This is for the gardeners out there... do you keep a journal on planting and do you find it helpful to read back from past years?  Did you buy a journal or make your own?  If you made your own, how did you do it?  What do you include in your journal?

There have been a couple threads pertaining to new gardeners, and I thought ideas on journals would be helpful and interesting.

Mine, I made from a regular large binder and have those yellow separators for the different years.  I keep a diary every so often and also have a Notes section for those times when I think "next year I should remember to do this...".  Also since I do seedlings, I have a spreadsheet type form for noting date planted, date sprouted, what type seed, and the year of the packet.  Sometimes I make drawings to remember what I planted where, especially for new perennials, and also for veggie beds.  I've even stapled plant tags to plain paper and made notes, like for annuals that were planted together in pots, etc.

Some years, my notes are sparse, but other years, I really enjoy making notes and looking back on what worked, what didn't, what stuff I bought, where I got good deals, what new birds were in the garden.

 I don't really do an official journal, but I keep different types of seeds in different manila envelopes and find myself making notes on them. My gardening area is very limited and I tend to remember where I planted what in years past. 

I keep notes but not an official journal of any kind. I also try to keep a sketched drawing of where everything was planted so I know what grew best where and beside what other plants, what row designs worked, what didn't, and what types of mulch and manure was spread on what area of garden. A drawing also helps to rotate crops to different areas of the garden each year, although my corn seems to grow best in one particular area. If I keep growing corn over and over there, I'll need to add nitrogen to the soil. The easiest way is to cover crop with a legume but I haven't gotten to that yet.

CharlieB,

Have you got your seedlings planted yet? I was supposed to do mine the first of the month and this weekend was my defite d-day, but the basement isn't cleaned yet. We spent the weekend moving chicks from one brooder box to another, which wasn't easy because the large sun porch type one was full of snow and in a snowbank.( It's 8'tall, 12'long and on legs and cannot be moved easily)

Dh says we won't get plants in ground until memorial day this year anyway because of the way this snow and ice is sticking around. March 17th and there's still 3'of snow on the ground. I like to get my seedlings out into my little greenhouse in April---it cuts down on the cost of running plant lights. But now I think it'll be much later maybe May even before they see the light of day.

Michelle,

I've started seedlings in egg cartons indoors, but haven't planted out yet.  Still too cold and I'm sure Mother Nature may throw at least one more snowfall our way.  I remember last year, we had a real late frost that killed the buds on flowering trees around here.  I'm down in southern Michigan, by the Indiana border, and I'm so happy we don't have 3' of snow!!  (Are you in the U.P. or something?)  It's almost all melted down here except for some patches.  I've been utilizing my cheap-o version of a greenhouse... straw bales and discarded shower doors my husband found and brought home for me.  When the sun's out, it gets nice and warm in there, especially if I put a black garbage bag at the bottom.  This is all on the south side of the house where there's some protection too.  But no way can I leave anything out overnight yet.

Hopefully I'll be able to start planting cool weather crops, like my lettuce, onions and spinach, in April.  Row covers help to protect against hard frost...  That's one thing I seem to forget to note in my journal - last frost dates!!

OOOO you are in real farm country I am so envious! I am near Traverse City...used to live further north near Mackinaw City-Cheboygan area. But i grew up in Illinois in corn and hog country, went to the Iowa State Fair every summer. good times, but I dislike tornadoes lol. So I get to deal with snow instead.

I have a 6'tall and 3'wide greenhouse with shelves and a plastic cover I got on clearance a few years back for $50. It's been nice to harden them off and save on electricity in the spring. The cover needs some repair now though. We used to make cold frames...dh got some window panes for free and built box frames for the window to sit on out in the yard. Then as it warmed up outside, we would turn the pane a little to let air in to ventilate. Nothing fancy, but it sure worked terrific!! I broke down and bought the greenhouse because sfter we moved I got tired of waiting for dh to build a couple of those again...

Send some warm sunshine my way please!

DH also made me a cold frame years ago.  Problem is, the top didn't have window panes or anything, just Visqueen stapled down.  Unfortunately, by the end of the season, the plastic becomes ripped and I end up with a mess.  I need to find a good sized piece of plexiglass I guess.

Sunshine on it's way soon (hopefully!!!)      (not today tho - cold, cloudy and windy, brrrrr)

I haven't kept a journal. Wouldn't have done me much good as I haven't grown a huge variety in the past, but planning to change that this year. I want to grow as much as I can, so a journal might be in the works. My garden isn't tilled up yet, in fact it's been 3 years since I have planted here. I would like to grow some lettuce, onions and spinach this year. I was hoping to put some planters to work for those. I am also hoping to plant some bushes around the house. We have not had anything since we remodeled. I want to grow some herbs in strategic spots near the house as they grew well there before we tore everything up.

CharlieB:

I'm down in southern Michigan, by the Indiana border,

Charlie, I am curious about what area you live in. I live in northern IN, just south of South Bend. 

Ha!  Brianschef Michelle was asking me too (in another thread)... South Bend is close - I'm in Cass County, just north of Elkhart.

We have really sandy soil here.  I've heard south of S.B. & Elkhart, the soil is very clay-ish.  (True?)

Good luck with your plantings! 

CharlieB:

Ha!  Brianschef Michelle was asking me too (in another thread)... South Bend is close - I'm in Cass County, just north of Elkhart.

We have really sandy soil here.  I've heard south of S.B. & Elkhart, the soil is very clay-ish.  (True?)

Good luck with your plantings! 

Yes, very much clay soil, but I don't let it deter me too much. Boy! You are close! I was born and raised in South Bend. Does Brianschef, Michelle live near us too? Wouldn't that be wild?