For a successful landscape and garden year after year, consider keeping a journal of what plants perform well, when you planted them and other pertinent information.
We have no choice but to keep accurate records as it relates to income taxes. Likewise, various of our other ventures require us to keep some kind of records for a variety of purposes. So, wouldn't it seem logical there would be some benefits from keeping records of what we do in our landscapes and gardens? And let me tell you, I'm as guilty of failing to keep such records as probably most other gardeners. A case in point was when earlier this year Kathie Rowell, formerly a Times editor and columnist, asked me about a variety of Oriental magnolia and I could not find the information she needed because I had made no record of it.
In our present-day world, plant breeders are introducing new plants and new varieties of old plants every year, which often translates into more plants than you would believe. No doubt you have probably bought new plants each year and have noticed that specific ones perform better than others ? some significantly better. Do you know the best performers? If not, did you make a record of the botanical and common names of each plant as well as noting where in the landscape it was planted? Also, did you record the year and month it was planted, along with any other pertinent information? While records do not have to be extremely detailed, basic facts should be noted.
The names of annual and perennial flowers bought and planted annually need to be recorded. This will allow you to compare each of them in regard to their performance, and if certain ones do poorly you will know to not buy those particular ones the following year. In the vegetable garden the number of cultivars from which to choose seems almost endless. If you regularly receive copies of seed catalogs, you know how big a publication they can be. These catalogs are packed with good, reliable information such as expected days from seeding to harvest, disease resistance, etc. Fortunately, the LSU AgCenter publishes a free guide on recommended cultivars that will help you make good choices.
More information that can go into the records includes planting dates. Since we have available cool-season flowers and vegetables along with warm-season flowers and vegetables, planting a warm-season plant in the cool season may get it wiped out with a frost or freeze. Conversely, poor performance often occurs when a cool-season plant is planted after summer temperatures arrive.
How and when you fertilize your plants usually has a profound impact on how well they perform. It's a good idea to write down the kinds of fertilizer you use and later match that to overall plant growth. Generally, your best results when growing vegetables that bear edible fruits such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash, melons, etc., will be when you use a fertilizer that has relatively low amounts of nitrogen compared to the amount of phosphorus and potassium they contain. Equal amounts of those three major elements seem to get the best performance from leafy and root vegetables.
What kind of results did you get from the pesticides you used? If the outcome was less than satisfactory, perhaps you used the wrong pesticide. A record of what you bought and the crops it was used on will help keep you from having that scenario again next time a pest problem arises.
In talking to those few gardeners who do keep a garden ledger, they point out the importance of keeping their record book handy so they won't forget to enter appropriate information. I know that keeping garden records can be somewhat of a bother, but it's a convenient way of avoiding previous pitfalls.