Gardening Diaries?

[Westi]

I'm a total disaster at keeping my records of growing, harvesting, weather etc. I've made a decision not to bother, I can never get past Easter anyway.

BUT - I've not given up on having a diary, so have a cute little A6 book that I'm going to write down all the hints & tips that I immediately forget when struck with some disaster or another at lottie with a poor phone signal! Molasses or baking soda?? Garlic Spray or Aspirin? By the time I get home, search it, get distracted, get back down etc the crisis has taken over & the plants are too sickly to save or at least get a decent crop from as much as I coax them along! It is also going to be my to do list, which again I won't stick to, but it will remind me I didn't do it when I have a flip through, so maybe will catch up at some point.

Overly optimistic maybe, but I feel more comfortable having a nice blank page without a picture of a veg or an inspirational quote! Who's disorganised like me & who's spot on with their garden records?

Westi

[oldherbaceous]

No records or diary for me either, Westi......I would only put it down somewhere, never to be found again...

[Pa Snip]

I do not keep a diary in full detail, I do keep meaning to note weather conditions and times when I visit the allotment but have never got round to it.

This is the log of the Pa Snip enterprise.

Variety..... Type....... Date Sown.......Date Planted out......Number.......Date Picked.......Yield No or Weight........Cost


Each variety, and type, has its own page which are kept in an annual file so that comparison year by year may be made.

[PLUMPUDDING]

My diary has a note of all the frosts which is useful when I'm over optimistic to start planting in spring. I also reserve a page for things I want to do in the next year which I will have forgotten if they aren't written down. This also is a reminder to reorder certain seeds that have done well and I've used up. It's also useful to note ideas of changes to the lay out and more major landscaping projects. If you take note at the time of year when they are relevant you won't have forgotten by the time you want to put them into practice. A photo can be useful too.

A plan of where every thing is is good too so you can keep a note for crop rotation. It can also link to how certain crops have performed in different parts of the garden if you write that down. I've done a simple map of the layout and size of the beds and paths and duplicated it so I can just add where things are each year.

If I don't get round to writing much I just do a summary at the end of the month.

[Monika]

I have kept a general diary for almost 40 years with very, very few days without a record. They are always A4 office dairies, a day a page, on which I record the weather (max and min temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind and barometric trend), followed by the day's general happening (with photos, grandchildren's first drawings etc between the pages) and then all my gardening activities and the wildlife observed in the garden and around us. I don't weigh or measure any yield but can check on what days I sowed, planted or harvested certain things. Once you have done that for some time, it becomes so routine that you would never forget to do it every night. And it's useful for future reference.

[robo]

I had the idea of keeping a record of our fishing trips ,time of lock out and in, how many on board, fishing marks , and catch,the weather , I managed it for 2 years and it settled a few arguments after 2 years I gave up but still occasionally look at it for the same day or nearest to the one I'm fishing on, I found it a chore that's why I gave up ,we only fish around once or twice every 2 weeks the thought of writing every day about life on the plot is more than I could cope with I think I would have a breakdown

[Geoff]

I have a spreadsheet of my seed stock that lists all the varieties I have grown over the years I have been keeping it, just shows them as zero stock if I have stopped growing them, means I'm not tempted to try something I have given up on previously. Other columns have notes I have collected over the years mainly about suggested timing. The final column has sowing week numbers in blue for outside, black for either and red for inside (these are where they are going to grow, not where I sow them, I start most things under cover). Each year I buy a cheap 'week to view' diary, I rule a vertical line on each page, left is outside, right is inside (two greenhouses, shed with plastic roof and polytunnel). I go through the spreadsheet and pencil in the sowing plan on Mondays, for example, Runner Beans say sow week 18 so this year there was a pencil entry in the diary for Monday 2nd May to sow Runner Beans. When I do something I write an entry in pen, Tuesday 3rd May sowed Runner Beans. I also have a plot plan, again it is planned in pencil and at the end of the season I type up what I have actually done and print and file it so I can plan each year to move things around. I do make some weather notes in the diary too, but they are not comprehensive, and first Curlews, Swallows etc.

[Westi]

I'm doomed! You guys are so organised - best I just rely on you guys for advice then! (Our waiting list is quite small if you fancy moving)! OH I'm so pleased I'm not the only one! I loose everything - only at home mind, at work I appear & am criticised for being so organised - too weird hey?

Westi

[OscarSidcup]

I take photos of everything and then put them in folders and then when planning I write notes which I then photograph and file too. I do back up but have now quite a lot of photos (with a very small plantation compared to yours). So let's see...
My OH was given a RHS diary for his birthday, and he said he will use it. Mmh. I am hopeful. Would be good to be able to compare notes and cross check.

- Geoff: you system sounds AMAZING.

[PLUMPUDDING]

My gardening diary is just a lined hardback A4 book which is more of a gardening record and lasts several years. I just put the year at the top of the page and the dates in the margin. It's nice to relax in the armchair and jot my records and ideas down without looking at a screen.

I keep a separate day to a page desk diary to record all the birds and wildlife, insects, weather etc for the BTO garden bird record which I send in weekly and for my own info. They also like a record of dead or diseased birds and animals. The usual reason for mortality is cats!

[mr-cecil]

Every time I return from the plot, I update a note I have iCloud (website for apple phones) notes saying what I've just done.
I also maintain a microsoft visio drawing of my plot (both for planning ahead and as "as built"). However, I am an engineer....so that kind of thing is just what I do.
I often take pictures of what I'm doing while I'm doing it. Not only can that be interesting to look back on, it is it a very simple way of keeping a record....perhaps you can try that if nothing else!
I already have my plan for 2017 and laid out in a drawing....sad eh?