Your tips for recording production/journaling?

[HastingsMN]

Hi, I mostly lurk here, and I learn a lot. I became a Master Gardener last year and now in the depths of a Minnesota winter I find I have signed myself up for FOUR horticultural extension seed trials. I was wondering if you all had any practical tips for keeping up with recording data, like production. It seems as if some people are very organized about journals and I would love to hear about the everyday logistics. For instance, I see that some people know how many pounds of tomatoes they got off a certain plant. Do you weigh each tomato you bring in, and jot it on a list somewhere? Do you keep spreadsheets?

I aspire to be a more organized gardener (I can be organized in lots of other things!). I am pretty good about planning, and make a lot of lists and do check things off. I have spreadsheets for some of my OP seeds so I know which ones I have to make sure to refresh and plant and save.

I have attempted a regular garden journal the last three years, but it mostly gets recorded in up to about April/May and then gets lost in the busyness of actual gardening and volunteering and then the whole gainful employment thing. I try to record things like first harvest dates for different varieties, or at least take photos on my phone so I have dates for certain things like when the poppies finally bloomed, etc. And after it snows in the fall I try to write down some things to remember, like if I spaced plants too close or far apart.

How do you keep records for your garden and make it work? (Confessions of failed journalers are great too ha ha.)

Susanne