Garden Journals

One of the simplest and most important tools that any gardener can have in their toolbox is a good gardening journal. Keeping track of what you’ve grown, what problems arose, and how you handled them is the first step in becoming an expert bad ass gardener.

There are a lot of different options for garden journaling out there, that vary from very inexpensive to

Oooo this one is so pretty, but pricey. Not one of mine

very expensive, from simple to complex. I’ll be sharing a few different approaches that I’ve used as well as their benefits and drawbacks. There are plenty of amazing resources out there that range from the technical to the sublimely beautiful.

Whatever journaling technique you use, here’s is what you want to include:

• What you planted
• What varieties are you planting? Are they heirlooms or hybrids?
• When you planted it
• Did you start seeds indoors to create your own seedlings?  Where did your seeds or seedlings come from?
• Where you planted it
• General weather conditions (Whether you have a cold dry Spring, or hot wet Spring will effect how well your garden grows)
• How well it grew.
• How well it produced.
• How long did it take to emerge and produce? Does that track with the information on the seed pack or tag?
• Did you like this variety? What did you like or not like about it?
• Any difficulties, pests, diseases, etc, that you dealt with and how.

Now that is a lovely garden page, also not mine

Wow. That seems like a lot of information to keep track of.

And it is.  Don’t Panic.

I’m not a great journaler. Every year about this time I start off with the best of intentions, lovingly planning and recording every seed I start, exactly how it grows.  

Then, suddenly, May hits and I can actually spend my time outside gardening and I completely forget all about journaling because who wants to go inside and journal when there are plants to be planted and dirt to be dug and weeds to be pulled?!

I’m working on it.

This year is going to be the year that I really stick to it too. I can feel it.

Or maybe not.

Any way, here are a few of the different ways I have tried to keep track of my own garden in the past.

First of all, save your seed packs. Seed packets are filled with AMAZING information and in the case of one of my favorite seed companies Botanical Interests, they're filled with amazing art too. If you do nothing else save your seed packs from each year.
Seed packets also save you from having to record more information about varieties, expected sizes or other some such dull but important things.

Check out this rag-tag bunch of books

Let's start at the beginning of my journaling. I did garden before these journals, but I did a terrible job of keeping track of what I grew. 

This is the only journal I've ever filled

Boom! Garden journal

2012: My first "Garden Journal" was actually just a page from my regular journal. There was a brief shining moment when I was really good at journaling. I'm hoping to get back there this year.

It wasn't fancy but I wrote in it every day. About lots of things. Like parenting or cooking, or Tarot cards or gardening. In 2012 I had container garden on my back porch, and I loved it. I'll be writing more about porch/container gardening later.

2012 was also the first year that I joined the local community garden! I didn't write down what I planted there in the Spring, I think that there might've been tomatoes involved? I can't be sure. But I do know that it didn't work out so I decided to tear it out and plant some fall harvest seeds. Lesson learned, I saved my seed packs.

This is about as simple of a garden journal as you can have and, to be perfectly honest, I think it works really well.  What I would do differently is devote one page spread to each seed pack, and affix them in some way that would be removable (right now they're just scotch-taped in).  

2013: The first year I had a garden of my very own.  It was also the first year that I decided I needed a dedicated garden journal.  I got this idea from Pinterest. Later on I'll be writing an entire post about my complicated and at times contemptuous relationship with Pinterest. But suffice it to say this isn't the worst thing that website has done to me. 

Look how cute that is

The concept is simple. Procure small photo album. Put your seed packets in the small photo album. Keep your notes on a note card, also put that in small photo album. 

Not sure where 2013 I went off to. 

Easy peasy. 

This is a lovely idea if you're really into keeping notes. I thought I was one of those people who takes careful notes about every one of their plants. But I was sadly mistaken. This is however a very inexpensive method. 

Removable seed packs are a big plus. Just in case I want to read information on the back. Also Botanical Interest seeds has tons of information on the inside of their packets, so being able to open them up is necessary. 

2014: I don't have a picture of my 2014 journal because I can't find it. It's probably hiding in shame some where in my house. You see, it should've been wonderful. It was going to be great. It was the chosen one. It was a bound, scrap booked, custom, series of pockets (for seed packets) with just the right amount of space for note taking. I used colorful pens to write all my plants names. Every page was unique and pretty and carefully customized. 

I don't know if you're noticing a theme here, but I'm sure you can imagine how long that lasted. 

That's why it's hiding. 

2015: the year of fuck it

Not a lot of info on those cards...

2015:   Back to basics. I took my seed packs, put index cards in them and threw them in a box. Quick, easy, cheap. That's how I like it.  There's nothing wrong with this approach, I just have a lot of trouble going to a seperate place to keep track of everything. I am utterly obsessed with my planner, so needing to write even more stuff down ends up just being too much for me.  

This year I'm going to try using a journal again, and tracking my garden based on the month rather than the type of plant. 

I'll let you know how it goes. 

Next post: Vegetable Garden Planning! How to get the most out of your space!