Your Gardening Journal

The gardening journal is an often overlooked, but essential tool of any gardener. If you haven't already started one, start your journal today. It will save you money, time and will prevent you from repeating mistakes.

Whether you are a novice or a professional gardener, you should maintain a written record of your gardening activities and your garden's performance.

Even if you read gardening books and magazines, each garden is unique regarding variances in soil, light, climate and water.

As you add information to your journal, it will become your personal gardening reference to ensure your gardening successes far outnumber any failures.

At a minimum, be sure to include these four elements in your garden journal.

1. Calendar

Use your calendar to document when you planted, when you applied certain products, when you noticed initial growth, when you noticed blooms, duration of bloom times, activities performed such as winterizing your garden, and any significant weather events.

Also include any major changes you've made on your property such as painting your home or installing a new fence. If you notice plant performance is different this year from prior years, these changes may be the cause.

Be sure to refer back to your calendar so you can make any necessary adjustments to your gardening schedule such as planting later in the year to avoid frost damage, or starting seeds indoors earlier in the year to extend your growing season.

2. Schedule

Your schedule is closely tied to your calendar, and will act as a guide for when and how frequently you need to fertilize, treat for weeds, prune or cut back various plants, plant, water and winterize to optimize the performance of your garden.

3. Landscape Plan

This plan is your vision of your final garden. Based on your successes and failures during your growing season, you will want to refine your plan to accomplish your vision while working with the unique characteristics of your garden. The plan will assist you with plant selection and placement, as well as define locations of hardscape elements such as patios and walkways.

4. Notes

This section of your gardening journal should include what you planted, when, and where you located the plant. Be sure to include whether the planting was a seed, bulb or nursery plant and the overall performance of the planting. Your notes will help you make adjustments to allow you to make better choices regarding the length of your growing season, plant selection, and any treatments or soil amendments necessary to keep your plants healthy and strong.

You'll soon find yourself repeating your successes and eliminating your failures.

Optional Additions to Your Journal

Consider adding very detailed information for each plant in your garden. Include such detailed information as diseases and pests common to the plant, and any recommended treatments. Note information on propagation, dividing, transplanting, pruning or deadheading your plants. This will allow you to prepare for any potential problems, reduce plant losses and allow you to grow additional plants for your garden without having to buy them.

You may also want to make notes on whether the plant is edible, poisonous, or needs special preparation for the winter.

Document your overall soil type the Ph factor of your soil, your details of your yard's drainage and irrigation. You'll be able to select plants well suited to your existing conditions, and eliminate the need for costly amendments, or worse, buying plants which simply will not survive in your garden.

Create a table showing the hours of sun or shade each part of your yard gets during the day. Your table will serve as a handy reference while you are out planting.

Take photos of your plantings. If you are trying out new plants, this will help you distinguish between young plants and young weeds.

From year to year as you acquire information unique to your yard, you will find yourself spending less money on amendments and garden treatments, spending less time nurturing plants not appropriate for your conditions, and spending more time enjoying a successful and beautiful garden.