My older sister Margaret stopped by the office the other day, telling of her efforts to recollect which sweet corn variety she had enjoyed so well two years ago. As conversations like this often go, it turned to the tale of another conversation she had at the grocery store last Friday. It seems her friend Lloyd, a newlywed at age 93, woke up a couple of weeks ago with the feeling that something important had happened the night before. He tried all morning to remember what it was, and finally during lunch he remembered that he had proposed marriage to his girlfriend Bonnie. Lloyd quickly dialed the phone and asked Bonnie if she remembered accepting his marriage proposal. "Oh goodness" Bonnie said, "I'm so glad you called. I knew I said yes to somebody last night, but I couldn't recall who it was!" They tied the knot that afternoon while their plans were still fresh on their mind.
Back to the sweet corn dilemma. Since she isn't getting any younger, I advised Marg to buy herself a notebook and make some entries throughout the gardening season. Without keeping records, it is easy to forget from year to year all that happens in the garden. She could easily dedicate whole pages to some or all of the following topics:
• daily precipitation and temperature
• fertilization, pruning, spraying, and watering schedules
• a list of varieties she plants, with room set aside for notes about how each variety performed, and how well she liked it
• dates seed were started indoors, germination dates, potting media brands and mixes
• pounds of each crop she harvested
• a sketch of the garden, to plan crop rotation in following years
• types and amounts of fertilizers used
• cost of seed, plants, supplies used in the garden
• problems she encountered along the way with weeds, insects, diseases, and wildlife pests
Marg thought this was a good idea, and she might try it next spring. She had to rush out at this point for a hair appointment. From the office window I watched her in the parking lot for awhile, and realized she had forgotten where she left her car!
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Editorial on 11/26/2014