How to Keep a Plant Journal: What to Record and Why It Helps
Most plant problems are easier to solve when you know what happened before them. Was the pothos repotted last month? When did the tomato last get fed? Did the yellow leaves start after it moved away from the window? Memory is unreliable for questions like these. A plant journal is not.
This guide covers what to write down for each plant, how to take growth photos you can actually compare, how often to update the journal, and how to use it to spot patterns. It ends with how to keep the journal in FarmApp.
Why keep a plant journal
A journal turns guesswork into evidence. Over a few months it shows:
- How often each plant really needs water in your home, season by season.
- Which change came before a problem: a move, a repot, a cold snap or a missed feed.
- How fast a plant is growing, which is easy to miss when you see it every day.
- What worked last year in a vegetable patch, from sowing dates to which spot gave the best crop.
It is also simply satisfying. Scrolling back from a full plant to the cutting it started as is one of the nicer parts of the hobby.
Start with a profile for each plant
Give every plant a short profile that rarely changes:
- A name you will recognise, and the type or variety if you know it.
- Where it lives, such as east window, balcony or raised bed.
- How much light it likes: low, moderate or bright.
- Its current watering and feeding interval.
- Where it came from and when, if you know: a shop, a cutting, a seed.
- A starting photo.
What to log as you go
Care events
Write a dated line each time you water, fertilize, prune, repot, treat a pest or move the plant. Add a short note when something was unusual: "soil still damp, skipped", "repotted into 14 cm pot, new mix", "moved away from radiator".
Growth records
Every few weeks, note a measurement and a photo. Height is easy for upright plants; leaf count works well for slow growers such as succulents and many tropical foliage plants. For trailing plants, the length of the longest vine works. Pick one measure per plant and stick with it.
Observations
New leaves, flowers, fruit, yellowing, spots, pests, leaf drop. A few words and a date are enough. If you are not sure what you are seeing, a photo in the journal makes it easier to ask for advice later.
Taking growth photos you can compare
- Take the photo from the same spot and angle each time, for example straight on at pot height.
- Use the same background, such as a plain wall.
- Shoot in similar light; daylight from a window, without direct sun on the leaves, is usually the most even.
- Include something for scale, like the pot rim or a ruler.
- Photograph problems close up as well as the whole plant.
Consistent photos make slow changes obvious when you scroll through them in order.
How often to update it
Log care events when they happen, ideally right after you water or feed, because those are the details you will forget. Growth records can be monthly for most houseplants, every week or two for fast-growing vegetables and seedlings, and every couple of months for slow succulents.
The best journal is the one you keep. If writing everything feels like a chore, log only care and a monthly photo; that alone answers most questions.
Learning from your journal
Every so often, read back through a plant's entries. Look for intervals that have drifted, which tell you to change its watering schedule, and for problems that started a week or two after a change. For an outdoor garden, compare this year's sowing and harvest dates with last year's. Patterns that seem obvious in hindsight are usually invisible without a record.
Keeping your plant journal in FarmApp
FarmApp combines the profile, care log and growth diary for each plant:
- On My Plants, tap Add Plant and fill in the name, type, photo, watering and fertilizing intervals in days, and light requirement.
- Mark tasks done on the Tasks tab; each one is saved as a care record for today.
- Open a plant and use Add Care to log watering, fertilizing, pruning, repotting or other jobs with a date and notes. You can edit or delete records later.
- Use Add Growth Record to save the height in centimetres, the leaf count, a comment and a new photo.
- Browse the Calendar tab to see what was done on each day and what is due next.
On the web, plants, records and photos are stored in this browser. The iPhone and Android apps can take photos with the camera directly and send care reminders. For setting the intervals themselves, see how often to water houseplants.
Frequently asked questions
What should I write in a plant journal?
A profile for each plant, a dated line for every watering, feed, prune or repot, and a measurement and photo every few weeks.
How do I measure plant growth?
Pick one measure per plant and repeat it: height for upright plants, leaf count for slow growers, or the longest vine for trailing plants.
Is a paper journal or an app better?
Either works. Paper is pleasant to write in; an app keeps photos with the entries and can work out when care is due.
Can I record height in inches in FarmApp?
Height is recorded in centimetres. You can write other measurements in the comment.
Does FarmApp sync between devices on the web?
No. Records stay in the browser where you entered them.