I always joke that I am a lazy gardener. Over the last several years though I started keeping a garden journal. This was a wise choice and helped my garden be more productive.
3 reasons for keeping a garden journal:
- Keep track of what you planted
- Keep you organize
- Remind you of what worked and what didn’t
If you have multiple garden spaces it is important to note that information. My yard is filled with three in ground gardens and various size containers. I will use this information in my examples.
I am sure we all start our garden thinking “I got this” I will remember what I planted and where. Let me just tell you, no, no you won’t remember. Maybe you think, I will just put a marker or stake by each plant. Unfortunately, those could get knocked over or fade in the sun. If you start your garden from seed, they will take anywhere from a couple days to a week to pop through the surface. Are you really going to be able to determine what those tiny little leaves are?
Steps for a Journal
Creating a journal can be simple or elaborate. Remember I am lazy, so I prefer something simpler. Once you have followed all the steps to start a garden it is time to plant. What plants are you going to put in your garden? In your journal draw an outline of your garden shape.
These are my lazy gardener drawings of three raised garden beds.
I generally start from seed. I find it useful to make a note though if I bought an actual plant. Purchased plants are going to be at least several weeks old when you get them. In the future if you start from seed you will then know you need a few extra weeks before your plant will produce.
As you can see I planted Brussel sprouts. This was my first time growing them and I learned some valuable lessons that year. They do not like warm temperatures, so the actual sprout didn’t produce well. If you live in Florida, don’t try to grow them in your backyard.
On subsequent pages I made notes regarding how the plants produced. I was able to realize that some plants weren’t getting sufficient sunlight due to location. One of my beds is in a location that receives a lot of rain run-off. That really affected how the plants grew. I had beets in that bed and they never fully formed because of too much water. In another garden I had all the right conditions for jalapenos and was giving away bags weekly.
If you feel like you have a brown thumb I can assure you that you don’t. Take some time to determine your time commitment to a garden. I can assure you with a little time and a garden journal you will be producing food in no time.
If you would prefer you could get my garden journal. In this I have created pages to help you plan and understand the steps of gardening.
