Here’s one sure fire tip on how to become a better gardener. Start maintaining a garden diary where you keep track of what you’re doing and how things are growing - when was the last frost, when did you plant the first batch of lettuce, when did the peas start popping up from the ground, etc. etc. Ever since the early days of the neolithic revolution, the development of agriculture and writing have been inextricably linked, and that’s a relationship you’ll discover holds true down to the present day with your own garden diary.
Maribeth, the ECI garden co-manager, starts planning every week by consulting our garden diary. Of course, in the era of global warming, you can’t simply follow what worked last year in mechanical fashion. By Maribeth’s estimate, this year’s growing season is running a week or two ahead of last year, so our work plan has to be adjusted accordingly
Like everything else in the garden, it takes time to see the results, but from one year to the next, there’s no better tool to help you stay in sync with the growing season and avoid repeating past mistakes. Your diary will prove particularly useful this time of year, when there are so many seeds to be sown, a little bit of planning and organization goes a long way.