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Upstate New York

Does anyone keep a garden journal?

18 years ago

I was just wondering if any of you gardeners keep a garden journal? This is my 3rd year for it and I have enjoyed checking back....I keep track of the weather, ws information, when certian plants come up and other highlights in my garden and special happenings!!!

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Comments (12)

reign
18 years ago
I keep a garden journal. I don't include weather unless it is something extreme. I include photos of interesting varieties or something I haven't grown before. Lots of notes that trigger memories.
faltered
18 years ago
I started one last season and have enjoyed looking over it during the colder months, as well as comparing where my garden was this time of the year last year. I try to include temps and rainfall when I remember, along with what seeds sprouted when, when certain plants wake up outside, etc. Very helpful.

Tracy
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What do you use for a garden journal?
Q
Comments (47)
I use a spiral bound notebook, with a pen attached with a length of cord. The information is written in my own code/shorthand, along with planting maps of individual beds (garden is a collection of raised beds). The date goes left of the margin. I record any gardening activity I may wish to remember, what is planted where, rainfall, unusual weather trends, and nature observations of interest (e.g., "first Japanese beetles arrive.") I do a "note to self" section each year, which I keep on the last pages of the notebook. Here I record action points that I want to remember next season, e.g., grow more or less of this or that, this variety was terrible and that variety was spectacular, start the eggplants sooner, etc. I find it very helpful to distill these points out from the main narrative pages and record them separately as the season progresses and while I am thinking of them - then I have the "lessons" of that season compiled in a neat list, without having to wade through the main pages searching for them. In my experience my note taking is much more reliable and complete if the notebook is always in a special spot in the garden (once we start growing outside, of course). Currently that means my notebook lives in the glove box of my golf cart, since I always take the golf cart to the garden (being far from the house). In gardens past it has meant leaving it in a special spot in the garden shed, or in one garden with no building, installing a mailbox in the garden to keep the journal in.
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Do you keep a garden journal?
Q
Comments (14)
I keep daily weather logs because I'm a weather nut. In my weather logs, I make brief garden entries. I used to keep a specific garden journal but after decades of gardening I decided my garden was a place of enjoyment, relaxation, & peace. It was not a science experiement. Maintaining detailed records became a chore & when I got behind...I felt somehow guilty. Realized I was making work out of pleasure so I stopped. I do maintain a list of everything that's planted in the gardens & note if something dies. And, that's more for if/when we sell the property since our gardens & my botanical listings sold our last home before it hit MLS. Keeping track of the weather has been of enormous help to me in my gardens. I've learned that my perceptions of what the weather has been are almost always wrong. Having actual weather facts has resulted in much positive shuffling of plants in my gardens. For example, this year I don't think my lilac met its dormancy requirement explaining the ridiculously poor bloom. If it happens again next year, I'll probably give up on lilacs. Global warming is very evident in my shoreline garden. I'm 'sperimenting with new hydrangea varieties because now even variegated ones are blooming for me. But, no journal of exact bloom dates, diseases, critters, etc. Tricia
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Do you keep a garden journal
Q
Comments (33)
I wish I had kept a garden journal sooner Â I have found that over the years I repeated the same mistakes or bought a plant again that didnÂt survive a few years earlier & didnÂt again Â If I would have keep a record of what had not survived I would of saved myself time and money. Since I like keeping track of other things I do at home & at work I started garden journaling. Garden journals or a diary can really help keep you on track. I tried several that were very limiting as to what you could do with them. I like keeping receipts handy for guarantees, a place to list & keep pictures what I want to buy, do or try this fall or next year. Compare weather/growing conditions from year to year, etc. etc. Well, there is a 3 ring binder garden recordkeeping system that does all that and provides flexibility for individual needs. It even has hybridizing charts, forms to write fertilizer & weed control successes & failures and more. Lots of room to write down all your notes and thoughts. I really, really like. What a time saver and it keeps everything in one place. So I wanted to share this with you since it is hard to find journals that offer this much. You can check it out at aGardenersJournal.com Here is a link that might be useful: A Gardener's Journal: Plan, Plant, Grow...Record the Results
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Do you keep a gardening journal? and if so how do you keep it?
Q
Comments (15)
A nice "take with you to the garden" journal consists of using a recipe box (I prefer the 5"x8" size) and use two types of dividers (Alphabetical A-Z and Monthly Jan-Dec). I then file a card for each plant/tree/shrub by name of plant and also include plant detail/care/other information, where/when/price purchased, and where planted in the alabetical section. I also can place a photo protected by clear tape on the back of the card. In the monthly section, I file general cards noting "TO DO'S" that I would like to accomplish that month so I don't forget seasonal needs (fertilize, prune, etc). One could also add additional sets of alphabetal A-Z dividers in possibly different colors to use to further divide different groups (annuals, perennials, trees/shrubs, etc). You can also use the monthly section for other monthly reminders you may want to remember (birthdays, anniversaries, or special "to do" reminders). Hope this is helpful - Works for me!
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remy_gw
18 years ago
I don't have one. I really should. I do have an overstuffed photo album that has pictures and plant info cut from catalogs. It is mostly of things I have growing or have grown. There are dream plants too. I do have a few actual plant photos from my yard in it too.
Remy
dirthappy
18 years ago
I have one this year. I wanted to track the progess in the greehouse. It has when they were started, when they sprouted and then follow up notes after they were repotted. I also added a few pictures of inside the greenhouse.
oldroser
18 years ago
I'm starting my 6th year of garden journal and wish I'd started earlier. I record temperature, barometer reading and weather each morning (gives me something to enter in winter) and then go on to garden note.s Great to look back and find, for instance, that this year the season is 10 days ahead of last year. Try to put in when things come into bloom and sometimes when they finish, when veggies are planted and when picked, what plants are set out and where...
I use a journal book by Penelope Hobhouse but it's getting increasingly hard to find, even for Amazon.
User
18 years ago
Yes. It's fun to look back at the excitement of putting things in one year and the note the following year to never plant that one again!!
garden_frog
18 years ago
I really need to start keeping one. Maybe I will start now!

I know as time goes on, I forget what I planted where and such. I used to be so on top of that stuff, but not so anymore.

Anyone know of any good online garden journal sites? How's the one through gardenweb?
reign
18 years ago
garden frog - online you can use a blog. I keep mine offline in a little application.

Here is a link that might be useful: 30 trial
bonnie_ny
18 years ago
I have kept a journal for many years. I include severe or odd weather conditions, tags from my plants, how they do, when I transplant them and where I plant them. I also started one when I began landscaping my Dad's pond and when I started a garden at my grandmother's 11 years ago. My son bought her house last fall and I gave his fiance my journal from that garden. It was very hard to let it go because of all the memories in it but I knew she was excited to have a flower garden and this would give her the history of it.
srrn
16 years ago
HAHA, MY KIDS USED TO TELL ME I WAS SUCH A GEEK BECAUSE I KEPT ONE! GOOD TO KNOW I'M NOT ALONE...
blueberries
15 years ago
I keep one and I'm 17 years old. It's my first garden and I'm growing a lot of fruit so I took pictures of all my plants' tiny developing berries and can't wait to compare them to next year's production.
penny1947
15 years ago
I started one several times but as the season wore on I got so busy I didn't have time to keep it up.

Bloueberries I commend you! It is nice to see younger members taking an interest in gardeing both ornamental and produce gardening.

Penny

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