[Harpspiel]

Who keeps meticulous records of purchases, plant names, cost, health, progress pics...just me? In the past year I have migrated a lot of my spreadsheets over to Airtable, which is a wonderful free app somewhere between a spreadsheet and a database (no SQL required, although I do enjoy SQL). Here's my current owned plant list. I also have records of fertilizer use, wanted plants with inspiration pics, plant deaths by vendor, shrimp counts, water parameters...I guess I just really like databases.

I'll happily show off more of the DB including some of my formulas if anyone else is as nerdy as I am.

 

[TravisH]

I have started a few times to keep records but never keep up with it. I spend too much time at work tabulating things and messing with databases so typically don't get much enjoyment from doing it on my free time. Airtable looks interesting may give it a try as I have managed to save everything plant related to the vivarium I am putting together currently.

Always have a lot of pictures of the hobbies.

 

[Minkey]

Oh Jesus, mine are a mix between blurry camera photos lost in the void of my phones memory banks, scraps of printed order forms and receipts, a sandwich bag of plastic plant stakes and a meticulous 3 ring binder with detailed descriptions and photos of different growth forms.

of course the binder is almost entirely neglected hahaha. One of my ‘tomorrow’ projects. Always tomorrow.

 

[Chlorophile]

Mine are not meticulous by those standards and a bit different with regards to information recorded, but nonetheless I do try to keep records of all my plants in a library of sorts; sample "page" below. I happen to use plain ol' PowerPoint, as I was used to doing this at my old job (nursery buyer) to create all of the plant information signs to print and post on the sales floor; it was a simple way of creating a database that didn't involve specialized hort-industry programs and could be created/amended/adjusted on basically any computer. I kept the half-sheet format simply because it was already set up that way, and if I were to ever want to print it, entries would be a decent size (mainly with regards to any photos) and yet save some paper. Anyway, I just duplicate slides when I need to add a plant and then just change the categories and data as needed and add the appropriate picture (usually from the web until I have some I can take myself). My ~250-plant menagerie is large enough that I recently split the main file into several, so I could keep large groups (orchids, bromeliads, etc.) in their own files for faster scrolling. I perhaps should record things like occasions of bloom, repots/re-mounts, vendor, etc., but I haven't. My main initial goal was to keep track of orchid temperature preferences, light requirements, and approximate mature size so when I want to use them in a terrarium or somewhere I will have an idea of what fits well when it's full-grown. For now, the plants I have in terraria are very much in the minority, with most being grown essentially as houseplants, just under lights and with humidity trays. I do have a separate Excel file that I use for a bare-bones list of all the plants, also sorted by category, in case I need to take it with me for reference. (Mainly so I can make sure I remember which orchids or tillandsia I actually have versus those I've had my eye on so often that I forget I don't actually have them yet. For now, though, watering in that room every day helps me to remember basically all of what's in "inventory" without needing to consult the list.)

I've used/created and appreciate spreadsheet databases too, but find that I prefer the visuals of the virtual index cards, especially to remind me of what a mature (or blooming) plant will look like someday. Plants that I kill and hope to try growing again soon I keep in the database and just change the heading text to red or gray, though occasionally I move that slide into another file of "wish list" stuff when it might be awhile before I find it available again.

I've recently been good, so far, about jotting-down when I fertilize, to help me keep up with it since I usually woefully under-feed. I just use a spare 12-month calendar (when free ones show up in the mail from organizations, though they're easy to print too) and write something like "fert. orchids K-lite 1/2 t/g" or "fert. Tillies" on the day I feed. That way, it's easier to remember when they're due and I don't put it off. Hmm...which reminds me...time to fert. the terraria again. (I have no animals so I'm sure I under-nourish them too.)

Editing to add that I do kinda have bloom records for things, as I tend to take pictures each time an orchid or tilly blooms, so there's that.

 

[Harpspiel]

The cool thing about Airtable is that you can see your table in a spreadsheet format, or something similar to your cards with a "Gallery View". Here's my wanted list, but I have one for my owned plants as well.

 

[Chris S]

Oh Jesus, mine are a mix between blurry camera photos lost in the void of my phones memory banks, scraps of printed order forms and receipts, a sandwich bag of plastic plant stakes and a meticulous 3 ring binder with detailed descriptions and photos of different growth forms.

of course the binder is almost entirely neglected hahaha. One of my ‘tomorrow’ projects. Always tomorrow.

I see you keep records in the same manner as me! I spend a few days redoing them once a year, then they go to crap again.

 

[Encyclia]

My records mostly consist of me texting my frog friends going "Did you give this to me?" and "What is it again?"

Edit: I should have led with the fact that this is truly excellent work, Ariel, and I only wish I had the level of organization necessary for something like this. This is truly impressive and I appreciate you sharing it with us.

Mark