Let's Get Growing

For several years, I've been contemplating the idea of starting a garden journal. Although I've always recorded my seeds, garden layouts, and notes in a notebook, it often felt somewhat chaotic. A major source of inspiration for this journal was my grandma's journal, which I found fascinating. It was amazing to see her seed lists and notes from many years ago, as far back as 1974! I aimed to create something that would serve as both a practical planner and tracker, while also being a resource that could be referenced for many years, or even generations, to come.

What exactly is in the journal? There is a section to write down your goals - I encourage you to mark down ANYTHING that has been on your mind to try growing. Whether it is trying a new vegetable, growing enough tomatoes for salsa, planting for pollinators or producing enough potatoes to last all winter, this is the time to dream big. The next section is where you can get specific about that you want to grow and the varieties of those vegetables, flowers or herbs. I like to keep an inventory of my seeds so I added pages to list what you have and then what you need. Garden maps are probably one of the most helpful sections to refer back to, especially when you are trying to rotate your crops. The maps also help in the spring to keep you organized and make sure you can fit all your plants into your garden plots. I also added to-do list by month. This is where you can plan out specific tasks, such as starting seeds. Look at your seed packs to see when they should be started indoors for your area, and mark it down here so that you do not forget! Following this, is a sow-and-grow log, I find it helpful to record the dates I planted and what method I used, this helps me know when everything will mature and when certain plants should be fertilized or weeded, etc., you can also mark down what methods worked better for certain plants. There are a few pages to jot down harvest notes, such as; your yields, what varieties taste better or work better for storage, canning or fresh eating, and more. I added a section to keep track of what you preserve - I always did this in a notebook to keep track of how much food my family would go through in a winter so that I would have an idea of what to put up the following year! The final two sections are for any other notes from the season, what the weather was like, any pests or disease issues, what worked and what didn't, the more information you can jot down, the more prepared you will be for the next growing season.

My hope is that this journal will help you on your gardening journey! I have already thought of additions to next year's journal - recipes, tips and possibly a few stories from our farm?!

I will attach a link to where you can purchase the garden journal or if you are local to the Grimshaw area, I can also get you a journal as I am carrying some in stock.

https://a.co/d/3ItEQXq

Happy gardening,

Chelsea