How best to keep track of your grow?

Hi Guys,

I recently finished my first grow (thanks in large part due to guidance provided by this community) and it went better than expected! Granted, I wasn't expecting much, but regardless

One thing that helped me in the later stages of the grow was keeping track of various information (feeding schedule, days since light cycle change, etc) so that I could easily remember when I needed to get certain things done. I am thinking that for my next grow I'll keep closer track to see if I can see how differences in conditions impact the yield from each one of the plants.

Does anyone else here keep track of their grows? If so, do you guys use a notebook or Excel or do you have a different method? I was using a notebook but I'm curious what others found works best for them.

Alex

I personally use a notebook. I've been documenting since day 1 of planting my girls. I keep a running tab of temperature, humidity, how much I water, feed, etc.

I use the notepad on my iPhone.

I my whiteboard

Mine is very erratically documented. If you can call it that. Mainly the random posts on here.

I have a grow journal app. It lets me document everything that happens and thoughts, etc. It's pretty sweet.

Pen and paper lol I just write dates, humidity, temp, water ph, ppm, what nutes I mixed and how much, comments on plants, comments on events like topping, breaking branches on accident, 1212 flip, everything pretty much

ҖҗlegilizeitҗҖ said:

Pen and paper lol I just write dates, humidity, temp, water ph, ppm, what nutes I mixed and how much, comments on plants, comments on events like topping, breaking branches on accident, 1212 flip, everything pretty much

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^^^^THIS^^^^

You have the notebook.
Write something daily! This gets you into the habit. EVERY change you make gets in!
I got almost 40 years of notebooks. Been doing it so long, and basically the same.....I quit for a few years.
Now I'm doing some testing of a nutrient line (synthetic) and I'm taking notes on that daily.....Still running my organics along side them with no notes there.

ҖҗlegilizeitҗҖ said:

Pen and paper lol I just write dates, humidity, temp, water ph, ppm, what nutes I mixed and how much, comments on plants, comments on events like topping, breaking branches on accident, 1212 flip, everything pretty much

Click to expand...

Nice, I guess I'm on the right track then! Do you just use a regular notebook or is there something more catered towards growers??

Dr. Who said:

^^^^THIS^^^^

You have the notebook.
Write something daily! This gets you into the habit. EVERY change you make gets in!
I got almost 40 years of notebooks. Been doing it so long, and basically the same.....I quit for a few years.
Now I'm doing some testing of a nutrient line (synthetic) and I'm taking notes on that daily.....Still running my organics along side them with no notes there.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! I feel the same way. I think it makes a difference as it adds a level of commitment and gets you into habit of doing things properly. Damn, 40 years worth of notebooks? How much storage does that take up?? It must feel a bit nostalgic to leaf through some of those after a few years.

GrowGorilla said:

I use the notepad on my iPhone.

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You sir are a trooper. I think I would go mad trying to use the Notepad on the phone for anything, let alone recording grow data.

I think a computer that has a back up drive is OK and I also like a plain old paper note book as well. Special software sounds cool to and especially if you can link photos to the database kinda like a grow journal here. But my advice for PC is to have a grow folder then in that folder create a folder for the year. That way you can go back to specific years quickly and its all easy to find. Sometimes us computer geeks can get lost in knee deep data and sub folders and its too easy to forget if its on the c drive, my pictues, my documents or downloads!

AlexPanth said:

Nice, I guess I'm on the right track then! Do you just use a regular notebook or is there something more catered towards growers??

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Yup just notebook haha tried and true.
I used to have this grow software that works pretty good, I will have to see if I can find what that was called

My grow journals are first on the grab list ,incase of a fire ....my kids are a close second ......pen/pencil and a notebook is what I've used for years as well.....priceless IMO

A notebook ... don't get high before taking the notes or they'll make no sense lol. Great way to monitor nute uptake, growth rate, starting dates, etc. The first few grows are a huge learning curve and going back over things helped me. I've gotten lazy but I know how much of what I add will produce a certain EC, ph, etc. all from keeping notes .

I use a notebook and document every day. I have started using the GROW BUDDY app on my laptop and phone.

AlexPanth said:

Thanks for the advice! I feel the same way. I think it makes a difference as it adds a level of commitment and gets you into habit of doing things properly. Damn, 40 years worth of notebooks? How much storage does that take up?? It must feel a bit nostalgic to leaf through some of those after a few years.

Click to expand...

I have folks come to read some from time to time.....A cpl of employee's have spent a lot of study time in them.

I just remember.

^^^^^ I try but it's not working out so well lol. I have issues with dates mostly but this is a great place to post pics that are dated .... till they all go poof .

After 10 years you do it on autopilot lol