4 tips for using a garden journal

With spring abound, the sprouts are sprouting, buds are budding, and blooms are blooming. The earth is teeming with new life and what a beautiful world it is! Greens, yellows, purples, corals, pinks, and every color in between, everywhere you look.

I plant plants (rarely seeds) just about year-round. The San Diego climate is generally forgiving of my planting missteps, and I’m able to keep a fairly robust garden landscape going. That’s not to say I haven’t killed a plant or 50. I lean heavily on succulents to fill gaps, and hearty, woody shrubs like rosemary and lavender to take up space.

This year will be different though! This year, I’m trying for a veggie garden (again)!

I have gophers and bunnies everywhere. The few seasons I’ve tried to have a vegetable garden I battled the scavenging little critters and lost every time. Every time. It’s so annoying.

This year, I have gopher-proof raised beds! I’m determined to plant a variety of vegetables from seed. I want my kids to see a seed go in the ground and sprout, grow, fruit, and be harvested as a food they can eat.

As a writer and list maker, I’ve committed to documenting every thing we plant in my Garden Journal. Dates, weather, names, and more get logged and tracked. The purpose is to learn from the previous year and have a more bountiful harvest the next.

Here are 4 best practices for a successful, usable garden journal:

1. Section off your book: Planting; Sprouts; First Fruit; Harvest, and Diagrams. Use tabs.
2. Track dates and names: When did what happen, and to which plant? Logging the dates you planted, saw fruit, harvested, etc., will help you better plan for next year. Document down the name of the plant. “Yellow flowering shrub” only works if you never want to plant another one! 😉
3. Use it. Consistency is key. You won’t need to update it daily, but probably weekly once your bounty starts getting ready for picking. When you notice a change in a plant or do any pruning, harvesting, soil treatments, whatever, take 2 minutes and write it down so you won’t have to any second guessing next year.
4. Chose YOUR book: Which book works best? The one that you use the most. Do you want one with pockets and graph paper? A simple spiral bound? What do you see yourself realistically using? Use that one. Mine looks like this:

I know I’m not alone in my Garden Journaling. Share what works for you in the comments!