ENSURING THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANTS
Jane McGary (Sun, 26 Jan 2014 11:24:12 PST)

Regarding provenance, I think it's useful to keep a paper record as
well as a database. Those of us who have been around a while
(remember FORTRAN? Or keypunching?) know that old digital information
can become inaccessible. Keeping the seed lists from which we ordered
seeds many years ago, with our handwritten notes on them, can be
helpful in tracing data that might otherwise be forgotten. For
instance, when I recently updated my database after moving to a new
home, I went back and added geographical origin to a number of
entries for which I had formerly included only the collectors and
years. The file of dusty old seed lists allowed me to do this. I also
print out my database once a year so I can put the hard copy on a
clipboard and check it against what's actually still alive, or check
identification and location.

Now that my protected bulbs are in raised beds instead of pots, it's
a little easier to keep track of where they are, though I had a
numbered grid system for the pots too. On the other hand, in the beds
it is all too easy for the labels to get buried, and I can't read
them at a distance (I use embossed aluminum labels). I've started
putting the labels on groundcloth pins to avoid this problem, and am
using these where feasible in the garden too.

Jane McGary
Portland, Oregon, USA

Paul Licht wrote