When we bought our first house we hadn’t even been the house for one week and my Mom showed up with her tiller and garden tools. We quickly plotted out a garden and got to work (We moved into our house in June….late for the planting season!). We got my entire garden in that day and that night my Mom started my very first Garden Journal. She is a Master Gardener and has kept a journal for years of all of the gardens that she grows.
Why keep a Garden Journal?
This is a great tool to keep records of previous years bounty, and failures. When I look back through my journal I can see when I planted each year, what I planted, what worked, and what didn’t. This is helpful because I can learn from my successes and mistakes. Every year I bring my journal with me when I pick out seeds and plants. Plus, I love the visual part of this journal.
Step-by-Step Guide to Keeping a Garden Journal
You can find a TON of cute journals HERE
Here is how I keep my journal organized:
(Of course I had to decorate the cover)
On some pages, I tape the packets of seeds that I planted.
This way I know exactly which brand of seed I used.
Also, the directions and planting zones are all listed should I ever need to reference that information.
I always include a drawing of my garden and label all of the rows as I plant them (please excuse my chicken-scratch writing!)
I include the receipts as well, so I can also keep tabs on how much I spend each year.
This helps me set up my garden budget year to year.
Aside from all of the seed packets, and plant tags…I also actually journal.
I write about the weather and the goings-on in my environment.
I like to include things like: when the birds came back, the frogs songs starting up, and the weather when I planted.
After the growing season I look back and add in tips on what did well and what didn’t so I know what to pick next year.
Well, do you plan to start this tradition? Did you find my Step-by-Step Guide to Keeping a Garden Journal helpful? I would love to hear about it in the comments below!
13 Replies to “Step-by-Step Guide to Keeping a Garden Journal”
Fantastic idea Kate! Mom’s are so smart 😉
Yes they are!
What a wonderful idea! I have a garden journal also, but it is definitely not as elaborate as yours.
Briliant!
Sorry about spelling… but it’s still brilliant!
Thanks for sharing photos, they really are worth a thousand words.
I wrote the info off my seed packets in my journal. Never thought of just attaching the seed packet. Duh! 🙂
I really liked your journal, and will have it a an example for my first one! Thanks!!
Im on my third year. I started keeping a garden record immediately thanks to Pinterest and the people who give us ideas like this. For some reason I never thought to keep track of seed cost, empty packets and amendments. Weather, failures, successes, pests and my organic pesticides, companion plants, seeds saved, recipes for organic fertilizers, flowers to attract bees, crop rotation, and how much I planted and was the harvest enough. As you can see I remembered a lot but thanks to you I’ll do an even better job next year.
It’s so much fun keeping a record and makes every year a little bit easier to plan. Have fun with it!
What a great idea. I usually take pictures of my garden when I plant and when it is mature and print out the pics for my garden record. I also keep the seed packets and make notes also. It’s good to see what others do so that I can improve on my journal each year.. Thanks for the tips.
I love the picture idea!