Now would be a great time to get a journal going to track all those variables for your garden. There are several ways to do this, hand written notes, spreadsheets, or my favorite, a Microsoft Access Database. Whatever method you choose, you will want to record certain data. Some of the details I record are:
Weather – daily high/low temperatures, weather conditions(cloudy, sunny, rainy) as well as precipitation amounts.
Planting records – crop planted, number of rows, row length, seeds per hill etc.
Harvest records – crop harvested, harvest weight, etc.
With these records, I can track how much I planted of what, on what day, and how much produce I got from it. This way I will know the next year how much more or less of a certain crop I will need to plant as well as when to expect harvests so that I can plan my storage materials. I also included a notes section to record such things as insect problems and solutions.
Which ever way you decide to record your data, you will find this a very useful tool in the years to come.
