Should You Keep a Garden Journal?

A garden journal can be a lined notebook or an inexpensive composition book for recording dates, plans and jotting notes about your garden.  It can be a printed journal divided into sections with labels and prompts.  Or, if you are creative, a journal can be embellished with pictures of your garden, colorful notes and detailed layouts.  If you are digital, a document or spreadsheet on your computer or a garden mobile app on your phone or tablet may serve you.

Whichever format you prefer, simple or detailed, a journal can be an important tool for many gardeners to track, manage, and plan their gardens effectively.

Journal topic ideas you may want to consider tracking:

Year-over-year records ⇒ Key dates from your monthly calendar ⇒ Garden improvement and plant expenses ⇒ Plant propagation ⇒ Plant successes and failures	Monthly Calendar ⇒ Rainfall and first/last frost dates ⇒ Tasks and activities to perform by month ⇒ Daily high and low temperatures and      bloom dates
Plant Inventory ⇒ Purchase dates and cost ⇒ Botanical names, varieties and requirements ⇒ Seed packet inventory & storage	Landscape sketch and mapping ⇒ Location of plants and trees ⇒ Location of water faucets and sprinklers
Pest Control ⇒ Garden pollinators and pests ⇒ Treatments	Water management and irrigation ⇒ Sprinkler locations and maintenance ⇒ Watering schedule
Lists ⇒ Plants to buy ⇒ Record purchases ⇒ Plants that were successful	Soil Amendments and Treatments ⇒ Soil Formulas ⇒ Fertilizer

It might serve you best to first try a simple method making notes as you perform activities to determine what you want to track.

Once you get into the habit of documenting then you can invest in a more organized or detailed method.

 

Happy journaling!