Simple notes can take the guesswork out of gardening
Hinterland Homesteading with Racheal Pascoe
As our growing season in South East Queensland really gets going, it is a busy time planting and organising garden beds. If you find yourself trying to remember what you grew in each bed last year, so you can plant out your beds differently this year … then maybe it is time to get serious about your record keeping!
Garden record book
Your garden record book does not have to be fancy. It can simply be an exercise book. It is going to be a great reminder as to what you planted where in the past. When you work in your garden, make a note of what you achieve and jot it down. If you have many beds, it might be a great time to number them or name them. (Beds 1, 2, 3 or maybe Back fence bed or Side garden bed). You get the idea. It makes it much easier to make accurate records if garden beds can be easily identified.
Your entries might be as simple as 20/4/26: Bed 4 – Planted packet of carrot seeds. Bed 7 – Harvested 10 kg rosellas from 2 bushes. Side garden bed – planted punnet of sugar loaf cabbages seedlings.
The more detail you included in your notes, the easier it is for you to work back from the harvest date. Including the date seedlings or seeds were planted means you can count back the weeks to see if they made it to harvest on time. It’s also good to note factors that might have influenced the outcome. Eg. Very wet month of March.
So valuable for gardeners
The real value of garden records becomes apparent in the second year and onwards, because you have a record of what you planted where and also what was a success. Yes and the failures too. There is always room for improvement in the garden.
No need to guess what you had in each bed, you can now check your records. This way you won’t make the mistake of planting the same plant in the same location 2 years in a row. Good crop rotation makes for a healthy veggie patch and promotes better plant growth and therefore a better harvest.
Working ahead
If your garden record book is a diary then you are able to jot down notes in the weeks and months ahead. So as you are learning more and wanting to be planting out at the right time, you can make sure you don’t miss windows of opportunity. For example, rosella seedlings need to be in the ground by the end of September each year for our area. You could make a note on a page in early September to buy the seedlings and then a note in the last week of September in your diary to make sure you have planted them out. Garden records are a great source of help.
Happy homesteading everyone!