Vegetable gardening is a rewarding experience for your mind and body. But it can get overwhelming to remember what happened from one growing season the next. Do you find youself racking your brain every spring wondering – What did I plant last year? Did it grow well? Should I grow it again?
If so, then let’s talk vegetable garden journals. They are the perfect solution to easily organize and keep track of your vegetable garden from year to year. And I found 7 amazing and FREE vegetable garden journal printables created by the pros that will inspire you to plan and achieve the vegetable garden of your dreams!
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Backstory
For the past few years I’ve planted a vegetable garden. Nothing too spectacular – a couple of tomato, cucumber and peppers, bought as seedlings from a big box home improvement store.
But this year with Covid-19 I dug more seriously into gardening (pun intended). Why?
- Quality Time: The whole family was home more (as were so many of us) so gardening was a perfect way to simultaneously occupy them and work on the house.
- Fresh Produce: In spring when covid-10 first hit, my grocery store struggled keeping fresh produce stocked on the shelves. I was nervous that the trend would continue through the summer and my family wouldn’t have fresh fruits and veggies available.
So this spring, I bought and sowed seeds for the first time. And instead of the short-list of peppers and tomatoes, I planted a wider variety of veggies – eggplants, radishes, onions, lettuces, leeks, gerkins, celery, carrots, garlic, watermelon.
And now it’s the end of July. Some crops are growing like crazy, others are just stunted sprouts. Regardless, it’s amazing and I love it.
Next year I can’t wait to plant another larger vegetable garden.
But here’s the problem. I have a horrible memory. Next year, I’ll struggle to recall – Which crops did I plant? Was there enough of it? Did it grow well? For example, arugula grew amazingly in my garden, so I need more than this year’s 6 seedlings. And I learned that while Lacinato kale grows well in my garden, we absolutely despise the taste.
But will I remember that next spring? Probably not. And I’ll make the same mistakes again.
The solution to keep my vegetable garden organized for years to come? Enter the vegetable garden journal.
Admittedly, I should have started a vegetable garden journal back in the spring, but a gal has got to start somewhere, right?
What is a Vegetable Garden Journal?
Quite simply, it’s a record of your vegetable garden – what is planted where, how many of each plant, which plants thrived and which ones didn’t, and anything else worth recording that supports and improves your garden.
It can be simple and basic, or comprehensive and detailed. That’s what is so great about keeping your own gardening journal. It’s tailored to your skill level and what YOU think is important to learning and improving your gardening skills.
What You Need to Start a Vegetable Garden Journal?
Every journal is personal, including a vegetable garden journal. And there is a variety of journals to choose from, whether it be a spiral notebook, 3-ring binder, or a commercially-published garden journal. You decide what works best for you.
Personally, I used a 3-ring binder because it allows me flexibility to insert and remove sheets. And it will grow with me. For example, some gardeners like to track their expenses to help budget for the next growing season. Right now I’m not interested in tracking those, but I might in the future. And with a 3-ring binder, I can easily add budget worksheets as I need them.
Here’s what I used to create my vegetable garden journal:
- A 3-ring Binder: Either a 1-inch or 2-inch binder is the best size to start with
- Clear Page Protectors: Perfect for holding seed packets and plant tags which are LOADED with information. Don’t throw them away!
- Tab Dividers: While this is optional, this is ideal for keeping sections organized as you add more information year after year.
- And last (but not least) the following amazing FREE vegetable garden journal printables to help organize
7 Free Vegetable Garden Journal Printables
When I decided that I needed a system to organize all that I was learning about my vegetable garden I came across a TON of vegetable garden journal templates.
Some online vegetable garden journal printables were paid, and some were free. Being a newbie gardener (and a bit on the frugal side), I decided to focus on these free ones first.
And I was NOT disappointed with these freebies. These are some FANTASTIC vegetable garden journal printables! I downloaded much more than 7, but the ones below wee my favorites.
They are each unique and diverse. These vegetable garden journal printables range in length (from 8 to 25 pages) and topics covered. Some have a simple and minimal design, while others have a sophisticated, eye-catching design. And some of these organizers expand to include flowers and herbs.
Ready to pick your perfect vegetable planner? Let’s go!
To help you chose, I outlines the following for each vegetable planner printable:
- Short list of available printable worksheets
- Picture of the printable (courtesy of the pros themselves)
- And of course, the link to grab the free printable!
1. On Sutton Place
A 5-year garden planner with eleven sections, each marked by a divider page. Between the dividers, are lined pages for your notes and thoughts. Printable worksheets include:
- Front and Back Covers
- Table of Contents
- Garden Goals
- Flower Tracker – both annual and perennial
- Vegetable Tracker
- Herb Tracker
- Seed Tracker
- Budget Tracker
- Seasonal Job Tracker
- Notes
2. My Frugal Home
Note that this planner is slightly different than the others in that instead of one download, pages need to be downloaded individually. Personally I don’t think this is a negative or positive, just different than the other planners. Worksheets include:
- Cover and Back Pages with Spine
- Garden Plan Grid
- Square Foot Planting Guide – tells you how many to plant per square.
- Monthly and Seasonal Planting Planner
- Monthly Garden Chore List
- Large Garden Project Tracker
- Plant Profile – profile for each plant with their needs, growing habits, and harvest instructions.
- Pests & Problems Worksheet
- Fertilizer/Soil Amendment Record
- Seed Starting Tracker
- Seed Harvesting Tracker
3. An Oregon Cottage
This 16-page garden notebook provides the structure to lay out your garden, record and journal about your garden experiments.
- Cover (front and back) pages
- Divider Tabs & Spine
- Garden Plans (vertical & horizontal) on grid paper
- Section/ Divider Pages for:
- Current Garden Plans
- Garden Notes & Favorites
- Past Garden Records
- Seed Plant Needs
- Indoor Seed Starting Record
- Garden Yields
- Favorite Vegetable & Fruits
4. Garden Brief
This simple and straightforward 9-page planner has worksheets that include:
- Cover Page
- Planting Grid
- Planting Log
- Pest and Disease Control
- Garden Year in Review
- Vision for Next Year’s Garden
- Inspiring Garden Quotes
5. The Rustic Elk
This 10-page garden planner is simple, yet still powerful. It contains sections such as:
- Planting Date Calculator
- Seed Inventory
- Plant Calculator – calculates how many plants you need
- Harvest Log
- Seed Saving Log
- Seed Test Log – tracks germination rates
- Food Preservation Log
6. Dogwood Pond Farms
This 25-page colorful free vegetable garden journal printable includes worksheets covering:
- Cover page
- Plant Hardiness and Frost Date Resources
- Garden Planner Grid
- Weekly and Monthly to-do lists
- Seed Inventory
- Plant Profile
- Year End Review Questions
- Monthly Chores
7. Shifting Roots
This 27-page vegetable garden journal printable has a variety of of worksheets, including:
- Garden Vision and Goals
- Seed Wish List
- Seed Tracker
- Vegetable and Flower Tracker
- Garden Grid with Key
- Seasonal To-Do Checklist
- Weekly Notes Tracker
- Budget Tracker
- Shopping List
- Pest Tracker
- Favorite Recipes
- Notes for Next Year
I started my vegetable garden journal using these free printables and I’m SO excited to get my garden organized! These pros created amazing templates for me to start my own vegetable garden journal and I’m SO grateful! I plan on recording everything from now on!
Don’t you wish you did the same and had a record of everything you planted?
Which Vegetable Garden Journal Printable Did I Choose?
Good question! While my vegetable garden journal is well on its way, I haven’t had the chance to post it to the blog. I’m currently writing this post. So check back on the blog in a 1-2 weeks to see which printable (or printables…) worked best for this average homeowner. You might be surprised….
More Garden Planners…
If the above garden journals don’t meet your fancy, be sure to check out these free garden planners over at An Off Grid Life.
Related Posts
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Want to be the first to know about new posts? Be sure to follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter of even Etsy! Or better yet… Subscribe below!
My monthly (admittedly sometimes more, sometimes less….) emails are like receiving a unexpected letter from an old friend WITHOUT needing to put on your slippers and walk out to your mailbox…. See? I got ya, my friend!)
[Note: My posts are proudly connected to these amazing link parties full of DIY ideas and inspiration!]