The document outlines planning and record-keeping strategies for vegetable, fruit, and flower production aimed at weekly markets. It details the use of garden maps, greenhouse logs, and harvest logs to document planting, weather, and crop management activities throughout the growing season. Key practices include maintaining accurate records, preparing for market sales, and analyzing past data to improve future crop yields.

1. Planning Vegetable, Fruit, and Flower Production for Weekly Markets

2. … or how do we get from here…..

3. …… to there??

4. Winter time’s a good time to put on our best thinking caps

5. something’s going on in this office—with a pencil

6. … someone is going over garden maps..

7. and last year’s greenhouse journal…

8. to come up with a plan for an even better year in 2011….

10. Keeping good records is key to crop planning Farm maps Greenhouse log Market log Harvest log CSA log

11. Garden Section map created using text boxes. Each box represents a 4’ wide planting bed; because of slope and contour on this site, beds range from 50’ to 275’ long. All beds have been measured, with length displayed on map for planning purposes. Beds are numbered from bottom to top of hill. On flat ground, standard bed length is preferable. FARM MAPS

12. A Section B Section C Section D Section Etc .

13. Blank maps (showing any over-wintering crops) are assembled into a 3-ring binder at the beginning of the season to use in the office or field for recording plantings. At the end of the season the working copies are transferred to computer format

15. It’s easy to loose track of varieties planted if the notebook’s not in the field

16. Hoophouses get their own maps

18. May 31--- Lo: 43 Hi: 76 Overcast and drizzly. Crew worked on setting out the end of the blue ageratum in the Z section, lettuce planting in D section, basil in E section. Lilies planted in the greenhouse. Harvested sunflowers, lilies in early a.m. to put in cooler for Sat. market. Ryan off to Blues festival in Helena for 3 days. Alana arrived to volunteer for the next week. June 1--- Lo: 43 Hi: 76 Overcast and drizzly. Crew worked on setting out the end of the blue ageratum in the Z section, lettuce planting in D section, basil in E section. Lilies planted in the greenhouse. Harvested sunflowers, lilies in early a.m. to put in cooler for Sat. market. Ryan off to Blues festival in Helena for 3 days. Alana arrived to volunteer for the next week.   May 31--- Lo: 43 Hi: 76 Overcast and drizzly. Crew worked on setting out the end of the blue ageratum in the Z section, lettuce planting in D section, basil in E section. Lilies planted in the greenhouse. Harvested sunflowers, lilies in early a.m. to put in cooler for Sat. market. Ryan off to Blues festival in Helena for 3 days. Alana arrived to volunteer for the next week.  May 31  sunny   blue ageratum  no good!   Garden Journal: the daily discipline Includes date, max-min temps, weather, activities (writing legibly will affect how useful it is later…) Best to use a bound composition book that will not lose pages.

19. Greenhouse Journal: muy importante!

20. Greenhouse Journal Composition notebook with lined columns for data entry. Carried to the greenhouse to record all greenhouse activities. Write it down before you leave!

21. Greenhouse Journal: Indoor bulb planting data pulled from original journal entries for planning purposes

28. Harvest Log 2010 Date: Monday May 19 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Item ****** Pieces, Bunches, Lbs, containers ****** ---------------------------------------------------------------- 5 lugs strawberries ~5lb ea 30 bu chervil, y section 45 bu spinach, hoophouse 25 lb salad mix 36 bu green garlic, 3/bu 30 bu kale, x section glads 12 tall buckets lilies 7 tall buckets ageratum 5 1g buckets CSA boxes (x28) : 1 pt strawberries 1 bu baby leeks (Marty) .5 lb salad mix 1 bu white turnips (Marty) 1 bu green garlic 1 bu kale .5 lb spinach 1 bu chervil

30. Flower harvest recorded by # buckets and container size

31. CSA box packing

33. Harvest Log 2010 Date: Monday May 19 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Item ****** Pieces, Bunches, Lbs, containers ****** ---------------------------------------------------------------- 5 lugs strawberries ~5lb ea 30 bu chervil, y section 45 bu spinach, hoophouse 25 lb salad mix 36 bu green garlic, 3/bu 30 bu kale, x section glads 12 tall buckets lilies 7 tall buckets ageratum 5 1g buckets CSA boxes (x28) : 1 pt strawberries 1 bu baby leeks (Marty) .5 lb salad mix 1 bu white turnips (Marty) 1 bu green garlic 1 bu kale .5 lb spinach 1 bu chervil

35. Market log needs to record what is taken to market and how much is sold

36. Market Log 2011 Date:________________ Special Orders for Today: Total Receipts_________ ___________________ Starting Cash_________ ____________________ Net Receipts__________ ____________________ 5% TuTh/ 7.5%Sat Commission____________ ____________________ Employee Payments______ ____________________ Meals________________ ____________________ Weather______________ Special Orders for Future Markets: Date needed who what telephone ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Town List: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

37. MARKET LOG 2011 (back side) ITEMS TAKEN TO MARKET TODAY QUANTITY/SIZE ITEM PRICE UNSOLD TOTAL ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ITEMS SEEN AT MARKET TODAY WE SHOULD GROW: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

39. Gathering the data and making a plan

40. First step: Collecting greenhouse and field transplanting information into a useful format—here, flowers, vegetables, and bulbs have been separated out from greenhouse journal records Flowers 2010

41. Vegetable Greenhouse Record 2010

42. Greenhouse Bulb record 2010

43. Planning Worksheet for current season

44. Partial worksheet with crop list and planting dates/amounts from previous year

45. Flower worksheet with added target greenhouse/transplant dates and amount

46. (go to crop planning and data spreadsheets Dripping Springs Garden Examples)

47. Example: hoophouse planning with map and worksheet

55. Completed hoophouse worksheet sorted by greenhouse date

57. Planning for CSA and other markets

59. (go to active planting formulas spreadsheet)

60. May 20 ‘ Chandler’ strawberries ‘ Encore’ lettuce mix (various colors and types) Lettuce heads, either Romaine or Greenleaf Green garlic (immature garlic whose greens and bulbs may be sauteed) Spinach from the hoophouse (giant bunches for steaming, sautee, or salad) Baby leeks (from Marty’s Totally) White turnips (from Marty Totally) Kale Chervil May 27 ‘ Waldemann’s’ green leaf lettuce ‘ Encore’ lettuce mix- last week for salad mix until fall Leeks, from Marty’s Totally ‘ Easter Egg’ radishes Shiitake mushrooms ‘ Chandler’ strawberries CSA BASKET CONTENTS Shallots, from Marty’s Totally 2010 Summer savory, dried June 3 ‘ New Red Fire’ and ‘Winter Density’ lettuces ‘ Chandler’ strawberries Leeks from Marty’s Totally Onions from Marty White turnips from Marty Italian/curly parsley Kale Green garlic