I've been gardening for the last four years. Each year I make changes, I grow new types of veggies/fruit, I might change the garden location, or I realize we don't like something but we love another veggie. It gets hard to remember what worked from year to year so I realized I need to keep a garden notebook. It's similar to a homemaking notebook. I have a page where I design my garden layout, what I bought, how the plants grew in certain locations, etc.
This year I found out that we really really love sugar snap peas and fresh broccoli so I'll be making notes that I'll want to plant a lot of those plants next year and to plant the broccoli earlier!! We also really liked our lettuce so I'll be planting more of it but in a shadier location so it won't get bitter too fast.
I'm also writing down when I need to plant new strawberries and how my fruit plants are doing. I want to know how many I'll need to add next year.
I also write down any quick tips I find for keeping weeds down or how to grow a better tomato. I also have a section for canning recipes and tips. My canning section also has a place to record how many things I canned and what we need to can more or less of. I also record how many jars I purchased and if I need to be on the look out for more.
Having a garden notebook can save you tons of money because you'll have a record to know the best prices for seeds/plants, how much you need to plant for your family, and where the plants grow the best!!
For more money saving ideas go to Life as Mom
3 comments:
This really works! I keep a garden notebook, too. It has my notes on companion planting, and a sketch of which plants were in which spots. (We have a 6x18 raised bed; I'm not sure that "crop rotation" really matters on this small scale, but I try to do it anyway.)
We also keep track of the yield, so we have an idea how many tomatoes, peppers, etc., we've picked. That's part of what motivated us to plant fewer cucumber plants this year!
What a good idea! We haven't gardened in a while, other than a few container plants, due to traveling with my husband's job, but we are transitioning back home starting in the fall and have already been planning where we want to plant a garden, etc. Good idea to write it all down!
You can plant broccoli in July or so for a fall crop. The same with lettuces, but plant later when it's cooler. Cole crops like the cooler weather so even if we get a cold snap, your broccoli should be just fine. And some lettuces taste better after a light freeze/frost.
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