One of the reasons we wanted to start this blog was to help us keep track of our gardening journey. In a way, this blog is like a journal – tracking what is growing, what went well, and sharing tips, tricks and items we used. It’s important to keep a garden journal so you can reflect on the past season and use those insights to improve on next year.
What to Include in your Journal?
What you choose to journal on is entirely up to you, but for us it was important to cover a number of areas:
Weather
Every year the weather is different. This year we had very high temperatures in early May, followed by late frosts. This wrecked havoc with early flowering fruits such as apples, strawberries and peaches. Last year I recall May being very mild but also very wet. While journaling about the weather will help you learn what worked and what didn’t, it can also help you better plan for the following year. For example, we just invested in a frost/shade cloth for our raised beds to help overcome any unexpected weather and extend our gardening timeframe slightly.
What You Plant And When
If you read the post on in-between gardening we mentioned keeping a seed inventory. This has been a great way to document not only what we had to plant, but what we did plant and when. We documented whether we directed sowed, transplanted, how long it took for things to germinate and how long it took for harvest. Since every plant variety is different and will grow differently based on your exact location, weather and environmental conditions, we can revisit and see if any adjustments are needed for next year.
What Worked And What Didn’t
Sometimes things just don’t work out how you planned. Maybe you planted too early, watered too little, chose the wrong variety, were invaded with pests, or chose the wrong location there is so much you can learn. Already this season we have had some failures, but having something not work out allows you to do some research and try again. Having that journaled can be a great way to remember and not make the same mistakes the following year.
How to Journal?
How you journal is completely up to you and we would recommend use whatever makes it easy for you to do so. If it isn’t convenient then you will forget to journal. There also doesn’t have to be a set way you do it. For example, we journal in a variety of ways:
Take Photos
This is probably the easiest and most efficient way to keep track of what you planted, when you planted it, and what worked as you will have photo evidence to reflect back on. We used photos of when we planted our garden last year to help us determine if we were planting too early or too late this year. The photos also helped us recall where certain plants were planted. This is important if you are trying to rotate crops or if you are trying to find a better location. The photos were also helpful to understand plant spacing. A photo timeline can also be very rewarding to look at, especially when growth sometimes feels very slow.
Take Notes
A very simple way is to use the Notes app on your phone. We all tend to carry our phones with us everywhere we go, so you’ll have the ability to journal anytime and anywhere. This is a great and convenient way to document your garden changes. If capturing notes on your phone isn’t your style, any basic blank notebook will work just as well. This is the method we used last year. We used the notebook to sketch plans, and even to journal the progress of our chicks from day to day.
Use a Spreadsheet
Spreadsheets are really helpful to organize multiple data points. Using one to list everything you are growing and dates, with notes and maybe some color coding can be very useful. They can be filtered and sorted, and if you use something like Google Sheets, they can also be accessed on any device. We use this method to log all of our seeds and starts.
Write a blog
This is why you are here! Writing this blog has been our main way to track our garden’s progress and essentially consolidate all of our photos, notes, and data.
How Often To Journal?
Your journaling approach will depend on your style and preferences. How often is really up to you.
Daily
If you are already a daily journaler this may be the best fit for you. Consider spending 2 minutes every day logging the weather, if you watered/fertilized, and any new developments you see, for example “radishes started germinating”. This approach works well during the active seasons. You could continue journaling daily during the winter, or scale it back depending on your garden situation.
Weekly
A weekly review, maybe done at the weekend, is a great way to reflect on the changes you have seen that week. Taking photos every week can help you form a photo timeline. This is a less pressure option than logging daily, and it doesn’t matter if you skip a few days. You can highlight the tasks you completed that week – weeding, fertilizing, adding compost etc.
Seasonal Transitions
This is the least frequent approach but is helpful for planning and tracking trends. As the seasons change, often new crops get planted which makes it a perfect time to reflect. You might want to dedicate a little more time to put together a more thorough entry. This approach works well in collaboration with the simple daily approach also – perhaps once a season you review your daily notes and format them into a clearer, succinct entry.
Bottom Line
No matter how or how frequently you decide to journal, you will find it worthwhile. Journaling is the ultimate tool whether you use it as a creative outlet, a learning tool, or to elevate your garden.
