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Hello,

With the end of the veggie garden in sight for most of us (our expected first frost date is around the first week of November here in the Rivertowns), it’s the perfect time to reflect and prepare for an even better garden next year!

Garden notes or a garden journal will be a huge asset when it comes time to plan or make decisions about next season’s garden. Good notes

• Improve our planning - they allow us to see when and where certain veggies were planted and make adjustments
• Identify perennial problems in the garden - do you get the same pests every year? at the same time? Good notes can help us identify these and fix problems before they overwhelm our garden.
• Aid in crop rotation - help us decide where to plant next year so we can avoid soil borne diseases and pests.
• Choose the best varieties for our microclimate and our tables
• Celebrate our wins as gardeners!

As a couple quick tips:

• Focus on key dates - planting, transplanting, first harvest and removal
• Use photos to prevent “Journaling Overwhelm” and capture important moments
• Jot down wins and losses - what went well and what could be improved next year

While it might be hard at this point to remember when exactly things were planted in the garden, capturing anything you can now will give you a big step up in the winter when it comes time to decide what to include in your garden.

So stand in your garden this weekend and take some photos or write down you thoughts for the year! You don’t want to lose track of all the great things you learned this summer.

I would love to hear what you have to say and if there is anything I can do to help make your garden ever better next season. Shoot me an email anytime at nick@homegrownnurseries.farm

All the best, –Nick