Updated August 2004

How To Do A Crop Production Journal

In this class we expect you to keep a record of your activities associated with producing your poinsettia and pansy crops. Most commercial greenhouses require their key employees to keep a journal as a standard job responsibility. In actual production situations, a crop journal can be the most improtant diagnosis tool you have. It allows you to recall everything that happened during that crop production period. You can make adjustments for next year's production based upon this year's results, or determine where an error may have occurred.

Crop Journal Format

Crop: Usually heading an entire section of the journal book.

Daily Records: Date, Time

Environment: Temperature, weather (cloudy/sunny), minimum and maximum temperatures recorded from the day before.

Actions Taken:

Examples:

"Brenda watered pansies at 9:30 am, but did not water poinsettias, they were still moist"

"I observed white flies this morning on 2 plants...no eggs seen"

"Mike fertilized everything at 10:00 am, 20-20-20 applied at ___rate"

"Plants transplanted into 5" pots using Berger #6 Soil Mix"

"Mary asked Carl to apply _____fungicide because I observed mildew, he sprayed at____ am, at ____ (rate) /1000sq ft."

"Black cloth pulled at _____by Mark and I"

"Plants wilted badly, John missed watering over the weekend because he was ill, plants watered Monday by Jill.

"Consulted with Dr. Thomas about brown spots on foliage" etc.

Record what you did and when, and especially check to see if anything was done to your crop by the greenhouse manager ro your team-mates. Ask questions! Know what's going on. The success of YOUR crop is at stake. You will be graded on what you know about how you grew your crop. You will not be graded on the final quality of your crop....mistakes are common and poinsettias especially, are very difficult to grow. You will be allowed to bring your personal plants home to friends and family at the end of the crop production cycle.

Pictures of your crop over time are also very helpful, but are not manditory for this journal. The use of digital cameras has made this task quit easy however, so ask around and perhaps pool shots taken.

DUE DATE:

You will be required to turn these journals in on December 8th, 2004 The journals will be returned to you after grading. The style and form of journal book is your choice. Handwritten entries are perfectly acceptable if clearly understandable (and legible!). Be sure to be complete in describing what you did so that others will understand.

Hint: You cannot wait until the end of the semester and "construct" a manual in this class. Those that do will not get credit for their work. The grad students and I will be cross-referencing dates, events and weather. This assignemnt is one of the most important skills to learn if you are planning to work or manage a greenhouse. This should be viewed as a daily activity, 7 days a week, or as often as is practical. Working in teams can make this a less stressful effort.

Since you will be working in teams, it is acceptable to consult with your production team to keep your journal up to date. Just list who did what.

If you have any questions about your journal, please see Stephanie: click here to send E-mail to Ms. Burnett.

Return to: Hort4050 Home Page