https://lestallion.com/collections/journal-notebook-for-gardeners
Ever found yourself frantically searching for that scrap of paper where you jotted down which tomato variety thrived last season? Or wondered why your garden seems stuck in a cycle of repeated mistakes? This deep dive explores the transformative power of dedicated garden journaling—a practice that elevates gardening from frustrating guesswork to informed cultivation.
We unpack how a structured approach to documenting your garden journey creates an invaluable resource that grows more powerful each season. From tracking soil amendments and pest management strategies to documenting weather patterns and plant performance, a quality gardening journal becomes your personal encyclopedia of what actually works in your unique growing environment.
The conversation highlights how physical features matter significantly—thick paper that prevents ink bleed-through in damp conditions, durable covers that withstand outdoor use, and practical additions like storage pockets for seed packets and soil test results. These thoughtful design elements make consistent documentation not just possible but enjoyable. Most importantly, we discuss how methodical record-keeping reveals patterns and connections otherwise impossible to track, allowing gardeners to anticipate plant behavior, optimize growing conditions, and build genuine mastery over time.
Whether you're struggling to remember which rose treatment finally conquered aphids or you're aiming to perfect the timing of successive plantings, a dedicated garden journal provides the framework necessary to learn directly from your own experience. As we conclude, we invite you to consider what subtle patterns and connections might emerge if you committed to documenting your garden's journey—potentially transforming not just your harvests but your entire relationship with the growing process.
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LeStallion offers premium PU leather journal notebooks for writing, dedicated to all those who are pursuing their dreams and goals, or nurturing their personal development and mental health.
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to the Deep Dive.
Today we've got some reallyinteresting materials.
A listener sent over all aboutkeeping a gardening journal.
Now you might just think, okay,plant notes, but well, there's
actually quite a bit to unpackhere, potentially really
valuable stuff.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Right.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
So our mission today kind of dig into why this habit
can be so useful, especially ifyou're trying to really get your
garden, improve your skills,you know, without getting
totally swamped by informationoverload.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yeah, absolutely, and we know lots of you listening
are out there gardening.
Maybe your experience may bejust starting out.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Right.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
But that desire to like learn and actually remember
what works, that's prettyuniversal, I think.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Totally.
And that frustration of youknow, scattered notes, lost info
, right, we've all been there.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Oh yeah, Trying to find that scrap of paper from
last spring.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Exactly so.
We've been looking at this inLa Stallion.
They make these premium gardenjournals.
They've got some interestingangles on how a dedicated
notebook can really anchor yourgardening practice.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Yeah, they seem to have really thought about the
practical side of things, how ajournal can fix those common
frustrations.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
So let's start with the basics.
Why even bother with agardening journal?
Isn't it just notes?
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Well, it can be just notes, but ideally it's much
more.
It's really a tool, you know,for tracking plant growth, soil
conditions, watching seasonalpatterns unfold.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Okay, so tracking.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Right.
It helps you record what worked, what really didn't work, which
means you can actually planbetter next time.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Makes sense Develop better strategies over time.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Exactly and Lestallion's journals, for
instance, they have what 211numbered pages that immediately
suggests like a structuredapproach.
It encourages that kind ofdetailed tracking.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
For veggies, flowers, ornamentals, everything.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Yeah, pretty much anything you're growing.
It prompts you to be moreorganized than just random
jottings.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
I remember a friend of mine actually a total scrap
paper gardener initially noteseverywhere and they could never
remember which tomato varietyabsolutely killed it or when
they'd added compost.
You know, total confusion.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Right.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Then they finally got a proper journal, and it was
this total aha moment Like, oh,this is how you learn.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
That story really nails it.
That's the core problem withthat system, isn't?
Speaker 1 (02:18):
it yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
You forget planting times, maybe even what you
planted, where you lose track ofseeds you sowed how things did
in, say, the spring versus thefall.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Uh-huh, and then next year rolls around.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
And you're drawing a blank on what changes you needed
to make or remembering pestissues, soil fixes.
Did you rotate your crops?
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Oh, the crop rotation thing is big.
You might accidentally plantthe same thing in the same spot
year after year.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Exactly Leading to depleted soil or, you know,
pests.
Building up and trying to buildany kind of long-term garden
history with notes scatteredeverywhere, it's basically
impossible.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
That's where maybe some of those specific features
come in.
Like Lestallion puts a backpocket in their journals.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Yeah, for seed packets, reference notes, maybe
soil test results.
It's a practical touch, keepsrelated bits together.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
I had a family member right, couldn't remember for
the life of them what they didthe year before to finally beat
the aphids on their roses.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Oh, no, yeah, so much time wasted retrying things
because there was just no record.
A simple note could have savedhours.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
That's it exactly.
So how does a proper notebooklike one from Lestallion
actually solve these things?
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Well, the most obvious thing is it's one
central place right foreverything Soil watering, notes,
pruning, fertilizer.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
It forces a kind of consistency I suppose Makes the
whole planting and tendingprocess potentially more
efficient.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Yeah, and it lets you track success more precisely,
Like this plant thrived in thisspecific spot, or this
fertilizer actually seemed towork better.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Or how the weather really impacted things,
Documenting pests and diseasesas they happen, not trying to
remember weeks later.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
And listallions thought about the physical
notebook too.
They use thicker paper, 120 GSM.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Right, which is great , because ink bleed-through is
so annoying.
Tell me about it.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
I tried using just a regular notebook once for garden
notes, out in the damp and myfavorite pen bled right through
when I was jotting downobservations, lost half my notes
.
Yeah, so that thicker papermeans you can use different pens
, maybe even markers, withoutworrying.
It's a small thing, but itmatters.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
And those numbered pages again helps keep it
organized, easy to find stufflater.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Definitely, and that ties into tracking growth over
time, doesn't it?
The numbered pages, combinedwith listallion, includes a
table of contents right.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Yeah, they do, which seems super useful.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
It really is.
It means you can categorizethings, maybe by plant type or
by garden bed, and then quicklyfind your notes from previous
seasons.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
So you can really document the whole cycle seed
sowing, sprouting times, howplants react to different
weather over years.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Exactly that lets you refine your strategies.
You start to really understandthe rhythm of your own garden.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
You can anticipate growth patterns better for
perennials veggies flowers.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Make sure the soil is optimal before planting.
I have a neighbor, actually,who's meticulous with her
journal.
It's uncanny how accurately shecan predict when her favorite
peonies will bloom.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Based on past year's notes.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Yeah, just by looking back at her records, it shows
the power of that long termtracking.
The table of contents enablesOK, so tracking growth?
Speaker 1 (05:25):
What about soil and pest management?
That's huge too.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Absolutely essential and a journal is perfect for
this Tracking soil pH tests.
Amendments you add like compostor specific nutrients.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Recording pest outbreaks, what you did, whether
it worked.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Right Crop rotation plans, composting notes it all
builds that picture of yourgarden's health.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
And this is maybe where durability comes in again.
Lestallion uses.
What is it?
Soft touch faux leather cover.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Yeah, which suggests it's designed to handle being
taken outside, maybe getting abit damp or dirty.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
That's important.
I remember ruining a flimsynotebook once by accidentally
spilling water on it in thegarden.
Lost weeks of observations.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Ouch, yeah.
So having something a bit morerobust gives you peace of mind,
and again, that back pocket ishandy here too, maybe for soil
test results or notes on pestremedies.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
So bring it all together.
Why does every gardener kind ofneed a dedicated journal?
Speaker 2 (06:20):
It feels like more than just a nice to have.
I think it really solves thosecore problems Forgetting key
details, losing track of dates,struggling to see patterns.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
And a journal like Lestallion's, with its specific
features, enables that detailedrecord keeping for all your
gardening activities.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Right.
It helps you track those growthpatterns to genuinely improve
future crops and, honestly, itcan be motivating too.
How so Well looking back atpast successes can be
encouraging, and even reviewingfailures helps you learn and not
repeat them.
It builds confidence.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Yeah, that makes sense.
So the numbered pages, table ofcontents, that thick 120 GSM
paper, the durable cover, thepocket, it all adds up to a
really practical tool.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
It really does seem like a well thought out solution
for moving beyond just wingingit in the garden.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
So, to wrap up, the key takeaway seems to be that a
dedicated gardening journal,especially one with thoughtful
features like those in theLestallion ones we discussed, is
just incredibly valuable.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
For sure Doesn't matter if you're a beginner or
have been gardening for decades.
It helps organize information,lets you learn directly from
your own experience andultimately makes the whole
process more rewarding.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
It brings a kind of clarity, doesn't?
It Transforms gardening fromguesswork into, well, something
more like informed cultivation.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Exactly.
It's a powerful tool forenhancing your whole gardening
journey.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
So here's something to think about.
If you started consistentlydocumenting your garden, your
efforts, your observations, whatsubtle patterns might you
uncover in your own backyardecosystem?
Speaker 2 (07:47):
How could tracking things, year after year, change
how you understand your soil,your plants, the pests, the
weather?
Speaker 1 (07:54):
What connections might you make that you'd
otherwise miss?
It's definitely food forthought.
Maybe an invitation to startyour own detailed garden record.
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