Keeping a Garden Journal

With Autumn blowing in it’s cooler temperatures, it’s a great time to jot down some notes from this year’s garden.  Things to note:

1. Where you planted your vegetables.  Plant rotation is key to a healthy garden and keeping disease under control.  Different plants take different nutrients from the soil.  Allow three years between plantings in the same location.
2. Spacing.  I have often looked out and thought, “Wow, I should have given that plant about 3 inches more space.”  Perhaps you had an annual that grew too tall in the front of your bed, or you had a small guy stuffed in the back.  It happens…just take note!
3. Perennials.  Note where you have perennials and remember that the following year they’ll be a little larger.  Something to think about is whether you want that perennial to be that large next year.   Dividing them come spring revitalizes and makes them manageable again.
4. Colors.  Take a quick note of the colors prominent in your garden to help decide what colors you might want to emphasize next year.
5. New Plants.  When those seed catalogs come, I can never remember what I had thought about 4 months previous.  Note new plants you’ve envied or ones that friends have mentioned did well in their gardens.
6. Timing.  Was there a part of the summer where the garden lacked blooms?  Find plants that will fill the spaces next year.

Happy journal-ing!