Starting the Planning Process - Photo Credit : Lily Mars
You don't have to abandon technology just because you take on the title of 'Homesteader'. In fact, homesteading has made major strides to being a sustainable industry by using technology. From creating a shovel, to planting crops using GPS. I am not one that disregards what can be a huge help to making my homestead a better and more efficient farm while maintaining good environmental practices.
Several years ago I created this wonderful spreadsheet for planning my garden. From planting the seeds to predicting harvest dates, this was a real wonder. In those days we used Lotus 123. Have I dated myself? Surely. These days I use Excel or Open Office.
Back It Up
I ran my house off of spreadsheets, my grocery list and weekly menu, my income and my car maintenance. It was nice. One day the computer, a Hewlett Packard, with a Windows 95 system, crashed beyond repair. Since I built several computers from the ground up, I thought I could repair it. I was wrong. I took it to a reputable computer repair shop, but they could not assist. I tried pulling the info off the hard drive but it had all been corrupted. I had seen it coming a while back but in my over-confidence of what I could build and repair, I did not do what I lectured everyone else on - back it up!
Keep It Simple Stupid
Since then, I haven't had the time or the energy to re-create a similar spreadsheet. I tried setting up a database but the potential was so great that it got too big, too fast, and I lost the time needed to actually use it. What a waste of time. This year though, I decided to start early, stick to a spreadsheet, and to set it up so just the important information was logged in.
Right?
Wrong!
I have it set up and have been logging in the seeds that I have from previous years and the new packets that just arrived, but every time I put in some information I think of another column that could go into the sheet. I have added growth habit, height, germination period, where it was purchased from and what year it was packed for, soil type, sun requirements, duration (annual, perennial, etc.), and so on and so on. Much of it is important to know. Much of it is in my head anyway - like knowing that half-long carrots grow in clay soil, where long pointed varieties do not. However, I just might be able to use that info in other ways. Maybe to blog, as I am doing now, to write an eBook, to become the all-knowing local gardener... I am laughing when I say that.
Raddichio - Photo Credit Lily Mars
So What's The Plan Stan?
My larger plan for the spreadsheet is to use it for the in-house and greenhouse starts, initial garden soil plantings, succession planting, harvest dates and to know what plants will grow well with others.
It takes a degree of perseverance (a discipline that I am lacking in), to log in the seed information, so I have loaded formulas into some of the cells and drop-down lists in others. I will set up several queries so I can quickly pull up info and reports that will give me status info. I will also set up some graphs to track success and failure. When that is all done, I will set up a main menu where I can click on a button to get where I need to go.
So Cool - But Yikes!
Here I go again!
The hobby farm that we live on is called Dragn'Rock Farm. I have been #homesteading and #gardening all my life and like to write about it. Thank you all for reading about my homesteading 'adventures'.
Comments are always welcome and if you like this #writing piece, please resteem. I have to pay for my garden adventures somehow but no pressure.
My Garden Helpers - Photo Credit: Lily Mars