I do spatial spreadsheets.
In this one I set up color grids for printing-- each cell was a plant in a tray, but same idea for a planting block:
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In this one below I divided my rows into thirds if I wanted to switch varieties. I put the marking flag at the actual plant divider. Then I didn’t need to write on the flags (or if writing faded), just check my sheets.
Each line is usually row. On the far right column are row numbers, sometimes they skip a number and that means there are multiple beds, same seed mix.
I had a tomato tracking sheet in 2021 that I can’t find (deleted in a fit of anti-variety tracking sentiment?) from 2021 where I had three columns, and each row had a different variety in that case. In another block every cell had a different name. But you get the idea. Probably had lots of colors.
@ChlorophyllDragon Personally I don’t cap what I save, quite the opposite; I try to save as much as possible if plants are worthy of saving seeds from. I just plant more of those that make more seeds and compensate by thinning and vica versa with those that have small amounts of seeds. Although small amount of small seeds seem better (for crops where seeds are not eaten), the more I think about it bigger seeds might still be better. Because big seeds should grow little faster because of bigger cotyledons. Like squash. I was thinking that I would want my watermelons to have reasonable amount of small seeds, but I think I will go for small amount of big seeds. One of my better watermelons last year made “too much” ( there must be closer to 500 seeds from one fruit) seeds, but they were also very big, about small to medium squash seed size. And other had maybe 30-40 tiny seeds so maybe I need to match those traits together. For markings I just write some trait that is recognisable like small amount of seeds or skin type. Although at some point that might not be enough, then maybe I will make mixes based on seed amounts. That’s future problems. I was also thinking could make number tags for each year and then take pictures with tags although that doesn’t tell much more than looks if I can’t remember anything based on it’s looks. At some point there will be so many similar fruits from different years that it will all merge into collective memory.
Carol Deppe talked about how she selects for fewer seeds that are bigger with squashes. I like that. I think it serves both me the gardener and the future baby plants best. I’m planning to follow her lead in that.
This is a section of our most orderly diagrams. (Eight 4x4 “square-foot” gardens that are my wife’s project.) Most of the rest of the garden ends up poorly documented.
