Keeping Records

[MarkHackwell]

I was just wondering does anyone keep records of what you have grown when? and how do you do it? Blog, book, diary?

I was thinking of doing it by blog this year soo have created some blogs which I did in previous years but unfortunately didnt keep up to date

[Potstubsdustbins]

I keep written notes.

Originally I would record lots of info but now as over the years I have done the same thing over and over they have become more simplified.

Now I keep a monthly note of the weather. The variety of each plant, sowing time and in what pot. Germination date and rough percentage of germination, potting on dates and finally yield and taste.

Potty.

[Dorothy rouse]

I usually start keeping a record of the date when I sow stuff, and what variety, just use a diary, but must admit, to not keeping this up after a few weeks, also record when I first harvest the crop.

Am going to try again this year, maybe I'd do better to keep an online record, cos having a rough idea, of how you are doing is useful, and what does well and what doesn't.

[Thelma Sanders]

I have lotty plans, seeds lists and sowing dates on Excel, it works well for me

[Martin H]

I use an A5 notebook.

My allotment is broken up into 20 no-dig beds. In the notebook I have a separate double-page spread for each bed, with a diagram to show where things are planted. Under the diagram, and on the opposite page, I note down when each crop was sown / planted / harvested and what it turned out like.

I update it in the evening after working on the plot, so it doesn't get muddy.

For 2014 I've got 20 mostly empty diagrams at the moment

[WilliamD]

Excel for me too.

[Bill HH]

I religiously keep an annual diary listing all the relevent factors, this lasts until approximately january the 6th, then it changes to a sort of shorthand such as "on pl jan7 cold" this continues until Jan 10th when I realise I cant decipher a single word.Rarely do I ever get to Feb.
But then having a razor sharp mind with total recall I store all these facts in my memory where it seems to compost into a mush.

[greenishfing]

I am absolutely useless at keeping gardening records, I have tried in the past but I am just too disorganised. By the end of January there are lots of gaps and by Feb I have lost the diary.

The best I manage is to go round the allotment once a week or so with the digital camera and then put all the pics onto a dvd at the end of the year. At least then I have a record of what grew in which bed and with the wonder of the digital camera the pics are all dated. I can also compare how things are performing compared to previous years.

I also keep all my empty seed packets so that I know what variety I have planted and can decide if I want the same again.

I am generally quite good at labelling plants when I plant them as well.

[andy_j]

I use a large wall planner on my allotment shed wall.

[Ja9]

Some of you seem very organised! I have a written diary. I carefully plan,month by month,what I need to sow,sowing dates,germination,potting on and when planted out.I find this very useful when it gets hectic for sowing mid-spring so I don't forget anything.
I am rubbish about recording yields but plan to do that this year. I tend to use photographs to record what I have harvested in my trug, and also take monthly pictures of all the raised beds, fruit cage and greenhouse.I then stick these in my diary at the end of the year sitting by the fire with a glass of wine!

[chilli_grower]

I also take lots of photos. Ensuring that the date stamp is enabled.

[PyreneesPlot]

Oh dear. I'm now a bit worried about myself.
I have a spreadsheet with the ideal seed sowing dates and a word doc listing the crop rotations and manuring/fertilising regime for each bed. These are both on th pc.
I have an a4 indexed book where I record sowing, germination, potting on, planting out and first harvest dates.
I also have a diary recording weather every day, what I did, and then what we ate. This also has things like first swallows of the year recorded in it.
I have done this religiously until I became ill and couldn't really garden. And not having a diary entry for yesterday means I'm behind already this year.

[snakeshack]

I nail plastic plant labels to the edge of my raised beds which I change the following spring so my rotation is sorted.i do however keep a book which alphabetically lists all my seeds and also lists by sowing date if you turn the book over. I'm now not allowed to buy seeds unless I have it with me


Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum

[sparrow100]

I've got a plot plan to draw on, an excel sheet of seed stocks and I keep a weekly diary/blog on John Harrison's allotment forum. I've kept it going for a whole year, something that I've never managed before with blogs/diaries. What helps with that is that there are lots of other diaries to read through and many helpful comments from others when I get stuck.

[Aberdeenplotter]

whatever system is used, it is essential to keep up recording the info otherwise there is no point in starting

I use a loose leaf system in a lever arch file indexed so that I don't have too much searching to do for any particular crop. If I wasn't growing for exhibition, I don't think I'd bother but having to grow for specific show dates makes some sort of discipline an essential part of the process and it's good to be able to look at sowing dates etc for years gone by when deciding when to sow the current year's crops.