Do you keep a diary?

[Farmer_Gyles]

i started a spreadsheet last winter listing all the seeds and when to sow and harvest - started listing what had been planted out / potted on etc - kinda lost track when the arthritis kicked in
the girlfriend has bought me a gardeners diary thing - i'll definitely use it - but will also use the spreadsheet again

[kiwirach]

yes i keep a diary.....i take it to the lottie with me every time i go (except the last time and then i felt out of sorts the whole visit, cos i couldnt jot things down!). i record what i do, what i need to do, what is sown, when it shows, when its transplanted, harvested etc. i dont find it a chore at all, i do it when i take a sit down break.
i would like to record my seed sowing better but am hopeless with spreadsheets, so need to come up with something else.
when i went to the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, i treated myself to their allotment notebook for next year!!.

[Scottishnewbie]

i started one this year and also last year, but then I get so busy with everything I either forget or am too exhausted at the end of the day to update it.....I'd love to find a solution to that if anyone has one...............????????????

[Incy]

i started one this year and also last year, but then I get so busy with everything I either forget or am too exhausted at the end of the day to update it.....I'd love to find a solution to that if anyone has one...............????????????

I have this problem too. Keep starting spreadsheets then forget or am too tired to update. Think I may try a paper version next year as at least I can carry it around and don't need to go to the office to update it.
My first priority though is learning how to label.
It's a standing joke round here that nobody knows what I'm growing till harvest time

[Herbie]

I tend to use the blog for this purpose. I have a note book which I use to jot things down and did the spreadsheet of what was sown at the start of the year but didn't update it. I like to take photo's to use as a visual reminder, especially summer pic's that cheer me up through the long cold winters when my brain is telling me it will be spring soon.

I wish it was spring now!!!!

[Nicos]

Hmm...well ( *blushes)
I do draw a plan of what is going where and when it goes in..to start with...and then it sort of gets forgotten about!
I'll keep the plan for the following year though to be reminded of the rotation.
I also take piccies every so often , so the automatic dates which show up on Picasa give an indication of when things get planted/start growing.

[Alison]

I think that I prefer to use a spreadsheet so that I can sort and search rather than trying to read my dodgy handwritting, although I do have a note book in my lottie bag to make notes of how many of things I've sown etc.

[pigletwillie]

I keep a diary and have done for the past 6 years. The diary is a page a day, A4 one and it is used for day to day stuff as well.

Its a quick and easy way to jot down notes without the need for pc, is easy to refer to, add to and to cross reference.

[Headfry]

I have kept a plot diary for years....
At the end of October I buy a new A5 ruled book - you can get some lovely ones these days.
I start my new year when I plant the garlic -round about 5th November, then it's onions and broad beans ......so starts my year.
I dont write every day but do try to recap if I have missed a few days/weeks even.
I note the temp in and out of the greenhouse, type of weather ie grey windy and cool all summer!
I also note type and amount of crops grown, how good they taste and how well they store. At the back I have a little plan of my plot and write in tips for the next year. I have a plot wish list in the front of things I would like to do during year and things that I would love to buy.
They are great to read on a cold winters night. The last three summers have all been the about same, cold, grey, windy and BLIGHTED! with poor tomato and pepper crops!
Then there are a few odd things....like the hot cross bun I found buried in a flower pot, fox we think! and seeing the first butterfly, bat, swallow and last year a red kite!!!
Keep a journal it's always good to look back!