Do you keep a plant journal?

[BewilderedGreenyO.o]

I realized today that "Wow" I have a lot of plants LOL Well... for me its a lot, its probably just a small pile compared to what some of you have but I am finding myself wanting to keep a journal of sorts to keep track of them all.

Do any of you keep a plant journal?

If you do then what do you include in it?

How do you keep it organized?

Here are my babies so far

[img]https://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt261/NySnap/Plants/Random/P7130529.jpg[/img]

[lorax]

I keep a brief, words-only chronological journal with three columns: date, action, and plant. A typical entry looks like this:

18 July 2010 -- Sprouts -- Dill planted 10 July 2010
-- Plant -- Atahualpa potato x 3 hills
-- Tomato Count -- 389 on plant A, 275 on plant B, about 25% ripe.
-- Leaf Count -- 3 on Orito, 1 on Limon

I know what my plants look like about 95% of the time, so I generally don't keep pictures with the book. What it does help with is tracking germination and growth rates; my weather doesn't change a whole lot (which I'm still not quite used to) and things grow a lot faster than they did in Canada. Corn also seems to behave differently - I have plants setting ears at about 12" tall, which is unusual to say the least.

[philljp]

I use shoot.com to record all the plants in mine.

[applestar]

At simplest, I use iCal (Calendar app) on my Mac to record things I've done. If it's a plant/project of interest, I'll note it when I sow seeds as well as when I see their first sprouts. I note when I give them a good drink and indicate which garden beds, and note significant rainfall, sometimes with inches. In the beginning and end of the season, I'll note temperatures, frost, etc.

I have the events color coded by garden beds. I keep the calendar of Month view and it gives me a good overview. I set seasonal activities as annual repeating events so it gives me an idea of when they need to be done from year to year. I also note extensive (or is that excessive? ) purchases with list of what was purchased, then note when they were planted or uppotted, etc.

BTW, this may sound organized, but I'm not, actually. I also have scraps of paper with hand sketched maps of garden beds and planting plans, a separate Excel worksheet of seed starting, uppotting, planting, etc. I basically use whatever is handy and helps me remember things.

[BewilderedGreenyO.o]

Applestar - Oh the many advantages of owning a Mac! I used to have one but it gave up the ghost Kinda gets me wondering if Vista has anything similar

Lorax - Thanx for the detail. I think it give me a better Idea about how to keep record of my plants.

Marling - I bet it would have been fun to grow plant you've never heard of before. I love learning about new plants that spark my interest.

philljp - I think that is an invalid website. This is the error that I get when going to that website. I wish the website weren't down though I was curious to see how it worked.

Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@mauihomepros.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

[SWMOgardens]

I keep a binder with all my plant tags in it. I have a computerized list of my hosta collection. I keep a catologue of all my garden photos. And, I keep a garden history of events or things I've done over the years. I also have metal labels at the base of my hostas. I find it makes it easier to remember what is where. (And keeps me from stepping on the crowns in winter.)

[FruitAddict]

I've only gardened for a few years now and really think I need to start keeping a journal of some sort. Every year I try at least one new plant in the garden and it would be good to keep track of which ones I planted to know which tasted or grew best. For example the first few two years Carrots would not get more than 3 to 4 inches long in my garden - last year I finally got nice long carrots and I know I put two different kinds in with one tasting extra good and the other only so so but I have no idea what kinds I planted and which was which so I planted 3 different varieties this year but forgot to keep track of which was which again so next year I'll be making the same shot in the dark to see if I get the good ones again. LOL.

In short I've finally learned my lesson and will start keeping track from this point forward. So I will be watching this post closely to see how you are all doing it so I can figure out the best method for me.

[BewilderedGreenyO.o]

Thanks Every1 for your replies! I haven't really decided how I am going to do it yet but here is my start. [url]https://bewilderedgreeny.weebly.com/[/url] I may keep a separate journal on paper to keep track of trunk measurements and daily notes or something lol I really appreciate your ideas and will use them the best I can

[BewilderedGreenyO.o]

Alright, So some time has passed and I'm finding it difficult to keep up with all my plants... not care wise but record wise. I also found that maybe the best way to keep my plants organized is maybe to wright information down about each one alphabetically and store the index cards in a index card sized file.. or at least just the care info for each one. Keeping up with all of them photo wise is proving to be a challenge for me as I don't have any time to sit down and do it. I'll take the photos but by the time I get them all uploaded on my computer, I either get distracted or simply have to go do something else that is more pressing. Kinda a bummer, maybe I'll get it all figured out one day but right now my collection is growing faster then I can record go figure ;p

[lily51]

I have kept different kinds of journals on my gardens, designs, where what is,etc. The last couple years since we built a greenhouse, I have used a photo album with the clear pockets and a space to write beside each. I put the seed packets in the photo pockets, then record beside it when it was started, germated, transplanted, etc. Also write notes beside it on how the plant did and any changes for next year. Don't need to write down where seeds were purchased, as it's on packet.

As for seeds collected and started, I write on a card the info I need and put in the photo pocket. To improve, I might add photos from the growing season.

[BewilderedGreenyO.o]

Your Photo Album must be Huge if you have a green house full of plants I think it is a great idea though. Sounds like easy way to collect and keep info about plants. My biggest worry is being able to quickly find and identify a specific plants specific needs as my collection keeps getting larger and my memory isn't getting any better I'm thinking with index cards or perhaps even a separate file or something for plants sorted alphabetically may be the way to go since new plants can easily be added and alphabetized. Anyone here go with the filing method?

[lily51]

I keep the album size down by putting all of one plant started the same time together...such as statice soiree seed packets all go together in one pocket once they are sown.
Also, my greenhouse is not a huge commercial one...just 16' x 28'.

The packets are arranged in order of when they were started so I can remember when to start what (my memory also is not as good as it once was )The packets also contain sowing instructions which are what I need.
The filing method would be a great way to keep track of your plants, being able to have more detailed info on the plant. Concise, easy to sort and arrange, plus easy to add any plant tags, too.
I'm sort of doing this again in a 3-ring binder with photos and information under clear page protectors, arranged by annual/ pereninial and then alphabetically in each of those. (yes, I keep two types of records. Have only been retired from teaching a year and can't seem to drop the habit)

Everyone has to find the way that works best for them, The main challenge with any recording system is to keep up with it!

[BewilderedGreenyO.o]

Amen to that! ThankYou Lily Next chance I get I'm going to go get something started that will be up to date! Once I get something and get all my plants organized I'll post back and let everyone know how I've done things and how well I think it works or vise versa

[Canadian Farmer Guy]

I have this need to document everything I do.

I keep a general garden journal, in which I write down anything I did that day in the garden.
I also keep a ledger and a page of statistics/projections for every kind of plant I have.

Maybe I'm just bored... or obsessed.

CFG

[tomf]

No I just remember what I did and try to do it again if it works.

[ozark_rocks]

I keep a garden journal. I keep frost dates, and general weather happenings from my area, in it. I keep track of what is planted where, so I can rotate crops. I also try to keep up with when certian birds migrate back here in spring, and when the wild blooms apear. Noting what happens in nature helps me know when to plant.I also note if something does better in one spot, or if a new technique helped, hindered, or made no difference.

[M.Clark]

After reading this thread, I am going to try to keep a journal online using one of those free services. That way I can include photos, charts, graphs, or other information as needed. Since this will be the third growing season in our house, I have not done too much in our gardens yet.

I think I will keep track of the following:
‣ Pant Into, (What it is, where I got it, where it was planted, conditions of the plant at that time...)
‣ Environmental Conditions: (Frost dates, light patterns, soil conditions, rain patterns...)
‣ Surprise plants found in garden (I moved into a very old house a few years back that once had an amazing per annual garden then was foreclosed and vacant for several year... we often find awesome surprises from time to time)
‣ Ideas for next year

Is there anything else that I should include that I might be forgetting about?