11 Things To Track in Your Garden Journal
Obviously you have a garden journal since I’ve been harping on about how useful it is. (If not, check out why I’m so dedicated to this practice and some options here.) If you haven’t gotten into the rhythm of writing in it each day or are wondering how to make it as useful as possible, try some of the prompts below. You don’t have to use all of them, but I do recommend trying to find something to write down each day. If you didn’t do any tasks, try #3, #10, or #11 on that day.
The daily weather and weekly rainfall.
You’re going to check the weather every day anyway, might as well write it down. You’d be surprised how quickly you can forget the last time it rained and how handy it is to have that info in your journal.
What you planted — where and how.
Did you add compost or use fertilizer? What brand? Did the soil seem dry or moist? What time of day was it? These circumstances will be clues to help you understand why your plants did or didn’t flourish in the weeks following planting. As for where, I like to draw out a diagram of my space (in pencil, my plans are always changing!)
What’s blooming.
In the case of tomatoes and squash, this will let you know to expect fruit soon. Keeping track of when your perennials bloom will help you plan what else to put near them, either to coordinate or spread out the color show in your garden.
What and how much you harvested.
How did it taste? Do you wish you’d had more of something, or did you grow way too much? These notes will be essential when planning your garden and shopping for seeds next year.
Any pests or diseases you see and how you dealt with them.
Photos of the bugs or the damage can be really helpful in identifying problems, and many treatments need to be repeated on a schedule, so if you decide to spray, you’ll want to keep track of when and what you use. Also good for planning next year: I know to look out for slugs in spring and squash vine borers in July.
When and how you fertilized your plants.
Again, many approaches suggest feeding plants on a schedule, so you’ll need to keep track of the last time you used fertilizer. What brand did you use? How much? If your plants really produce, you’ll want to repeat the system.
What plants you’d like to grow next season OR a wish list of plants.
I keep blank pages at the back of my journal for notes and lists that aren’t time bound. One of these is a running list of all the plants I’d like to try next season. This usually just requires picking up a packet of seeds and plotting a space for it. Another is a list of “dream plants,” things like trees and shrubs that are more expensive and require more planning and decision making.
Products and tools you’ve used and what you thought of them.
Handy when it’s time to stock up on fertilizer or buy a new pair of gloves. I hated my garden hose and accidentally bought the exact same one again. Oi.
Days until first or last frost.
So much of the garden calendar is based around these two dates. I make a note of these in my calendar, but also mark the relative important dates like “4 weeks until last frost,” when I’ll start tomato seedlings indoors.
Your feelings, thoughts, and energy levels.
Are you feeling awe when you watch bees and butterflies? Or tired from too much shoveling and squatting? Keeping track of your personal experiences as a gardener will help in planning the next season. Maybe you plant more pollinator friendly flowers next year, or have someone else come in and install taller raised beds and fill them with fresh soil so you don’t have to stress your back.
Photos or drawings.
I like to take a photo of my garden from the same angle each month. It’s remarkable to compare the growth that can happen in just 30 days. And it also helps me keep my patience in early spring when I can look back at a photo from last year and know that the garden will be full by May. I also love to see close-ups of flowers and bright photos of a full harvest basket mixed in my journal with all the data.
What else do you track in your garden journal? I’d love to find out some other ideas I can put to use to make this tool even more helpful. Let me know in the comments.
