Take Note - Journaling Can Improve Your Garden

Nyle Zikmund, Anoka County Extension Master Gardener

Journaling is something I’ve been doing since 1987, when I wanted to offer a place for siblings and guests to share their memories of our family cabin. However, it was not until 2018 that I “remembered” I should start journaling about our yard activities at home. This idea was so enlightening that it caused me (and Mrs. Me) to enroll in the Master Gardener program as we realized how much we did not know about plants. Horticulture homicide is an emotionally and fiscally draining endeavor!

While the written log we started was helpful, the turning point for our journaling occurred when we thought to add digital photographs. Photos allow you to see how areas of your yard transform over the years and through the seasons. They can help remind you about when your fruit trees set blossoms or note that your alliums popped up two weeks earlier than usual.

Journaling can be used for variety of gardening purposes. For example, you could include weather conditions that impact certain plants, log when those pesky Japanese beetles emerge, track the costs for bringing in a yard of mulch, or monitor how often you need to water a new shrub. If you treat your ash trees for emerald ash borer, keeping a treatment journal and calendar will make the difference in ensuring its survival.

Technology has evolved to give us new ways to journal. This past year I discovered a new mobile application called “Gardenize,” and there are several other journaling apps available. Everything I previously put on paper can be stored in the app. It provides reminders about key tasks, such as when to water specific plants, and it allows you to create to-do lists. It also includes a handy plant identification tool for those times when you didn’t save the tag with the plant you brought home from the greenhouse.

While entering the data in an app can be time intensive at first, having a digital record of what you planted where removes the need to have a paper record (which can be lost or destroyed). It also helps organize all of your photos, so you don’t have to scroll through hundreds of vacation pictures to find the shot of where you planted those dahlia tubers. The app gives information about specific plant needs and growth habits. I typically have my phone with me when I’m out in the garden and find that using an app to make notes and add photos at the same time is extremely valuable, especially as I sometimes forget to do the logging later.

Whether you prefer to use pen and paper, digital photography or an app, journaling is an important and enjoyable gardening task that will help you make plant and design choices, keep up on seasonal chores, and document what you have planted. For more information about how keeping a journal can improve your garden, visit the University of Minnesota’s Extension page: https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-news/take-notes-now-healthier-garden-next-year