Garden Harvest Log (Per-Crop)
A garden harvest log — crop + variety, planting date, days-to-maturity, square footage planted, per-harvest weight or count, cumulative yield, succession planting note, pest / disease, lessons.
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GARDEN HARVEST LOG — PER CROP Gardener: Morgan Lee Plot: Bed 3 (south) — 4' × 12' raised bed CROP Tomato — Cherokee Purple (heirloom indeterminate) Transplant/sow date: May 15, 2026 Days to maturity: 80-85 days from transplant Plants + spacing: 4 plants at 36" spacing in single row; cattle-panel trellis Sq ft: ~48 sq ft (4 ft × 12 ft); 12 sq ft per plant HARVEST ROWS Date | Qty / Weight | Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-07-22 | 1.2 lb (4 fruit) | first ripe, perfect color 2026-07-26 | 2.8 lb (8 fruit) | strong 2026-07-30 | 4.5 lb (12 fruit) | peak forming 2026-08-03 | 6.1 lb (18 fruit) | heavy flush 2026-08-07 | 4.8 lb (14 fruit) | one cracked from rain 2026-08-12 | 5.2 lb (15 fruit) | sustained 2026-08-18 | 3.4 lb (11 fruit) | tapering CUMULATIVE + PROJECTION 28 lb to date (Aug 18) · projecting 45-50 lb total by frost (Oct ~15) — strong year PEST / DISEASE OBSERVED + TREATMENT 2026-07-10: hornworm spotted (1) — handpicked + relocated 2026-07-25: early blight starting on lower leaves — pruned + thinned for airflow + Bt + copper spray (organic) 2026-08-07: one cracked fruit after 2" rain — split-resistant variety would help; no rot LESSONS FOR NEXT SEASON • Cherokee Purple yield consistent w/ prior year (~12 lb / plant) • Trellis depth needs to be deeper — top of plants reached 7 ft • Try cattle-panel-arch next year for upright support + walking under • Companion plant basil — better pest deterrent + culinary pairing • Consider succession-planting 2-week-later set for late-season harvest YIELD REFERENCE (typical garden yield per plant per season) Tomato (indeterminate): 8-15 lb / plant Tomato (determinate): 4-8 lb / plant Pepper (sweet): 2-5 lb / plant Pepper (hot): 1-3 lb / plant Bush bean: 0.25-0.5 lb / plant Pole bean: 0.5-1.5 lb / plant Cucumber: 5-15 lb / plant Zucchini: 6-20 lb / plant Eggplant: 4-8 lb / plant Carrot: 0.25-0.5 lb / plant (4 lb / 10 sq ft) Beet: 0.25-0.5 lb / plant Lettuce (head): 0.5-1 lb / head Garlic: 0.1-0.25 lb / bulb
About this template
**Garden harvest logs surface the patterns the eye misses**: which variety produces, which struggles, which pest cycle shows up at the same date every year, which spacing optimizes per-square-foot yield. The log is per-crop because every crop has its own arc — tomato in a long sustained flush across 8-12 weeks; sweet corn in a single 7-10 day window; bush beans in two 3-week flushes; head lettuce in a single cut per planting. **Three datasets** carry value. **Yield** — weight or count per harvest, cumulative, projected to season end. Compare against published per-plant / per-square-foot benchmarks (e.g. tomato 8-15 lb / plant indeterminate, 4-8 lb determinate; cucumber 5-15 lb / plant; zucchini 6-20 lb / plant). Low yields point to variety choice, soil fertility, water, pollination, or pest pressure. **Pest / disease + treatment** — date observed, pest / disease, treatment, result. Patterns appear over years (early blight always shows up after the first 2" rain in mid-July; hornworms peak after the second basil-flowering cycle; flea beetles arrive when night temps stay above 60°F). The log is the diagnostic chart. **Lessons** — what to change for next season. Spacing, variety substitution, trellis design, succession-planting, companion planting, mulch choice. **Succession planting** is the multiplier: a single early planting of lettuce gives one cut; succession planting every 10-14 days through cool weather gives continuous harvest. The log notes when each succession was planted + when it produced + when to plant the next. **Variety comparison** is the long arc: track 2-3 varieties of the same crop side-by-side (same bed, same year, same care) — the log shows which produces, which tastes better, which holds up to disease. Over 3-5 years a personal favorites list develops. **Soil + bed rotation** — log which crops were in which bed each year to support 3-4 year rotation that breaks disease cycles (tomatoes / peppers / eggplant / potato in one bed family; brassicas in another; legumes in another; cucurbits in another). **Frost dates + season notes** — first / last frost, total growing degree days, rainfall — the season context for the year's yield. Save the logs — 3-5 years of data is when the patterns become decisive and the garden becomes deliberate.
When to use it
- Home gardener per-crop yield tracking.
- Market gardener per-crop revenue + cost tracking.
- Variety trial / side-by-side comparison.
- Bed-rotation + soil-health planning.
- CSA-share planning.
What to include
- Gardener + plot + bed.
- Crop + variety + planting date + days to maturity.
- Plants + spacing + sq ft.
- Per-harvest date + weight / count + notes.
- Cumulative yield + projection.
- Pest / disease + treatment.
- Lessons for next season.