Your first week

Your garden record becomes useful as you add the things you want to remember. Start with what you are doing now. You can learn from other gardens and techniques while your own record grows.

#Log something you did

Watered a bed, fed the tomatoes, or noticed damage on a leaf? Record the activity and add a note or photo if it helps describe what happened. You can log work for the whole garden, an area, or particular plants.

Specific notes help you look back later: what you used, which plants you worked on, and what you noticed. The assistant can use available history when you ask about a plant. You do not need a complete diary to begin asking questions.

See logging activities.

#Record the first thing you pick

Record what you harvest using the units that suit the crop: a weight, a count, or a bunch. Over time you can see what each plant produced and how harvests changed through the season.

Harvest values are estimates based on crop prices. You can set your own prices and compare the estimated value with recorded costs. When picking from several plants, you can enter the harvest together and review how it is divided.

See recording harvests.

#Take a photo of a bed

A photo helps you remember details that a quantity or date cannot show. Take one now and another when something changes, such as new growth or the first fruit. Photos appear on the garden timeline, and on a plant’s timeline when attached to that plant. You can choose a cover photo too.

See photos and storage.

#Bring someone in

Invite someone who helps tend the garden, or someone you would like to learn with. A viewer can read the record and join comments. A manager can also add plants, log work, and change records. People you invite join for free.

You can also explore public gardens. Follow one to see its activity in your feed, then ask a question about an activity or harvest that interests you. An invitation lets you see a private garden; following applies to public activity.

See sharing, roles and public gardens.

#Try a technique

Browse techniques for a method relevant to what you are growing. Add it to your garden so you can find it there. If it includes an activity action, choose that action when you log using it.

Write down what you did and what happened afterward. Conditions differ between gardens, so observations such as where you grow and what you changed make a useful contribution to the technique’s comments. Read using and sharing techniques for more.

#After that

Ask the garden assistant about a plant or a next step. It uses details from the garden you are discussing; plant conversations can also use recent history and photos. Tell it about missing context that might matter.

Return to your notes when deciding what to repeat or try differently. A record can help you notice patterns, even when it has gaps.