The value of journaling

Thomas Jefferson kept very concise records of all the garden and farming work performed at Monticello, his home in Virginia.  They have been published as The Garden and Farm Books of Thomas Jefferson published by Fulcrum Publishing in 1987.  They are a rare insight to farming methods of centuries ago.  He kept very extensive details on farming and his experiments with different techniques on fruit trees, vegetables, flowers, etc...  This book is a great addition to any garden library, although out of print there are copies to be found reasonably.

This book was the catalyst I needed to start keeping my garden journal.  I got my hands on a beautiful, hard-bound, 10 year journal from Lee Valley and have been using it since 2009.  It has been a valuable resource to see my thoughts on different plantings I made, set-backs, weather patterns, etc...  It even includes planning pages to draw my garden as it evolves over the years.

My goal with the journal, this year, is to more accurately track my harvests so I can begin to see how my efforts are panning out.  Looking back a year or two has been insightful and helpful as I plan my plantings this year.  I have noticed that although it seems this past winter was worse then most other years, it was only slightly colder then the past 3 years and has actually been a little warmer sooner.