Record Keeping

It didn't occur to me to keep track of what I planted and what my garden yield was until I got into reading gardening blogs. It makes sense, though, to keep a file of some kind so that you can remember where all your efforts are going!




Those blueberries died. Sometimes record keeping is just a reminder of past failure!

My record keeping leaves alot to be desired (I actually lost the binder for an entire year, go figure) but I still find it interesting to look back and remember how things turned out. I like to compare rainfall from year to year and also when things were planted and came up. Because I'm busy with small kids it has been easiest for me to jot down the daily occurrences (how much it rained, what day I planted etc) on the calendar, then when if I get time I can go back to the gardening journal and go into more detail. Possibly due to my frugal nature, but I like to remember the names of veggies I didn't like or that didn't grow so that I don't plant them again!

I've been doing so much research this winter, it would be helpful for me to make a section in the binder for my notes on "how-to" grow things. For instance, I read recently that onions need copper in the soil (totally forget where I read that, sorry!). That might explain the golf ball sized onions that I've peeled and cursed for the last 4 years...I best get that little nugget into the binder before I forget!

Have you got a system for keeping track of what you plant every year? Do you weigh and record how much your garden produces?