When I set the goal to grow 1000 kgs of food this year, I realised I would need somewhere to record my harvest weights as I went along, and so I decided to use a garden diary. But I quickly realised that a garden diary is an essential tool that helps me in so many ways!
I started off with a very lovely, purchased 2013 Garden Diary from NZ Gardening Magazine. I love to look at it for ideas and all the lovely photos, but there was nowhere enough room for me to record everything I wanted to. After gluing and taping in extra photos and notes, I realised it would be simpler to just create my own. So I grabbed a spare ring-binder, sat down at the computer, and put together what works for me. What's in my garden diary? Join me for a wee look inside my 2013 Garden Diary....
I started off with a very lovely, purchased 2013 Garden Diary from NZ Gardening Magazine. I love to look at it for ideas and all the lovely photos, but there was nowhere enough room for me to record everything I wanted to. After gluing and taping in extra photos and notes, I realised it would be simpler to just create my own. So I grabbed a spare ring-binder, sat down at the computer, and put together what works for me. What's in my garden diary? Join me for a wee look inside my 2013 Garden Diary....
Right in the front of my dairy is a Moon Calendar planting guide. This one is simple to use, and was printed free from NZ Gardener magazine's website. They have since changed their site, and it's no longer on there, so you can now download it HERE.
I use this guide to tell me when is the best time of the month to plant above-ground crops, root crops, or just concentrate on other garden chores.
I use tab dividers in my binder - each with a month of the year on it - to make flipping from month to month easy.
I use this guide to tell me when is the best time of the month to plant above-ground crops, root crops, or just concentrate on other garden chores.
I use tab dividers in my binder - each with a month of the year on it - to make flipping from month to month easy.
In the front of each month's section are photos and notes from the 1st of the month showing me what was happening in my garden then. I started doing this for myself, and later began putting photos on this blog each month, so now I just write the blog post, print a copy, and put it in my diary.
These photos and notes are very helpful - it is encouraging to look back and see how the garden has grown month by month, and it's also a useful memory jogger down the track - for example if I want to remember in which month certain plants were at their peak, or started to have problems. Or to track the growth of biennial or perennial plants.
These photos and notes are very helpful - it is encouraging to look back and see how the garden has grown month by month, and it's also a useful memory jogger down the track - for example if I want to remember in which month certain plants were at their peak, or started to have problems. Or to track the growth of biennial or perennial plants.
Next in each section is a monthly planting guide, which I get emailed to me free from www.gardengrow.co.nz. These lists are a great starting point to guide one in what to sow or plant for your region. As my experience increases, I learn more about the best plants and timing for MY garden, but this guide has been invaluable this year.
I use a two page per month spread like this to track daily weather conditions, monthly rainfall, and anything else I care to note. The green lines show me at a glance the days of the month best for planting above-ground crops, and the orange lines highlight the root crop planting days. I print these pages free from the internet - there are several sites with variations available. I got mine HERE
I use these diary pages to make some notes each day on things I've done, anything of note, something I learned, or just about anything else! Again, free pages are available from the internet. I got mine HERE.
In some sections of my diary there are also pages of notes on particular crops or experiments in my garden, such as the Green Bean Experiment, or my Sweet Corn crop.
I created some pages on my computer. The first is one to record what I sow or plant during the month. I find I refer back to these pages often, especially any time I wonder just how long ago I planted a particular crop.
And pages to record my harvest weights...
A "To Remember Next...." page is handy to jot down info that is relevant to that particular month of the year, so that next year I will hopefully see timely pointers.
I have additional pages for tracking egg production from my chickens, and information relating to my sheep. The great thing about a garden diary is you can personalise it to anything YOU need to help you on your own homestead.
A Notes & Ideas page is handy to jot down those great tit-bits that I pick up here and there along the way.
I hope you have enjoyed this wee tour of my Garden Diary! I do find it a very handy tool to keep track of and plan my garden. I also tend to add in other notes and pages printed from the internet, but have to limit myself as my binder can only hold so much! I already had to change it up from a regular size binder to a larger one!
The local knowledge you start to acquire as you do things like track your weather is an enormous help in the garden. For example, I have noticed over the last few years (due to lambing in spring) that we always have storms and gales in September, which is the month of the Equinox. Knowing this, I can plan accordingly, ensuring things are anchored down well, plants that need it are well staked, animals have shelter etc. A local friend told me recently that strong winds are also normal for the end of November. I hadn't particularly noted that before, but she is right to point out that things like corn and broad beans, which are normally very tall by then, are likely to be blown over if not well anchored or staked. Forewarned is forearmed! Keeping track in a garden diary helps you become familiar with your own typical weather patterns, and reduces how often you're caught by surprise.
Personally, I wouldn't be without my garden diary!
I hope you have enjoyed this wee tour of my Garden Diary! I do find it a very handy tool to keep track of and plan my garden. I also tend to add in other notes and pages printed from the internet, but have to limit myself as my binder can only hold so much! I already had to change it up from a regular size binder to a larger one!
The local knowledge you start to acquire as you do things like track your weather is an enormous help in the garden. For example, I have noticed over the last few years (due to lambing in spring) that we always have storms and gales in September, which is the month of the Equinox. Knowing this, I can plan accordingly, ensuring things are anchored down well, plants that need it are well staked, animals have shelter etc. A local friend told me recently that strong winds are also normal for the end of November. I hadn't particularly noted that before, but she is right to point out that things like corn and broad beans, which are normally very tall by then, are likely to be blown over if not well anchored or staked. Forewarned is forearmed! Keeping track in a garden diary helps you become familiar with your own typical weather patterns, and reduces how often you're caught by surprise.
Personally, I wouldn't be without my garden diary!
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