can only teach you so much. Nobody can tell you the true needs of your plants, since plant care depends on specific placement, pot, soil, and the seasonal whims of light, temperature, etc. A little over a year ago, I started tracking my plants in a doc. I found that not only were my plants less likely to die, I got to know them much better, starting with how much water they truly wanted at a given time.
My personal plant tracking doc has now sprawled into multiple sections and new functionalities like light measurement, fertilizing, disease tracking, a "rain" button, etc. What you see here is a pruned back, mobile-friendly version. I suspect that, like me, you'll want to cultivate your own garden doc.
Why track your plants?
Understand your plants' true preferences. Overwatering is the number one plant killer. (Also, a nursery employee once told me that the fastest way to kill a plant was to fertilize too often.)
Log important events in your plants' lives, like new growths and mealy bug outbreaks.
1. Take inventory.
The
watering interval
is how many days you go between waterings. This doc's primary purpose is to help you feel out each plant's optimal watering schedule as it grows and seasons change. And if you notice trends in eieither direction, you can think about potting up, changing the soil, etc.
There are no rows in this table
2. Track watering.
Mark a plant as watered by pressing the
water
button (or by swiping left on the row if you're on your phone). The dates will update accordingly.
If you miss a watering by a day or by a lot, the row will light up yellow (T+1) or red (T+4), respectively. Remember this is all about trial and error, so if you see that your plant is clearly fine, increase the
watering interval
and see how it goes.
Nasturtiums
12 days ago
4/19
5/3
14
Barrel cactus
31 days ago
3/31
4/20
20
Pothos Sr
29 days ago
4/2
4/9
7
Spider Small
24 days ago
4/7
4/14
7
Pothos Jr
10 days ago
4/21
4/30
9
3. Log events.
Everyone loves progress pictures!
EVERYONE!
If you're a plant person, you probably already take pictures of new leaves, first flowers, new pots. This table puts them in one place so you can relive the thrill of watching them go from seed to shrub. (It's also a helpful reference in case you need to go back to the nursery and
demand
answers.)
1
I gave nail supports to two vines to help them climb along the fence
4/21/2020
2
New growth despite one side being strangely floppy.
8/16/2019
3
We think seeds are shooting out of the pods and making these little clovers
5/8/2019
There are no rows in this table