Garden Journaling

When I started gardening, a wise friend told me to write everything down.

I thought she was insane. I was working with about 25 square feet of earth. I'm a smart woman with a young(ish) and healthy brain. Surely I could remember from one season to the next what happened in my little garden.

Nope. I don't remember! Perhaps when I recently learned that scientists at Vostok station in Antarctica once recorded a temperature of -128F I reached my brain's threshold of information storage space and the emergency release valve inside my cerebral cortex flushed the garden info in a moment of panic.  Who knows why one tidbit sticks and another doesn't? What I do know is that I worked really hard in my little garden and I want to improve it each year.  That means avoiding making the same mistakes over and over each season.

A garden journal can be a key to gardening success and it is super easy to make your own.

I started mine in a 3-ring binder. In my opinion, a binder works better than a bound notebook because it allows you to add in paper whenever and where ever you need to. Also, plastic pocket sheets can be perfect for storing old seed packets, pressed flowers, leaves, receipts, or any other tidbits you want to keep track of.

You can make your garden journal as businesslike or as artistic as you like! Your garden is a great creative space. Feel free to let that creativity flow over into your notes. On the other hand, if you are so exhausted and overwhelmed by everything your trying to do each day don't feel like this needs to be one more major project in your life. Jotting a note on a scrap of paper and tucking it into your binder can be perfectly sufficient.  My journal tends to be a list of notes and quick, messy sketches of what I want to remember.

No matter your method, there are a few items you should be sure to include.

1) What you planted

Don't just write, "tomatoes."  Make a note that you planted "BrandX beefsteak tomatoes from seed purchased online from BrandX.com."  You will find that different seed companies and nurseries will sell different quality products. Seeds and seedlings are also affected by how long they sit in the store.  It will be good to know from year to year which brands work best for you and which stores sell the brands you love.

2) When you planted

There are general "rules of thumb" for every climate zone but sometimes slight variations in the land can mean that your perfect planting dates are a week or two different from those just 30 miles down the road. Keeping track of your planting dates is a great way to figure out what works best in your particular area.

3) Where you planted

Make a little diagram of your garden and note where each crop was grown.  Planting the same item in the same place year after year will result in depleted nutrients in the soil.  It's good to know where things have been previously so you can switch them up every season or two.

You will also likely find that different spots in the garden have different types of soil and sun exposure. Your potatoes might thrive on one end of a row and wither on the other. Keeping track of that information will help you maximize your yield from one year to the next.

4) Unusual events

Last year was perfect tomato growing weather in my region. It was hot and humid and almost every single day of the summer had just a little bit of rain. I made a note of that in my journal. That way when I harvest half as many tomatoes this year I can look back and see that it's not because this crop is poor, but because that crop was exceptional.  That same weather was responsible for the powdery mildew that killed our pumpkins. If we get similar weather in the future I will know to take preventative measures.

Besides unusual weather, you may want to note if there is a large population of harmful insects in your garden, plant diseases, if your upwind neighbor sprays herbicide, if your dog decides to romp through the flowerbed… take note. You may find yourself 2 years from now trying to remember why your garden patch didn't do well in 2014.

5) Yield

At the end of the season record what your harvest was like. You could be very specific and keep track of the exact weight of each day's haul or you could just go back to the page where you noted what you planted and write, "excellent producer" or "didn't perform well."

6) Anything else that catches your eye and your interest

Did you find a gorgeous tiny flower among your weeds? Are you curious about that one weirdly shaped root? Does working in the garden evoke a certain emotion for you?  Does it inspire you to draw? Let your journal evolve into something that is personally and uniquely yours!

Want more articles by Elizabeth?

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Elizabeth Comiskey has a true passion to care for the planet, promote world peace and raise her children to be productive citizens. She's also a normal working mom - exhausted and constantly pressed for time - so she seeks out the most efficient possible ways to do these things.  Lazy Hippie Mama was born of her certainty that she couldn't possibly be the only one who cares a great deal about improving the world around her and connecting with others in meaningful, inspiring ways but lacking in time and energy. Visit her blog or join her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Elizabeth is also a Sverve influencer - connect with her here.