Record Keeping...

[SueStephens]

Does anyone use software for keeping sowing/germination records? If so... what do you use? Does anyone use an iPad? If so... have you found a good app for the purpose?

Or.. do you keep records in some other way?

I would love to know what works... because I can't seem to find a good way for myself

Sue

[Brian Ellis]

I don't have an iPad Sue, but use the Apple iWorks software suite which includes Numbers - a spreadsheet programme, if there is a Numbers App I should think that would fit the purpose.  I also keep all my Snowdrop details on Bento database, again I don't know whether this is now available as an App but worth a search in the App store.

[Martinr]

I use Excel but any half decent spreadsheet programme would do. I always think spreadsheets are better than database type software as you don't have to get all the fields you want right first time and can modify it as time goes on and you hit the inevitable 'I wish I'd done that' moment which can lead to doom, gloom and despondency with databases. You can sort, filter, search and generally play around with data in a spreadsheet. When you get really ambitious (or turn into a geeky anorak) you can start drawing graphs, pie charts and all other sorts of daft things.


(Apologies, too many years spent steeped in numeric data and being frustrated by inflexible software. You can now do in Excel, on a PC/Laptop, what I used to have to rely on a computer the size of a small planet to do)

[Maggi Young]

(Apologies, too many years spent steeped in numeric data and being frustrated by inflexible software. You can now do in Excel, on a PC/Laptop, what I used to have to rely on a computer the size of a small planet to do)

 And you should have seen the size of the hamster he had to turn the wheels.........

[Peter Maguire]

Numbers is available as an app for iPad.
I would think that any spreadsheet programme could be used for the purpose. I use an excel spreadsheet for keeping track of how my orchids increase their flowering/growing stems (hopefully!) from year to year. It still involves scribbling a paper record when I'm in the garden and then transferring it to the computer when my hands are clean - grit in the keyboard is a real menace  
I suppose that an iPad would be less likely to be damaged than a standard laptop - but they're a bit expensive to run the risk of damage to the screen by gritty fingers.

[David Nicholson]

I use Excel but any half decent spreadsheet programme would do. I always think spreadsheets are better than database type software as you don't have to get all the fields you want right first time and can modify it as time goes on and you hit the inevitable 'I wish I'd done that' moment which can lead to doom, gloom and despondency with databases. You can sort, filter, search and generally play around with data in a spreadsheet. When you get really ambitious (or turn into a geeky anorak) you can start drawing graphs, pie charts and all other sorts of daft things.


(Apologies, too many years spent steeped in numeric data and being frustrated by inflexible software. You can now do in Excel, on a PC/Laptop, what I used to have to rely on a computer the size of a small planet to do)

Eh!! What did the man say Eli?

Is  paper and a pencil any good

[SueStephens]

I looked at Numbers ... but it (apparently) can't import dates from Excel, and I wanted to be able to move between my iPad and my laptop. I tried various database and 'list' apps but they seem too limited in one way or another. There are other possibilities but I didn't want to spend a fortune finding out....

I'm even thinking of going over to a card index!

A salutory lesson for an ex-software developer

[johnw]

. It still involves scribbling a paper record when I'm in the garden and then transferring it to the computer when my hands are clean - grit in the keyboard is a real menace  

I do this as well. However half of what I have written I can't read or can't understand what on earth I meant when I get indoors.  I blame the lack of a smooth surface outdoors, sloppy use of the Haws and rarely me. Would love to switch to numbers or Bento, use the iPad outdoors and change the mother file on the Mac indoors directly.  I don't think I can do this in Excel via an iPad with the present Office 2004 on the Mac? Another issue is the size of the excel file, it has become so large that it must have most columns hidden to print a usable copy, then the print is so small there's no room to write.

On top of that I am losing patience with Excel using Windows 7.

johnw

[johnw]

I looked at Numbers ... but it (apparently) can't import dates from Excel

Sue - More bad news.  Does Numbers interpret any of these as a date in excel - 21 April 2012; April 21, 2012; 21/4/12, 4/21/12,  21/4/2012, 4/21/2012 or none? What about simply 2012?

johnw

[Brian Ellis]

I looked at Numbers ... but it (apparently) can't import dates from Excel
A salutory lesson for an ex-software developer

Is this because of the format of the dates then Sue?  I am sure as a developer you would know.  When I have imported Excel sheets I have not had any dates so wouldn't know.

[Lesley Cox]

I just use a Word document with list of seeds and their source, date sown and (hopefully) germination started. When the page is full I print it and glue it in a large hard covered ex book which can be carted around. E.g.

SRGC Sown 20/1/12

Adonis vernalis (6)
Dianthus callizonus - g 3/2/12
Dicentra peregrina alba (8 )
Eritrichium rupestre - g 3/2/12
Iris kerneriana (12)
Ourisia microphylla 'Hollowcliffe'
      etc etc

If there are countable seeds I do so as above. I too, note down anything on paper from my pocket, to transfer to the Word doc. Pleased I went out to have a look a few mins ago as there are two started today, the first from SRGC

[Lesley Cox]

I can also add a d date too if I have too

[Diane Clement]

Dicentra peregrina alba (
(That's supposed to be an 8 inside brackets beside the Dicentra but it keeps on coming up as the sunglass smiley)

If you germinate Dicentra peregrina alba, you're entitled to use the sunglasses smiley 
(the sunglasses smiley is rendered as an 8 with a following bracket.  There is a code to stop it doing that, but I can't remember it.  You can fool it by inserting an extra space ( 8 )

[SueStephens]

I'm afraid I don't have any direct experience of Numbers Brian, I read a review recently that put me off it because of the apparent date incompatibility. But I would guess that it is a problem with the way the date is held internally.
Lesley, that was so funny.. The 8 coming out as a smiley! Just goes to show that however hard you try to keep it simple... The technology gets you in the end...

[Neil]

I use the program in the link below for my orchids that I keep its free and iI find it sorts my needs it says its for orchids but it could  be used for any plants

http://www.rz-orchideen.de/

Just remember to read the manual!