Last and First Frost Date input

[diegartenfrau]

Hi,

Is there a place and way to input data for the Last and First Frost Date? Where could I put it? Calendar or System configurations. Task program? I am not sure how to approach this.

Isabell

[ideasguy]

Not at present, Isabell, but I'll do it.

It would be a very simple new program to add to the system, for recording little things like that.
So, members, get your thinking caps on. What other things like first and last frost dates would you like to keep records of?

When we get a list it will help me decide what exactly to provide.

I had promised to write a little journal file before, a calendar, click a date and make notes.

[diegartenfrau]

Thanks George 

I am finally getting organized to plan my vegetable garden. My Sister just got me started on Facebook, it is the only way I actually get to talk/write to her (she always is on the computer nowadays) I have been wasting way to much time on there <lol<

Again I am a bit late in starting some seeds. Oh well.
I'm sure I will come across some more dates to keep track off. I will let you know.

Isabell

[bossgard]

George: Yes, please on the journaling, it will let me record this year of any problems, etc., occurring in gardens. And then reading about them at this time next year will remind me to pay heed and take care.

Hi, Isabell. Good to see you on the Forum again. I need somebody I can talk vegetables to, please start Topic on Forum for us Vegetable Growers.

Have you ever used Crop Covers for controlling pest infestation? Were you every able to control the Apple Maggot in the apple trees?

April 1st is supposedly my last frost date. Unless I'm planting directly into garden, most of my seeds are started 6 to 8 weeks before that date. Have a little time left, am trying to get ready for starting, especially data input on new vegetable seeds I bought.

- Toby

[NightHawk]

So, members, get your thinking caps on. What other things like first and last frost dates would you like to keep records of?

This sounds very much like the 'weather module' George and I discussed last year.

My suggestions for record keeping would be:

(1)  Overnight Minimum and Maximum temperatures for (a) outdoors and (b) greenhouse.

(2)  Daily rainfall.  Units choices for either Imperial or Metric - i.e. inches or millimeters.

(3)  Barometer reading - scale choices of: (a) millibars (b) inch of mercury (inHg), with user-input text box for either.  For example, 29.2 inches of mercury would be the equivalent of 990 millibars.  Also, if pressure was Rising or Falling throughout each day.

(4)  Wind speed and direction. Scale choice for (a)  Miles per hour and (b) Kilometers per hour, and direction choices of north, south, east, west, northeast, southeast, etc.

(5)  Phases of the Moon.  (Not used by us, but some people believe it affects the growth of certain vegetables, and when best to plant them.)

I currently record all these settings (apart from item 5) manually in a notebook.
For rainfall we purchased a plastic rain gauge that stands in one of our flower-beds, and I have a small hand-held  'anenometer' to record the wind speed, and a weather vane on top of our bird-feeders pole for wind direction.

The choices for the above items could be separate drop-down menus to make the appropriate selection, or tick boxes.
I suppose drop-down menus would take up the least space, as multiple choice options can be added here more easily.

Laurie.

[ideasguy]

Yes, one program will do all, Laurie.
Keep the suggestions coming folk!

[roiphil]

I had promised to write a little journal file before, a calendar, click a date and make notes.

yes please on journal/calender so as we can record sowing dates etc and have the ability to view same dates in following years without having to re enter details each year  please wheres that begging emotion thing gone
frost dates aswell would be great

[ideasguy]

As much specific information as possible would be appreciated, folk.
i.e. What Captions/data fields would you like to key into, pop-ups filled with list of ?? etc

[NightHawk]

As much specific information as possible would be appreciated, folk.
i.e. What Captions/data fields would you like to key into, pop-ups filled with list of ?? etc

Further to my suggestions for a weather log, I have attached a graphical display as a visual aid to better explain the details you require George.

The 'Radio' buttons can be user selected, depending on your preferred choice of measurement - Imperial or Metric, miles per hour or kilometers per hour, Fahrenheit or Celsius, etc., etc.  Text boxes underneath the headings for user input for Temperatures, Rainfall, Wind Speed and Barometer.

I have suggested a drop-down combo box for the wind direction to be selected from several options; North, South, East, West, Northeast, Southeast, North N East, North N West, South S East, South S West, Variable.

For the barometric pressure, I take only one reading per day, in the morning, then check it later in the day to see if the pressure is rising or falling.  Hence the Rising and Falling button as shown in the graphic below.

The layout and/or functionality could be altered by you George to fit in with your coding, so this is just a sample of my thinking.

Laurie.

[bossgard]

I have trouble remembering PRUNING and FERTILZING schedules for various plants and the lawn, etc. Also, in the vegetable garden, a reminder for me to do SUCCESSIVE plantings for continuous harvesting like with lettuce and spinach.

Will these suggestions fit into what you (we) are planning to have. Basically, as I see it, they are reminders to schedule into the Events or Tasks programs???

Garden writers' columns in local NEWSPAPERS and my SEED supplier and GREENHOUSE supplier, also, located in this area, offer WEEKLY/MONTHLY reminders, it would be nice to have those available in one area. I guess you could call them TIPS TO SURVIVE.

- Toby

[ideasguy]

I'm impressed Laurie! All I need is to throw a bit of coding behind that and its job done.
What about the interface? (the front screen to allow you to get at that screen)
As I see it, a journal begins with a calendar.
Click a date and get at the notes.

Need to experiment some more with the calendar control you see in the Tasks program
e.g. I'd like the dates on the calendar control (which shows one month at a time) to highlight in some way if there are notes recorded for that day.

You have a mixture of things there Toby. Some would certainly be best set up as tasks since it has an alert facility.

I'd like this Journal program to be simple! As you know, I'm not good at "simple", so it would be nice to break that mould.

[roiphil]

on the journal/calendar would it be possible to enter sowing seed dates, pricking out of seedling dates, transplanting dates, and have the ability to view the same info/dates in following years without having to re enter details each year

In microsoft works there a section called projects you enter a job and a date to do by and when it gets to that date you get a pop up reminder, is something like that possible to incororate into the calendar

[NightHawk]

I'm impressed Laurie! All I need is to throw a bit of coding behind that and its job done.
What about the interface? (the front screen to allow you to get at that screen)

I'm not too certain about that one Mr Whizz. 

Best leave that decision to you and the more experienced users. 

Laurie.

[ideasguy]

re:

on the journal/calendar would it be possible to enter sowing seed dates, pricking out of seedling dates, transplanting dates,

Yes. You will be able to key anything you like

RE:

and have the ability to view the same info/dates in following years without having to re enter details each year

You will be able to view the past data at any time.
You could use copy and paste t add a new record for this year.
To identify the entries as "tasks" or "events" related to Care topics would be beyond the scope of being simple, Phil
Unless of course, our members demand that functionality ??
Up to you folk.

[Lyn and Malcolm]

Attached the min temperatures here for December and January so far.

In case anyone is interested.

Location........The tropical South Coast of England ( it may be if the Bananas have survived)

Malcolm

[roiphil]

Attached the min temperatures here for December and January so far.

In case anyone is interested.

Location........The tropical South Coast of England ( it may be if the Bananas have survived)

Malcolm

thats cold all those minuses, we have had probly about week on and off all told where it has dropped below zero at night but soon gets mild daytime 3-5+, reminds me why we moved from england now

[Trevor Ellis]

Excellent potential inclusion Laurie and I think especially the rainfall and temperature records would be illuminating over a few years given our obviously changing weather patterns. For anyone using Firefox, there is (if it's still available) an extension that puts the symbol of the particular current phase on the bottom bar of the screen so it's there for continuous reference. German studies showed apparently that there was a definite value to planting by moon phase. It would be handy to have it in IGpro though.

[Trevor Ellis]

I just put a reply to this subject in the wrong place I think (Diegartenfrau?). If so, apologies for calling you Laurie!
Just adding support for the idea of a Journal/calendar with some provision for entering rainfall and temperatures + monthly average with facility to compare years also might be illuminating over a period for particular localities rather than the somewhat useless national averages. A pop-up auto-remind function for tasks would be wonderfull for those of us who are either too absent minded or too busy to check regularly. Re. Laurie's appropriate suggestion of moon phase inclusion for those of us so inclined and maybe too impatient to wait for it's future inclusion, there is a Firefox extension, if it's still available, that will automatically put the symbol for the current phase on to the bottom bar of the screen. It would be a nice touch though if the phase appeared perhaps on the IG opening screen(?).
Re. the changing weather patterns, global warming etc., a few years ago I applied the glacial periods covering millions of years to a circular format to see purely visually what the result would be. Not surprisingly, the ice ages appeared at quite regular intervals around the circle. Relatively speaking, we are really only just coming out of the last ice age! Global warming is nothing new. Simply part of an often (again relatively) repeating cycle - so far at least!.

[ideasguy]

Thanks Trevor. I haven't forgot about this folk.
Its good to see its a popular request, so makes it worthwhile doing some extra development work.

I think I need to define and set a few challenges to get everyone familiar with the Tasks program (GA047) as it already does some of the things requested.
Also to get everyone familiar with Events in IG Pro.
GA047 has a feature called alerts.
When you set up a task, you set the alert days, 0 (=no alert) or any number of days - say 7 for this discussion.
You need to start the Tasks program regularly to make use of the feature.
Click the Show Alerts tab.
7 days (the value set for alert days) before the task date, the task appears in the Alerts list.

In Bonsai Genie, I did have a feature where the alerts were shown on start up.
It can be niggly and demands a lot of discipline in using the system.

Keep up the suggestions!
I'll do this after the new edition of Bank Genie is finished. I'm back on that project and will be taking it through to completion before starting anything new.