Keeping a Diary

I am one of the worst people when it comes to keeping a diary of events. This is funny because I am a database nut – I believe in storing and categorising almost anything, yet I can’t simply put pen to paper.

In my work, this has landed me in trouble on more than one occasion. As a worker, it’s easy: you do what you’re told. As a manager, you need to keep track of what you’ve told people: a brain does not do this very well. Sure, you can remember the basics, but where are the details? Simply saying, “I told you to clean up out the back” does not cut it – you need to come back with the date and time, the conditions and reasons so there’s no chance that you look like a fool. Looking like a fool does not make a good manager.

Still, I’ve been in management positions for the last 10 years and it’s only been the act of starting my own garden that’s brought the lesson home!

Which is your diary?

The first thing you need to do is get yourself a diary that you’re comfortable using. This can mean any of the following:

• A traditional paper diary, from your local newsagent;
• A computer version of the paper diary: anything from a basic text editor to Microsoft Word to note-taking software (such as Evernote);
• A fully fledged database, such as Microsoft Access, Filemaker Pro, or Bento;
• A calendar (paper or otherwise).

I use Evernote for my diary purposes, as it syncs between all my devices (my work laptop, my home computer and my phone. The great thing about Evernote is that there is a version for almost every kind of device out there: Mac, PC, iPhone/iPod Touch, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, etc. It can keep text, pictures and audio.

For an excellent, information-filled, paper diary consider the Permaculture Diary, from Permaculture Principles. It contains interesting articles by regular contributors, as well as tips and trivia. There is also a calendar available.

Whatever you use, you need to make the decision first and be comfortable with it. Once you start filling in your diary, you’re more or less stuck with it. The more you use a diary, the more information you will have, which means (unless you have a really good reason) you will have little inclination to transpose all of that info somewhere else.

Setting up your diary

It would seem that once you have your diary, you can just start writing stuff in it. While this is true, what is it that you’re going to write in the diary? This is the million dollar question. The answer is as much, or as little, as you like!

Time for some clichés:

• We live in an information society.
• Knowledge is power.
• Garbage In, Garbage Out.
• Information overload.
• Keep It Simple, Stupid.
• The list goes on…

All of the above is correct. Essentially, what you put into the diary is what you would expect to get out of it. It was suggested to me that in my diary I should enter daily weather conditions, take soil measurements (acidity, etc) and whether I wake up in a good/bad mood! Well, not all of that is true.

My diary is fairly simple. I keep a list of my garden beds, labelled 1 — 8 (I only have 4 right now, but I plan for more). Under each garden bed’s heading, I enter the plants currently planted.

• Garden Bed 2
  • Peas (Climbing) — Alderman
    • 7/02/2011 Planted
    • 11/04/2011 Expected maturity
    • 3/06/2011 First Harvest
  • Lettuce — Cos
    • 7/02/2011 Planted
    • 3/06/2011 Baby Cos ready

I also keep a copy of the packet/tag from the seeds/seedling. With Evernote, I simply take a picture and attach it to the note.

Now I know that next time I plant these peas, I can expect to harvest 4 months after planting the seed. This allow me to plan sowing times next year.

More than a diary

Of course, a diary is whatever you make it. As mentioned, you can put as little, or as much, as you wish. After all, it’s your diary.

• Take pictures of your garden’s progress
• Paste in magazine articles that are important to you
• Enter daily weather observations
• Other information about the plants. For example, my trellis wasn’t high enough for my peas: a note to build higher trellises would not go astray.

A diary is like a memory map. If you see something you want to remember, trust it to your diary. Even if you never look at that item for a year, it’s still there for rediscovery.

How you map out your diary is up to you. Sticky tags, highlighter, pieces of string, keywords, whatever. Remember, just like your gardening style, there is no wrong way, just your way.

Let it grow.