Tomatoville® Gardening Forums - View Single Post - Your tips for recording production/journaling?

VirginiaClay · January 27, 2022

I've tried to keep a garden journal for the past two years, and my experience was similar to yours I think. In 2020, I managed to write in it fairly frequently through August 11, at which point I stopped cold and never went back to it. Then in 2021 I did a decent job through mid-May, took two weeks off, started up again in June, and quit on June 22, never to be heard from again. After that, there are just some random cell phone pictures of harvests.

I use small, cheap, spiral-bound memo books. Past two years were 4"x6", small enough to fit in the pocket of my shorts or in the pocket of my bag. This year I'm stepping up to 5.5 x 8 because the smaller ones are awkward to write in. I use cheap ones instead of nice journals so I don't worry about sweating on them or getting them dirty.

I draw ugly freehand diagrams of the garden to record what is planted where, and it looks like a 3-yr-old drew them, but it gets the job done. (My brother creates beautiful, color-coded diagrams of his garden in Excel, multiple ones for spring planting, 2nd planting, etc., all perfectly linear and neat and logical. I don't show him my drawings.) I note planting dates, soil prep & amendment info, fertilizing, first blossoms, first harvest dates, signs of disease, significant rain events, watering days, pests.

I try to keep track of amounts harvested but it ends up being something like "picked two trays of big tomatoes and one tray of romas & cherries." I can't figure out how people are able to track specific numbers and weights of the tomatoes they pick, when they grow multiple varieties. Do you carry a scale into the garden and record weights/names/numbers as you pick? Do you mark a variety code and a plant number on each tomato with a Sharpie and weigh them later? Do you have a paid assistant? I tried the Sharpie method and it took three times as long to pick the tomatoes that way, not what I want in mid-summer when it's a billion degrees out there.

Still, third time's a charm, and I know this will be my year of journaling success.

January 27, 2022	#6
VirginiaClay Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: Virginia, USA Posts: 117	I've tried to keep a garden journal for the past two years, and my experience was similar to yours I think. In 2020, I managed to write in it fairly frequently through August 11, at which point I stopped cold and never went back to it. Then in 2021 I did a decent job through mid-May, took two weeks off, started up again in June, and quit on June 22, never to be heard from again. After that, there are just some random cell phone pictures of harvests. I use small, cheap, spiral-bound memo books. Past two years were 4"x6", small enough to fit in the pocket of my shorts or in the pocket of my bag. This year I'm stepping up to 5.5 x 8 because the smaller ones are awkward to write in. I use cheap ones instead of nice journals so I don't worry about sweating on them or getting them dirty. I draw ugly freehand diagrams of the garden to record what is planted where, and it looks like a 3-yr-old drew them, but it gets the job done. (My brother creates beautiful, color-coded diagrams of his garden in Excel, multiple ones for spring planting, 2nd planting, etc., all perfectly linear and neat and logical. I don't show him my drawings.) I note planting dates, soil prep & amendment info, fertilizing, first blossoms, first harvest dates, signs of disease, significant rain events, watering days, pests. I try to keep track of amounts harvested but it ends up being something like "picked two trays of big tomatoes and one tray of romas & cherries." I can't figure out how people are able to track specific numbers and weights of the tomatoes they pick, when they grow multiple varieties. Do you carry a scale into the garden and record weights/names/numbers as you pick? Do you mark a variety code and a plant number on each tomato with a Sharpie and weigh them later? Do you have a paid assistant? I tried the Sharpie method and it took three times as long to pick the tomatoes that way, not what I want in mid-summer when it's a billion degrees out there. Still, third time's a charm, and I know this will be my year of journaling success.