Do you keep a garden journal?

[Float On]

Every year, I think I'll keep a garden journal with maps of what I planted where and notes of how things grew, how much they produced, or when the bugs attacked and destroyed.
And every year.....I fail to start that journal.
I'm glad my 14 year old follows me around and helps me plant stuff. We were standing out there tonight looking at everything coming up and I couldn't remember 1/3 of what I planted but he remembered everything.

[iris lily]

I kept one for probably 12 - 16 years. But then I lost interest in general plants moved to specialize in iris and lilies, and I have a load of record keeping to do with them so I no longer keep a journal. It is boring to read, anyway. Yet, keeping a simple bloom calendar would be useful. I do sometimes jot down, for the year, an outstanding problem such as the year my main iris bed was infested with fungus, or the year hail fell and ruined all lily plants for the show even though the flowers were lovely!

[KayLR]

I kept one for a couple years, and found them semi-useful. If I get one early, I'll use it. If the garden season begins and I don't have one yet, or I didn't start an electronic one [which I did one yr], then I don't even start. It's either plan and execute early with me, or not at all. I like the ability to keep all my notes in one place, plus lists, diagrams, etc.

[herbgeek]

I've started them many a time, but by mid season have completely abandoned them. Usually I write down what and when I started stuff but don't include how the plants actually fared.

[razz]

I keep a journal showing when planted and in which row in order to know the rotation so that I am not planting similar families in the same spot each year. It is a challenge sometimes to keep everything separate for the three-year rotation.

I don't take note of harvest though. Probably should. I do take note of what I preserve and place in the freezer so that is sort of a yield record.

[Jemima]

Last year I bought a garden journal from Amazon called The Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener's Handbook by Ron Kujawski and Jennifer Kujawski , although I didn't keep up with it very well. They describe the weeks as so many weeks after the last frost rather than the actual dates, which I found rather annoying. They do include a lot of good tips.

This year I figure all bets are off. Spring started here in the mid-Atlantic states about three weeks ago and I've been following the planting schedule in The Old Farmer's Almanac. So far, so good. Today the high is supposed to be 77 degrees. Weird. Usually in southeastern Pennsylvania this time of year we're anticipating the last snowstorm.

[jania]

I try to keep a journal, just one of those "composition books" which I covered with a vintage paper. I find them very helpful, remembering what happened last year, but the problem is I forget to make entries. This post just reminded me I haven't recorded anything since the fall, and a lot has happened since then. Oh well, as least now I know I'll get it out in a few minutes and record my thoughts.

My journal is very informal, just random jottings on what I've been doing, what's been planted and how it's doing. I dream of creating a masterpiece with charts and drawings but that's just not who I am.

[CathyA]

I had one for many years, but the busier I got, the less I wrote in it. I do keep all the labels from various trees/shrubs/flowers that I plant and keep them in a pile, until I write them down in my journal. Its very helpful to remember exactly what they are and when they were planted (and where).
I also keep track of what kind of veggies I've planted and try to remember and go back and write down how they did.
I sometimes write down stuff like "Quit buying so much stuff in the spring!! Its too hard to take care of!!" lol! .......but alas, you know how that goes...........

[Tweety]

The only record I keep is a map of what perennials are planted in which flower beds. That helps me in the spring when I can't remember what is coming up and where to put new plants.