Log books are the backbone of a flourishing garden. Most of gardening involves trial and error. The log book is the means of making lemons from lemonade. When things go very badly, redeem the time by writing it down. Next year, as you plan out your garden again, you will have a rich resource at your fingertips. We divide our Log Book into five sections:

Map

In this section, draw a map, number the beds, and indicate what will be growing in each bed. Consult the previous two years’ log books when creating the map so that no plant family (see list below) repeats itself in the same bed. When you indicate location in other parts of the log book, just refer to the bed number.

Crop

The purpose of this section is to record all the actions you perform that affect your plants. Use the Crop Codes to denote the action taken. Label the heading like this:

Date Location Variety Action

Example:

Date Location Variety Action
10/12 Bed 1 Pigeon F1 Spinach DS

Soil

When you till the soil, turn under a crop, amend the soil, or add compost, record the action. Record approx. amounts of amendments and compost added.

Date Location Action Amount
10/12 Bed 1  TL  Bed 1, 2, 3, 4

Pest

When pests or disease symptoms are noticed, try to identify the pest or disease. Record what action is taken.

Date Crop Pest/Symptom Action
 10/12 Tomato Tomato Hornworm  HP

Notes


In this section, take notes on whether weeding, watering, trellising, and harvesting are happening. Make note if a system is working particularly well or if there are any problems.

Crop Codes

Code Description
TP Transplant
DS Direct Seed
RS Row Seed
BC Broadcast
TH Thin
DV Divide
PR Prune
ST Stake
RC Install Row Cover
MU Mulch
RM Remove Soil

Soil Codes

Code Description
TL Till/Turn Under
AM Amend (Revita, Lime, Greensand, Phosphate)
CO Spread Compost

Pest Codes

Code Description
HP Hand Pick
AP Application (Blood Meal, Pesticidal Soap, Diatomaceous)
RM Remove

Download a printable PDF: Log Book