Do you keep some sort of garden diary/almanac to keep track of what's going on in your garden?

elderberry

...and if so, what is it made of? There's so much to write down, and more every year as we try new things, but while something on a computer would be sensible in allowing constant expansion, a 'proper' book is more appealing.

LG_

I have this: http://www.rhsshop.co.uk/productdetails.aspx?id=10000489&itemno=BOOK9780711238695
I'm fairly slack about exactly which section I write stuff in, and I keep forgetting to use it, but it's better than nothing.

Fire

I take photos each season to remind myself of design and successes. And I have a plant spreadsheet to remind me what I planted in each bed and the variety, else there is no way I'd remember; otherwise I'd be digging stuff up that I spent good money on the previous year. I started in a proper book the first few years but spreadsheets are much easier to copy and paste info and links.

I do have a large amount of plant files on my computer - research, cultivars to investigate, images, long term ideas, any number of to do lists etc. The forum has helped enormously, in what has basically been a seven year learning project.

Theveggardener

I use an ordinary not book half A4 size. As one month comes to the end I leave on or two blank pages incase I remember something and then tape a new label with the next month. At the back of the book I have a section where I put the names's of plants or seed but only put something like good plant or poor germination for seed this section is just for a quick reference it also saves me buying the same plant two or three time's. Each month a put a comment every day even if it's only to wet or cold or had snow so next year I can see the changes in the weather, it might also be regarding the taste of the produce or look of the plant. I work on the one book per year and a new one each year.

Lyn

Too wild here to take any notes, I just let it get on with it.
i always have perennials from seeds ready to go in places that are a bit bare, other than that, there’s not much to write about.
I do have a book for my seed growing, showing when I sowed and when they germinated. 

pansyface

 I keep a daily diary of all my activities. It began as a millennium New Year resolution. Each year I buy an A5 sized diary.

Now that I am becoming more forgetful, I find that it is really useful - sometimes even to remind myself of what I did yesterday.

Part of the diary makes notes of things that are happening in the garden. Good to compare the dates of plants starting to flower and so on. Also to note disasters - yesterday I wrote “the moles have dug up all the bank where I planted the wild flower seeds. £7.98 down the drain.”

purplerallim

I only use my phone notes app to note varieties I see and like so I can look them up later. Another page is for ideas to grow that year, and lastly a record of what veg I produce that year. As it's always with me its easier to keep notes.

DampGardenMan

pansyface said:

yesterday I wrote “the moles have dug up all the bank where I planted the wild flower seeds. £7.98 down the drain.”

Wouldn't wildflowers be used to that? Foxgloves for one are supposed to like "disturbed" soil. Maybe they'll come up even better! Mind you, Mr Moley is a very annoying pest ...

Fire

More discussion here about tracking.

Nollie

I used to keep a Vegetable Garden diary, in a rather fine bound notebook...what and when I planted where, which varieties did well, which not, cropping times etc., which was incredibly useful until I got to know the vagaries of my patch and climate. In the end though, it got too muddled, so now it’s computerised here in my newish garden.

For my herbaceous borders (a fairly new thing for me, now I have the space) I take photos with an iPad each quarter, and label all the plants so I don’t forget what’s where. Photos are, for me, a better aide memoire and you can see at a glance what went well with what, what failed, what thrived, what got too tall or too broad and swamped other things, how the colours worked, or didn’t work, together...

AnniD

I keep a general diary that also covers gardening, and have done for the past eleven years. Very interesting looking back at the different sowing times, weather etc. l also keep a private blog using Wordpress  but to be honest l keep forgetting to update it. The last entry was back in February.