VI. RECORD KEEPING

-Daphne Jochnick
Basic garden records enable the gardener to:
organize flow of heavy giver, heavy feeder and light feeder crops
plan for companion planting and beneficials
know when to begin the nursery process to have seedlings ready to plant in beds in coordination with harvest schedules
chart insect and disease issues, what solution was applied, and how successfully
chart the balance of nutrition, income, and compost crops in the garden
track the dates of bed construction and dates and amounts of compost used, so as to know when to re-dig, and also how well crops do with different amounts of compost

If a garden is supplying for market, records enable the gardener to:
Chart the profitability of each crop
Plan a rotation schedule using different beds in order to consistently supply a marketed vegetable, tracking the crop’s harvest date in each bed so that one bed completes harvest when another is entering harvest
Coordinate with other farmers’ gardens: knowing when a particular crop will come to harvest in one garden, and planning for another garden to harvest that crop when the first garden is finishing

Below is a sketch of how we charted in the GSC demo-plot in Tengeru, Tanzania. Sample charts are also provided at the end of the ‘Compost’ and ‘Preparation of the Nurseries’ chapters.

CROP RECORDS FOR BED #_______
Date of Construction:
Size of Bed:
Dates and Amounts of Compost Added:

Up to 3 companion plants tracked in the bed:
Crop 1 Crop 2 Crop 3
Crops currently in garden, Next crop planned
Info. such as:
Chinese Cabbage, to be sold, July 11
AVAILABLE SEEDS:
NURSERY:
Broccoli to be transplanted July 11, to bed 18 Thyme,Beet,Been,Tomatoes and Chives to be transplanted July 25 Rosemary,Onion, Cabbage to be transplanted as needed
Hot Peppers July 11-plant around garden border, for pest solution
ACTIVITIES FOR NOW: Plant rosemary around garden. Plant Thyme in nusery Beef up plan with companion plants and beneficials,
Harvest Plans for beds 1, 3, 16?