Looking for a Gardening Journal/Planner

[UncleB]

I'm guilty of freeballing w/ just dates on plant tags and referring back to timestamps on pics.

Would like to keep better record and organization of both plants and seeds in the coming year.

Am interested if anyone has a preferred physical journal or planner that they prefer?

Any reply would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Skunky Dunk Farms]

Amazon product ASIN B09427FQ9W

Thanks much.

 

[UncleB]

Whiteboard. The only things I record nowadays are the date they go into flower, and the date they get the chop. Knowing the veg time isn't really important to me.

Copy. Thank you.

 

[UncleB]

I use loose leaf paper for each grow, which I then staple together as the pages increase. It keeps track of when I water, when/what I feed, issues I encounter and how I respond, etc. All this really helps me keep track of the grow.

For Christmas, the little woman got me a little book grow journal It is about 9 x 6 inches, has 3 pages for each grow, and has enough pages for years of grows.

The Journal your lady got you is way cool. Been thinking along the lines of your current m/o and going with an oldschool three ring binder - definitely keeps things flexible....

 

[doober]

The Journal your lady got you is way cool. Been thinking along the lines of your current m/o and going with an oldschool three ring binder - definitely keeps things flexible....

Yeah - and gives you as much space as you need

 

[TreeFarmerCharlie]

I can’t stand journals/notebooks because my wife is huge into them and they clutter up the house. I made a spreadsheet that I use for each grow. When the grow is done I save the spreadsheet for future reference and move on to the next one.

 

[Cradle of Mirth]

I know this is an old thread but would like to keep it rolling! i'm always trying to improve the structure of my chaos...

For my seed stock I use excel, have the main inventory with basic info, but you can click the name and it hyperlinks you to another tab with strain specific data.
I keep my breeding/grow data for seeds popped, mothers, males on a separate excel, and that's an ocd fiasco with much improvement/simplification needed would like to see what others do for that if they have templates

 

[Caddis]

Mine are lucky if they get a name tag!
If I am ocd, it must be the lazy kind?

 

[Subcentz]

Oh, I get where you're coming from with the freeballing approach—it's easy to rely on memory and timestamps but having a solid system pays off! I've been using a simple notebook for years now. There's something about jotting down notes by hand that feels connected to the process of nurturing plants.

I remember last spring, I lost track of my seedlings until I started logging everything in a dedicated journal. It became my gardening companion, filled with observations, sketches, and reminders. Recently, I stumbled upon notesonline when researching digital options. While I still prefer the feel of paper, it seems like a neat way to keep a backup or for those who prefer digital organizing.

 

[Psychobilly]

I'd never seen this thread before. I guess I just go commando with mine, because I'm freeballing it too. I have my grow journal, and a note taking app on my phone, but that's just my seed list and sometimes songs I've rewritten to be about Cheese.

You'd think as an OCD Computer nerd I'd have a server with all this stuff written out and documented, but no.

I do have "Tags" I have in my brain though; I know little things about each strain I've ran, and what to do about growth and nutrients and so on. For example, I couldn't tell you dates, but for Black Lime Special Reserve, which I just smoked, I know it produces well for it's size, handles cold temps and snow, and grows a Christmas Tree shape if it's not topped.

I give nutrients based on what I see, and honestly, I eyeball that sometimes too. If I wanted everything to be exact, I'd do it properly. I love to experiment though, and it's one of the things I love about growing in general.

I guess the adage about never trusting a skinny Chef who follows the recipe every time would be somewhat accurate? Lol, somewhat accurate, that's my grow method.

Don't get me wrong, I'll spend an hour getting eaten, and almost carried off by Mosquitoes, looking at every leaf on every plant, to look for symptoms to address, so that kind of helps with not having to log everything, but that part, the "watching" and making mental notes, is sometimes really relaxing to me.

I may be really stoned, and not sure what the actual date is right now, but I can also say that my Blue Cheese S1 has gained 3 nodes since going outside, and has a ridiculously thick stem already lol.

I try to be exact with strains, and strain info, as that part is where the OCD kicks in. I give "Not sure OG" seeds out to whoever wants them. Lol. Not wasting my slots on something that I'm not sure of. I mean what if it was like, Cookies or something? I'm not sweating my ass off all Summer for Cookies.

 

[BuckWylde]

I use a personal wiki called TiddlyWiki. Self contained in a single HTML file, edit it right in the browser, you do gotta jump through hoops to get it to save (I opted for the Timimi plugin for Chrome based browsers, extra steps up front, super easy once setup), it even sports encryption, though I wouldn't put much stock in it. I found a mind-map plugin I plan to use for crazy breeder conspiracy theory room. It's all HTML5, nothing to install unless you opt for the desktop version (haven't tried it). I started using it to preserve posts and info from forums that may or may not be around the next time I go to look it up. It was simple enough for me to get set up that I don't actually recall doing it, so definitely not a pain in the ass. The mind map thing was the most complicated thing. Pretty sure I still have a blank template with all the plugins I use installed somewhere.

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[Amarok]

I built a spreadsheet in LibreOffice years back. This is the header row for the active page. There is also a page for the Vault, and one for everything I've harvested. There are a few basic formulas built in, and of course it can be changed and customized as I like. I find it is invaluable for visualizing and planning, to prevent empty space or bottlenecks. The "Strain" and "ID" form a little code that is written on tape and stuck to each container. It is transferred with each transplant. unstuck and attached to the new container..

Strain​

ID # ​

Planted ​

Emerged ​

Veg Days ​

Start Flower ​

Days in Flower ​

Flower Target ​

Days Left ​

Age ​

Harvest Date ​

Pop to Chop ​

Method ​

Size ​

Garden ​

notes ​

The harvest page is great for looking back to see actual flower times, phenotypical variation therein, issues encountered, etc.
The Vault page has basic info like year obtained, source, numbers, whether I've had a successful germination, a mean flower time(given at first, until it is replaced by my actual results), notes, and various other scribblings.

I'd feel lost without it. I keep multiple backups in numerous locations.

 

[Captain Sternn]

fwiw DCSE has a notebook planner I think. Get organized, get yourself some points and get seeds. Maybe grab some sticky notes too, and be like that post-it monster on tv

 

[Psychobilly]

Amarok, the joy it brought me to see you mention Libre Office.... lol. For someone who says they aren't "techie" you sure as he'll look it.

You know I really like the web one mentioned too. Back when I had all my computers hooked up in my "lab", I used an app that allowed you to add pretty much whatever you wanted, and with time slots and everything... maybe before I smoke Black Cheese again I can try and dig through my backup stuff and figure out wtf it was lol.

 

[Amarok]

For someone who says they aren't "techie" you sure as he'll look it.

Just cheap and paranoid.

 

[Psychobilly]

Just cheap and paranoid.

Well no wonder you wouldn't have Pizza with us lol