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[IBC] recordkeeping
I'm curious about something...what do you use to do your bonsai record
keeping? I'm still a relative newbie and I use the paper journal and pen method. As I've been attending some classes (Nina - thanks for sending me to Jim Doyle at Nature's Way Nursery - I've been making the 2 hour drive frequently and I'm having a great time in his classes), my collection is starting to grow. I'm branching out (ok - bad pun - sorry). I've seen some bonsai software offered on the net. Does anyone have any experience with the specialized software (or any other software that could be used)? I've been taking photos of my trees as I work with them and I would like a way to keep everything organized in one place. But even more important to me than that...how do you track your repottings and other details regarding your tree care? Thanks! Lisa (as an aside here - I really can't thank everyone here enough for all of your input to this list. I don't post often, but I read everything and as a newbie I've gained soooooo much information. I often print out posts and put them in a notebook that I use as an additional reference. I just hope you all know how much this helps. Your commitment to and knowledge of bonsai is inspiring.) __________________________________________________ _______________ Watch LIVE baseball games on your computer with MLB.TV, included with MSN Premium! http://join.msn.com/?page=features/m...ave/direct/01/ ************************************************** ****************************** ++++Sponsored, in part, by John Quinn++++ ************************************************** ****************************** -- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ -- +++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++ |
#2
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[IBC] recordkeeping
I'm curious about something...what do you use to do your bonsai
record keeping? I'm still a relative newbie and I use the paper journal and pen method. As I've been attending some classes (Nina - thanks for sending me to Jim Doyle at Nature's Way Nursery - I've been making the 2 hour drive frequently and I'm having a great time in his classes), my collection is starting to grow. I'm branching out (ok - bad pun - sorry). I've seen some bonsai software offered on the net. Does anyone have any experience with the specialized software (or any other software that could be used)? I've been taking photos of my trees as I work with them and I would like a way to keep everything organized in one place. But even more important to me than that...how do you track your repottings and other details regarding your tree care? Bonsai software is fine, but (usually) limiting. Your records consist of fields that someone else developed and not (necessarily) what YOU want. Others use their own database (excel, approach, etc.), but I find that limited by field size (even when you give a field a "sky's-the-limit" size, it can be hard to read "on screen") and the repot format is iffy. Some use spreadsheets, but I know so little about them I won't comment. I use a word processor. I have a folder called "Trees" that holds all of my tree records. The FIRST file in that folder is named "-tree template.lwp" (if, like most of the world you've chosen to use MS Word, yours would be "-tree template.doc". I use Lotus Word Pro since there are no (or very few) virus issues with it.) The hyphen before "tree" ensures that it is the first file you see. I use the template for new trees, then "save as" to rename it (for instance: "Taxodium descriptive phrase.lwp") so the trees are listed in alphabetical order by genus. You can put whatever you want into the template in whatever order (and wherever) you want to put it. And you can change it at will (usually a bit more difficult in DBs and Spreadsheets). My template has headings like (each number that follows begins a new line on my template): 1. Scientific name . . . . . . Common name . . . . . . . . Date (I created the file). 2. Height: ____, Base: _____ 3. In Training since: ______ (This usually is the date I dug it, got it, or put it into its first training pot and is a soft number, since my memory for dates is terrible!) 4. Source: ________ 5. Work done: ______________ This expands as the years go on _____________ 6. Pot: _____________ 7. Discussion: ______ Plans for the tree, problems, notes to myself about repotting dates, etc. This expands and contracts as times goes on ______ 8. Photos: I keep a progression of photos of the tree (some files get fairly large!) each photo is numbered and dated. (I reduce the size of older pics as the years go on.) There are a gazillion other ways to go. HTH Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Only where people have learned to appreciate and cherish the landscape and its living cover will they treat it with the care and respect it should have - Paul Bigelow Sears. ************************************************** ****************************** ++++Sponsored, in part, by John Quinn++++ ************************************************** ****************************** -- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ -- +++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++ |
#3
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[IBC] recordkeeping
I'm curious about something...what do you use to do your bonsai
record keeping? I'm still a relative newbie and I use the paper journal and pen method. As I've been attending some classes (Nina - thanks for sending me to Jim Doyle at Nature's Way Nursery - I've been making the 2 hour drive frequently and I'm having a great time in his classes), my collection is starting to grow. I'm branching out (ok - bad pun - sorry). I've seen some bonsai software offered on the net. Does anyone have any experience with the specialized software (or any other software that could be used)? I've been taking photos of my trees as I work with them and I would like a way to keep everything organized in one place. But even more important to me than that...how do you track your repottings and other details regarding your tree care? Bonsai software is fine, but (usually) limiting. Your records consist of fields that someone else developed and not (necessarily) what YOU want. Others use their own database (excel, approach, etc.), but I find that limited by field size (even when you give a field a "sky's-the-limit" size, it can be hard to read "on screen") and the repot format is iffy. Some use spreadsheets, but I know so little about them I won't comment. I use a word processor. I have a folder called "Trees" that holds all of my tree records. The FIRST file in that folder is named "-tree template.lwp" (if, like most of the world you've chosen to use MS Word, yours would be "-tree template.doc". I use Lotus Word Pro since there are no (or very few) virus issues with it.) The hyphen before "tree" ensures that it is the first file you see. I use the template for new trees, then "save as" to rename it (for instance: "Taxodium descriptive phrase.lwp") so the trees are listed in alphabetical order by genus. You can put whatever you want into the template in whatever order (and wherever) you want to put it. And you can change it at will (usually a bit more difficult in DBs and Spreadsheets). My template has headings like (each number that follows begins a new line on my template): 1. Scientific name . . . . . . Common name . . . . . . . . Date (I created the file). 2. Height: ____, Base: _____ 3. In Training since: ______ (This usually is the date I dug it, got it, or put it into its first training pot and is a soft number, since my memory for dates is terrible!) 4. Source: ________ 5. Work done: ______________ This expands as the years go on _____________ 6. Pot: _____________ 7. Discussion: ______ Plans for the tree, problems, notes to myself about repotting dates, etc. This expands and contracts as times goes on ______ 8. Photos: I keep a progression of photos of the tree (some files get fairly large!) each photo is numbered and dated. (I reduce the size of older pics as the years go on.) There are a gazillion other ways to go. HTH Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Only where people have learned to appreciate and cherish the landscape and its living cover will they treat it with the care and respect it should have - Paul Bigelow Sears. ************************************************** ****************************** ++++Sponsored, in part, by John Quinn++++ ************************************************** ****************************** -- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ -- +++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++ |
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