All four of my grandparents settled in Pennsy.
Back when I was an organized person gardening in southern Connecticut, I had a copy of "The Victory Garden" (my gardening Bible at the time) and kept sheets of paper tucked into the back cover. I would hold the pages up to the window and trace the 'old' garden layout and make changes, noting what plants worked and which did not. On each paper I would note which varieties I planted for that year.
Of course now that we have All Things Plants (and dave the magnificent), I can just make notes on my database listing. Each time I list an event others have the chance to learn from my success or failure as I am able to learn from their notes.
Oh, I forgot to add: photo; now that cameras are digital and each photo costs zero dollars, keeping a photo journal is also helpful. I learned a trick from Nan Ondra who gardens in Pennsylvania...
http://hayefield.com/ ...to place stepping stones in certain places so the photos will look consistent from season to season, always from the same vantage point.
Edited to add link for Nan Ondra's blog.
