you're doing. The main thing is to have all your columns highlighted because it just sorts what you have highlighted. If you miss a column, whatever's in that column gets meaningless because it didn't sort with the other stuff.

I keep a Word document, like George, also. In 2009, for instance, when I discovered things I wanted to do differently next year, or seeds I wanted to order, etc., I started a new document for 2010 and put those things at the top. I make a paragraph for each month and put the day of the month for each entry at the left. When things really start happening, I'm not very good about keeping up on the journal, though.

Several days ago Dawn pointed me to Tom Clothier's Seed Germination Data (see the end of the "Oklahoma Garden Planting Guide" thread). Below I have linked to the page where he keeps a database file. I don't know what has become of him, and his pages have no link. It looks like the latest update these pages had were in 2001--quite some time ago.

Anyway, I've been altering his database somewhat. I can convert the format to Excel or Open Office Calc or even a generic Microsoft or similar document.

I haven't contacted him but shall attempt to do so. I've converted his database (over 800 items in it) to MSSQL 2009 and Oracle--which are enterprise formats, as my intention is to link this database to the MESONET data sets this weekend.

I'm also writing a small program to link his data to the USDA database, as well as several others that seem appropriate.

How I have adjusted his spreadsheet so far: Expanded his germination methods to three fields instead of 1 (i.e. MethodNumber_1, MethodNumber_2, MethodNumber_3).

As I said, I am attempting to contact him, and shall keep all apprised. Tomorrow or so I shall post a link to a conversion of his database to more commonly used formats for this day and age (his original stuff is in Microsoft "Works" from the 1990s).

More tomorrow.

P.S. I'm trying to respect his ownership of this material....

Here is a link that might be useful: Tom Clothier's database files and link to his index

I try to keep good records on my tomatoes. Everything else suffers. I use a tablet I keep close to the garden usually to make notes while working and then transfer the data to a file I create for each year on the computer. But every year I end up getting busy and not noting something because I left the tablet in the house while updating ect. And will be missing some data. I try to document what additives I add to each plant, diseases, production, flavor, first fruit, ect. Last year I didn't get one container marked. I have improved but have a ways to go. Do make some notations on the peppers. I only make notations on the rest whether to plant again or not. Jay

Talk about an amateur with Excel! I rise to the top of that list. I am very familiar with Works but have been having computer difficulties with that software.........so decided to use Excel.

What I started with was all my seeds (box by box...I can't throw anything out including plants!)next to me. I listed the seed in one column, pertinent data about it, source (saved, company, friend, etc.) Amount on hand, year.

Then I screwed it all up by trying to sort it.....lost all the data except the seed list! Well I didn't want to get the messy seeds out again so I will just live with it as is.
Now the dreaded chore of sorting the actual seeds so that I can find what I want when I want it.
I have already found that I ordered three different seeds I didn't need.

I have kept a daily journal for maybe 7 years now. I just use steno notebooks and list each day with pertinent info. It is mostly gardening but other things as well.
I have looked through them many times to find when I planted certain things, when I mulched, trimmed, etc. They have been very helpful.
I do my entries with my morning coffee when I first sit down at the computer. It is pretty rustic. I don't let it become more important than the actual gardening.

I also keep a spreadsheet (works) of all new plants, shrubs and trees, date, name, company and when and where I plant them in the yard or garden.

spademilllane, I have used Clothier's database often. I will be looking forward to your version.

Robert,

I do not know if you'll be able to find Tom Clothier. He closed his business (he used to sell seeds) and retired in about 2004 or 2005. His database is quite a nice legacy that he left behind for all of us.

Dawn

I only keep a written list of plants I bought, when, where, and where I planted them.

This helps me, to remember, what I already have when I go to the nurseries.

Yep, I take my journal with me.

Moni

PS, Ilene, I mailed you. I would like to try your excel program

Diane,
I was wondering if I could try your method also. I tried writing it down but I think it would be so much easier if it were on the computer. I am a computer geek when it comes to different programs. I have a portable hard drive so all my different projects don't jam up my desktop. Anyway, I would love to start keeping notes on how each different type of plant grew for the year and what I did and all that good stuff. I also think this would be something good to hand down to my children. I would have loved to have had something like this of my grandparents or even my parents, although they didn't have a garden very often. We moved around too much.

I need to buy a notebook specifically for gardening that I can laminate my pages and put into. Sometimes I write in whatever I can find then later forget where I've wrote things. lol

Melissa