EDIT: Adding links for soil calculators to this post (look for the 🍄's).

I posted this on my blog here & in various Facebook groups but thought I would post here as well because I feel this could be a useful tool, especially for new gardeners.


🌿🌸🌿 GARDENING JOURNAL 🌿🌸🌿

I started putting together a garden journal without realizing that I was putting together a garden journal. It started with me printing copies of magazine articles & pages from books, or writing things down in notebooks. However, there was no organization with it & finding anything in a timely manner was impossible. I know a lot of people will save things on their computer or in their phone but I much prefer a hard copy to look at whenever & wherever I am. Besides, cell & internet service is not great in rural areas. We lose power if it rains hard, the wind blows, or a truck driver farts going down the road so I knew I needed a non-digital option. I looked at buying a journal but none were exactly like I wanted. I then did a search for a DIY garden journal & hit the jackpot. We all but stopped gardening for several years so my journal was put away in storage but now I'm getting it out, cleaning it up & adding & removing stuff. I thought this would be a great time to tell people how I did mine.

There are several reasons to keep a garden journal. Its a great way to keep all your gardening & plant stuff in one place. Your journal can reflect YOUR interests & as those interests change, so can your journal. You can just have a houseplant journal. Or your journal can include edibles like vegetables or fruit trees. It can include homesteading & farm topics such as chickens or canning. You can print out internet articles & put in your journal, put pictures you've taken of plants & gardens, literally anything you want.

🌻🌻🌻WHAT YOU'LL NEED🌻🌻🌻

🌻A 3 ring binder
Best time to buy is when stores put school supplies on sale.
🌻Tab dividers/inserts
You'll need one for each topic/subject. Don't forget you'll need one for each month if you are also doing a monthly calendar.
🌻Graph/grid paper/plain computer paper
This is for drawing designs, layout, taping photos too.
🌻Pocket pages or a zippered pencil pouch
This is for keeping things like receipts, plant tags, article clippings, etc.
🌻Colored pencils or something to write with
🌻A 3 hole punch

🌷🌷🌷SUGGESTED TOPICS🌷🌷🌷

🌷HOUSEPLANTS - could also have individual types or varieties (cacti, pothos, etc.)
🌷VEGETABLES - could break it down into kinds, especially if you have different varieties
🌷FRUIT & BERRY
🌷HERBS
🌷MUSHROOMS
🌷TREES & SHRUBS
🌷PONDS/WATER GARDENS
🌷BEEKEEPING
🌷GARDENING FOR BEES, BIRDS, & BUTTERFLIES
🌷GARDENING FOR WILDLIFE
🌷CONTAINERS/RAISED BEDS
🌷SOIL & COMPOST - this could be where you put things like copies of soil testing reports
🌷GRASS/LAWN/WEEDS
🌷HOME MAINTENANCE - maybe have copies of renter's/homeowner's insurance, records of improvements or repairs
🌷DIY PROJECTS
🌷CRAFTS
🌷RECIPES
🌷PLANT/SEED TRADES
🌷ORDERS
🌷TOOLS - this could be for warranties, purchase receipts, or repair receipts
🌷VERMICOMPOSTING
🌷SEED SOWING/WINTER SOWING - tracking when & what, diy seed packets
🌷PESTS & DISEASES - pics of what they look like, what their damage looks like, tips & hints, what worked & What didn't
🌷HOLISTIC MEDICINE FOR ANIMALS
🌷HOLISTIC MEDICINE FOR HUMANS
🌷JANUARY - DECEMBER if you'll be doing monthly calendars. These are good to put swap deadlines, in person swap dates, & other garden-related events. You could also track things like 1st frost, last frost, amount of rainfall. What's blooming, things like equipment maintainence, etc.

Anytime I find something in a magazine, book, or on the internet that I want to save or remember, I'll either make copies at the library or take a screenshot with my phone & print it out at a later date.These are then put in the appropriate spot in the journal.

There are two places you can get information on nearly anything garden related. One is your local library. Most libraries carry a wide selection of gardening books & some will even have some related to your specific area. Many will have magazines & DVD's on a variety of topics for you to check out. Another place to get reliable garden-related information is at your extension office. Extension offices have tons of handouts & things you can print out from their website.

Here is a little general information on extension offices. There is also a link where you should be able to find your state's extension; however, some of them (like Arkansas) are wrong or have a broken link, so I am going to include states & links to their cooperative extensions.
https://www.almanac.com/cooper...

💐💐Here are the 50 state's & links to their cooperative extensions:

🌸💐🌸ALABAMA🌸💐🌸
https://www.aces.edu/

🌸💐🌸ALASKA🌸💐🌸
https://www.uaf.edu/ces/

🌸💐🌸ARIZONA🌸💐🌸
https://extension.arizona.edu/

🌸💐🌸ARKANSAS🌸💐🌸
https://www.uaex.uada.edu/

🌸💐🌸CALIFORNIA🌸💐🌸
https://ucanr.edu/About/

https://cagardenweb.ucanr.edu/

🌸💐🌸COLORADO🌸💐🌸
https://extension.colostate.ed...

https://www.summitcountyco.gov...

🌸💐🌸CONNECTICUT🌸💐🌸
https://cahnr.uconn.edu/extens...

🌸💐🌸DELAWARE🌸💐🌸
https://www.udel.edu/canr/coop...

🌸💐🌸FLORIDA🌸💐🌸
https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/

🌸💐🌸GEORGIA🌸💐🌸
https://extension.uga.edu/


🌸💐🌸HAWAII🌸💐🌸
https://farmanswers.org/Organi...

https://cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/c...

🌸💐🌸IDAHO🌸💐🌸
https://www.uidaho.edu/extensi...

🌸💐🌸ILLINOIS🌸💐🌸
https://extension.illinois.edu...

🌸💐🌸INDIANA🌸💐🌸
https://extension.purdue.edu/

https://mdc.itap.purdue.edu/de...

🌸💐🌸IOWA🌸💐🌸
https://www.extension.iastate....

🌸💐🌸KANSAS🌸💐🌸
https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/n...

https://wellness.ku.edu/sites/...

🌸💐🌸KENTUCKY🌸💐🌸
https://www.uky.edu/hort/home-...

🌸💐🌸LOUISIANA🌸💐🌸
https://www.lsuagcenter.com/po...

🌸💐🌸MAINE🌸💐🌸
https://extension.umaine.edu/g...

🌸💐🌸MARYLAND🌸💐🌸
https://extension.umd.edu/prog...

🌸💐🌸MASSACHUSETTS🌸💐🌸
https://ag.umass.edu/umass-ext...

https://ag.umass.edu/resources...

🌸💐🌸MICHIGAN🌸💐🌸
https://www.canr.msu.edu/outre...

🌸💐🌸MINNESOTA🌸💐🌸
https://extension.umn.edu/

🌸💐🌸MISSISSIPPI🌸💐🌸
http://extension.msstate.edu/

🌸💐🌸MISSOURI🌸💐🌸
https://extension.missouri.edu...

🌸💐🌸MONTANA🌸💐🌸
https://www.msuextension.org/

🌸💐🌸NEBRASKA🌸💐🌸
https://extension.unl.edu/

🌸💐🌸NEVADA🌸💐🌸
https://extension.unr.edu/defa...

🌸💐🌸NEW HAMPSHIRE🌸💐🌸
https://extension.unh.edu/

🌸💐🌸NEW JERSEY🌸💐🌸
https://njaes.rutgers.edu/exte...

🌸💐🌸NEW MEXICO🌸💐🌸
https://extension.nmsu.edu/

🌸💐🌸NEW YORK🌸💐🌸
https://cals.cornell.edu/corne...

🌸💐🌸NORTH CAROLINA🌸💐🌸
https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/

🌸💐🌸NORTH DAKOTA🌸💐🌸
https://www.ndsu.edu/agricultu...

🌸💐🌸OHIO🌸💐🌸
https://extension.osu.edu/home

🌸💐🌸OKLAHOMA🌸💐🌸
https://extension.okstate.edu/

🌸💐🌸OREGON🌸💐🌸
https://extension.oregonstate....

🌸💐🌸PENNSYLVANIA🌸💐🌸
https://extension.psu.edu/

🌸💐🌸RHODE ISLAND🌸💐🌸
https://web.uri.edu/coopext/

🌸💐🌸SOUTH CAROLINA🌸💐🌸
https://www.clemson.edu/extens...

🌸💐🌸SOUTH DAKOTA🌸💐🌸
https://extension.sdstate.edu/

🌸💐🌸TENNESSEE🌸💐🌸
https://www.tnstate.edu/extens...

🌸💐🌸TEXAS🌸💐🌸
https://agrilifeextension.tamu...

🌸💐🌸UTAH🌸💐🌸
https://extension.usu.edu/

🌸💐🌸VERMONT🌸💐🌸
https://www.uvm.edu/extension

🌸💐🌸VIRGINIA🌸💐🌸
https://ext.vt.edu/

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/...

https://www.yorkcounty.gov/101...

🌸💐🌸WASHINGTON🌸💐🌸
https://extension.wsu.edu/bent...

🌸💐🌸WEST VIRGINIA🌸💐🌸
https://extension.wvu.edu/yout...

https://extension.wvu.edu/

🌸💐🌸WISCONSIN🌸💐🌸
https://hort.extension.wisc.ed...

🌸💐🌸WYOMING🌸💐🌸
http://www.uwyo.edu/uwe/


📌NOTE: Always make sure you have a "clean" (no writing or marks) copy of pages you may need more of at a later date, such as a monthly calendar. Keep these in the front or back of your journal so you always have it handy.📌

🌠🌠Here are some calculators to help you figure out how much soil amendments you'll need:

LIMESTONE
https://garden.org/nga/calcula...

SULFUR
https://garden.org/nga/calcula...

LAWN FERTILIZER
https://garden.org/nga/calcula...

MULCH
https://garden.org/nga/calcula...

ACTUAL NITROGEN
https://garden.org/nga/calcula...

📌NOTE: The above links are all on this site. You can find them by clicking on those 3 lines at the top, then clicking on "Useful Tools".

🍄🍄🍄SOIL CALCULATORS🍄🍄🍄
https://www.gardeners.com/how-...

https://www.soil3.com/how-much...
🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄

You can get a soil test through your extension office. You can also do it yourself using a mason jar:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.c...

To grow vegetables you will need to know your average frost dates. You can find this information out by putting in your zip code & it will give you your averages.
https://garden.org/apps/frost-...

📌 Blank monthly calendar to print (remember you'll want 12 for the year plus 1 for later copies):
https://templates.office.com/e...

📌 This site has tons of interesting articles on gardening & homesteading. It's where I got a couple of the chore lists.
https://www.theselfsufficienth...

📌 Printable journal pages:
https://www.arbico-organics.co...

📌 This site has a chart that tells you how many vegetables you should plant per person (seems kinda low on some) but you at least have a general idea. They also have a chart for the recommended preservation methods for some fruits & vegetables. There's even a pantry & a frozen inventory, a harvest log, & a seed saving log.
http://www.momsneedtoknow.com/

🌿HOUSEPLANT ONLY JOURNAL:🌿🌿
🌿🌿🌾🌿🌿🌾🌿🌿🌾🌿🌿🌾🌿🌿🌾🌿

Your houseplant journal could include:

🌱 Plant varieties
🌱 A watering schedule
🌱 A fertilizing schedule
🌱 What's Propping (propagation)
🌱 Pests & Diseases - what they look like, what their damage looks like, what works to get rid of them

This site has links to download a plant care checklist, as well as an observation sheet to track growth:
https://www.proflowers.com/blo...

💫🌠💫 I hope this has been informative & helpful to anyone thinking of starting their own garden journal.

Found a few more links to add:
https://www.myfrugalhome.com/p...

https://www.familyfoodgarden.c...

These guys have other neat printables as well (chores, budgeting, packing, etc.)

https://thethriftycouple.com/v...

Very well thought out and presented, Kathy!

Weedwhacker said: Very well thought out and presented, Kathy!

Thank you! And thank you for the acorn!

I found some links & added to the blog post I first shared this DIY journal but decided to also post here as well.

http:craftthyme.com/seed-saving/

....has both an electronic & a paper version of a seed saving chart & seed inventory.

And.....

https://www.familyfoodgarden.c...

....has this chart:

You've put a lot of work into this! Thank you so much for sharing with everyone.

I'm not even organized enough to start a project like this, too busy (some might say lazy) to do most of the chores, but I do use my plant list on this site to add plants to various sub-lists to keep track of various things. I've come to rely heavily on it over the years.

Thanks Tiffany! And thanks for the acorn!!! I've heard of people using their have/want list like that but I just never thought to do it. Besides, I just like to have a hard copy. I'm thinking about laminating some of the sheets so I can take it outside & it will be easier to clean.

I will add that I believe @Dave & @Trish have a journal you can buy here on this site. I just prefer to make my own. Edited to hopefully tag Dave & Trish so they can let us know how to find their journal.

My pleasure! Agree totally, the same thing doesn't work for everyone. If I had a journal, I'd spend half of my time looking for it. : )

May be what you had in mind already, but if not, you get plastic coverings for sheets in 3-ring binders that a page can slip into, you can easily replace the contents & they are would be easy to keep track of in a main binder/journal, or in a separate one that you take outside. Dirt can be easily wiped off. They used to be relatively inexpensive, but I haven't priced any for a long time. I think I have a lifetime supply at this point.

If you want to, you're welcome to look @ my plant list:
https://garden.org/lists/view/...
You'll see other categories that I created, besides have & want.

They help me remember all kinds of things, like which plants are yard plants, which are in pots or a mini garden, which I want to remember to propagate, which I have successfully propagated, if I have seeds, etc... The sub-lists change sometimes as what I'm doing changes. During the summer I sometimes put plants in the ground temporarily and I have a list to remind me to not forget any of those, to bring back inside so they don't freeze to death. The more I use it, the more ways I find to use it.

Jotting down a few notes on Friday afternoons of stuff I want to do over the weekend is about as organized as I get, away from the lists.

@purpleinopp I checked out your list & that's really a good idea. I wish now I would have been keeping better notes on where I got plants. Had to chuckle because is there anyone who hasn't gotten a plant from @Stush?

Awww! He's so awesome! : )

Getting in the habit of taking pics of plants as soon as I get them, and the labels, has helped me a lot, at least as far as keeping track of what I have and when I got it. And for seeing how much something has grown.