Selfsufficientish.com

I just started a new 2018 garden diary on my computer.
That starts my 12th year of record keeping, which is so useful that I'd be lost without them. I started them when I got my first polytunnel as it was all guesswork as to when I could sow various vegetables, so that if (when) I got it wrong one year I would know better the next year. Now that I have a crap memory that's getting crapper by the week, it's even more useful with just using them to remember where I grew stuff previous years to aid crop rotation.
Also very useful for remembering which varieties I have tried as to whether I'll grow them again, or not.

I did long ago on the allotments for the first couple of years run a diary. After that I seem to have managed quite well but then I've slightly longer than 12 years in the growing business and have a lot of pictures that show me what I've done over the last 10 years. Find these useful.

Flo wrote:I've slightly longer than 12 years in the growing business

Well yes, me too, and that's why I'm relying on my diaries even more.
Let me expand on my previous reason for starting those diaries. I spent about 40 years growing fruit and veg in west Kent and got that down to a fine art, like knowing when the first and last frost was likely. Then I moved here about 24 years ago and had to start again in a climate that is significantly wetter and windier, but milder with some years not having any frost at all. This winter for instance we had a slight grass frost in November and that's it so far.
Then 12 years ago I got my first tunnel and so far there has been no frost whatsoever in there, or the greenhouses, so those areas are my 3rd climate zone that I have had to adapt to.
Had I stayed in Kent I would be doing exactly the same growing plan, year in year out without having to think, with no diaries necessary.

I take a more slapdash approach - they get sown when I remember to do hem.

That said, we have compost warming on the windowsills (in containers obviously) to sow toms, peppers, salad leaves and herbs tomorrow. They would have been done today but we hadn't given thought to how cold it was! So we sorted and cleaned in preparation instead. Oh and we started off some tiny toms in the hydroponic thingy.

Hopefully we'll have more than a few toms and chillies this year.

Have you guys ever thought of publishing? It would make very interesting reading

Weedo wrote:Have you guys ever thought of publishing? It would make very interesting reading

Yes, we "sort of have" done that, although to be fair it's not easy to get to, and it hasn't really been updated lately, but there are articles on all sorts of things on our "front page" or "blog page".
For instance I have written about my garden diaries there, although I noticed that I have yet to write the promised Part 2.
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/main/2 ... le-expert/