MY GARDEN NOTEBOOK

This is the garden notebook that I've been keeping for five or six years now. I saw a "professional" one for sale in a garden catalog at the time, but didn't want to spend the money on it - it was quite pricey! So I decided to make my own. I've adjusted, added and deleted to it over the years. In this 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" 3-ring binder I keep info and records in it. Pretty bland cover, but it serves its' purpose.

The tabbed pages were pretty plain also.

About a month ago I made this seed record notebook so I could remember what I have and which seeds I wanted to buy. Separate from the binder, so I can take it to the store if need be. I put the picture on the front to remember what's in it.

And that little picture got me thinking - why not decorate my 3-ring binder? So, I set to work on the tabbed pages in it! Here is the "welcome" page ~
(Yes, I am the Garden Queen! I may not know what I'm doing half the time, but I'm still the Queen!)

Here's the first tab, "Bed Designs". I couldn't decide which pic to put on it, so I put one design on the front and one on the back.

After I made the pages, I realized that I should edge them with tape because this book goes outdoors with me and I flip the pages a lot. I bought a set of colored masking tape last year and used them here. Unfortunately, the tape doesn't stick all that well. I might change it out for scotch tape.
Instead of drawing one graph of the whole yard, I have it broken down into "beds" so I can show every flower planted!

The second tab is called "By the Moon". The past few years I've been trying to do Gardening by the Moon, which is gardening according to the cycles of the moon. (Learn more about it here.)

This tab is for "Sowing Logs". I keep a record of the seeds I sow, whether indoors under grow lights, or "winter sowing" outdoors. (Learn more about winter sowing here.) I'm not winter sowing this year, and am just starting my indoor seeds around now.

After that is "Seed Needs", which is the info I put in the red booklet.

Next is "Companions" for Companion Planting. I've made a few charts for which plants complement other plants, both flowers and vegetables, and for crop rotation. I have a very small veggie garden so I'm not as serious about this as someone with a large garden might be.

Behind that will be a section for Square-Foot Gardening that I haven't made yet. I just starting to get into that. (Learn more here.) Next is the "Miscellaneous" tab that I haven't decorated yet.

Then comes the "Monthly To-Do" section. It has monthly tabs behind it to remind me of what garden tasks need to be done each month.

"Alpha Plant Care" has alphabetical tabs so I can keep special growing or maintenance info on individual plants. Not all plants! I'd be making an encyclopedia if I did that!

At the very back of the binder I keep this dear drawing that Teen (now 18) made when she was a wee little thing!