Bonsai Calendar vs. Task based?

Trojan Phil

Trojan Phil

Sapling
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Palm Desert, CA
Good morning/afternoon/evening.

I am fairly new to having to bonsai, and have progressed to having to manage more than a couple bonsai trees (and it is getting worse). As I am an FNG on multiple fronts I have been looking at trying to Stupid Proof myself by creating something (an app?) to help keep me on task. In looking at this I have been researching times of year for this or that, when to do this AND that, and started to think a system that is calendar based would work well. So Species based calendar items showing my "windows" for this work or that. Simple, clear.

However, I then saw some others and they are doing by tagging each tree and tracking when it was repotted and pruned, etc. thereby creating a task based system with season based to Do's. I can see the logic in this approach to the point I may be rethinking my entire project.

So Bonsai folks, experts and FNG's alike, how do you handle your work, do you even track it, and am I crazy over thinking this?

Thank you for your suggestions, ideas, and feedback.

Phil
OldGuyBonsai.com
 
Trojan Phil said:
Good morning/afternoon/evening.

I am fairly new to having to bonsai, and have progressed to having to manage more than a couple bonsai trees (and it is getting worse). As I am an FNG on multiple fronts I have been looking at trying to Stupid Proof myself by creating something (an app?) to help keep me on task. In looking at this I have been researching times of year for this or that, when to do this AND that, and started to think a system that is calendar based would work well. So Species based calendar items showing my "windows" for this work or that. Simple, clear.

However, I then saw some others and they are doing by tagging each tree and tracking when it was repotted and pruned, etc. thereby creating a task based system with season based to Do's. I can see the logic in this approach to the point I may be rethinking my entire project.

So Bonsai folks, experts and FNG's alike, how do you handle your work, do you even track it, and am I crazy over thinking this?

Thank you for your suggestions, ideas, and feedback.

Phil
OldGuyBonsai.com
Click to expand...
I got into bonsai to get away from technology. I keep most everything in my head and do things by sight when they need to be done. It's taken me a couple of decades, however, to be able to tell what needs to be done and when to do it.

THe downside of keeping a calendar with schedules is that trees don't operate on a day planner. They need what they need. It pays off more to observe that than to follow a calendar week by week. Calendars can be helpful for "ballparking" what needs to be done.
 
I agree th
rockm said:
I got into bonsai to get away from technology. I keep most everything in my head and do things by sight when they need to be done. It's taken me a couple of decades, however, to be able to tell what needs to be done and when to do it.

THe downside of keeping a calendar with schedules is that trees don't operate on a day planner. They need what they need. It pays off more to observe that than to follow a calendar week by week. Calendars can be helpful for "ballparking" what needs to be done.
Click to expand...
Thank you.

I agree that the tree needs what it needs when it needs it. However I'd like to not nursery trees because I didn't know what it was trying to tell me.

Again I agree there are no hard and fast rules and dates, but I'm more trying to set up a basic framework that will help me not get lost in the details, not have any trees get missed because I have too many balls in the air.
 
Hi Trojan Phil,

I started creating a bonsai calendar for these reasons:
1. Different trees require different things at different times.
2. Different climates affect #1, so it's basically tailor-made for the user.

Please note that I am trying to mark down OBSERVATIONS rather than trying to make my tree follow the calendar. Since I don't have decades of experience, it helps me understand what my trees are doing when and when to expect certain things. It helps a lot with trying to plan ahead.
 
I put a task based weekly list, in my calendar calendar, sort of like the old housewife's "Monday- washday"routine (which I am, and use.😁)
MONDAY-maintenance and cleaning
TUESDAY-trimming and pinching
WEDNESDAY - wire- check wire on all trees, and remove, apply as needed
THURSDAY- Thought- study, read, design and plan
FRIDAY- Feed and Fertilise, tend to sick infested trees
SATURDAY - Stones, soild and substrate-sift sorurce sort and select.
SUNDAY- ENJOY!

This gives me a starting task, and of course, being retired and the mistress of my own schedule, i can get sidetracked on a project. But this helps to have a framework to start the day with.
First coffee, then bonsai!
 
I'm newer to bonsai so I'm still learning so what I do is I have a seasonal calendar more like a seasonal chart of what time of year is right time to do the work for each species of tree but then have a log for each tree of what needs done and what's been done and do the task per tree requirement at proper time of year. I also log any issues trees had and how I resolved it for future reference and the development of the trees.
 
When you have a lot of trees, the mark for the day appears during watering time
 
I guess I have a few "schedules" of sorts - for watering, for fert and for actual work. Even with about 70 trees, I just keep track in my head of what got watered/fert and when. The trees tend to split themselves up into groups that need more or less and the "schedule" forms itself. Nothing written down. I'll check the soil for mouisture in any event. When it comes to work, I keep notes of the general trajectory I want the tree to be going in and then actually perform the work when the tree is ready for it.
 
For me its kind of both.

There are tasks that need to be done to every tree but many of them are largely season dependent.

IE potting in spring (March-May depending on the species)
Nipping maple buds: weekly in spring early summer(May- July)
Candle pinching JWP, Scotts and Mugos - Mid may-mid June depending on the year)
Candle cutting JBP in early summer (Late June, early July for me)
Needle plucking and bud selection on pines in Fall
Wiring in fall
Pruning deciduous - Late Jan and Feb
 
RoadManDenDron said:
This really helped me when I was getting my head around when to do tasks

I believe it is from @bluesky View attachment 505784
Click to expand...

That might work in the UK, but it would be a terrible idea to touch a tree's roots in the summer in the desert in California. I wouldn't even do that here, where the climate is very mild, and usually only between 30°C and 35°C at midday in the summer. I prune branches at the end of winter and roots in early spring. The rest of the year, I do nothing more drastic than manage new shoots and apply a bit of wire here and there.

There are some exceptions, of course, but we're talking rules here, not edge cases.
 
vesper818 said:
I put a task based weekly list, in my calendar calendar, sort of like the old housewife's "Monday- washday"routine (which I am, and use.😁)
MONDAY-maintenance and cleaning
TUESDAY-trimming and pinching
WEDNESDAY - wire- check wire on all trees, and remove, apply as needed
THURSDAY- Thought- study, read, design and plan
FRIDAY- Feed and Fertilise, tend to sick infested trees
SATURDAY - Stones, soild and substrate-sift sorurce sort and select.
SUNDAY- ENJOY!

This gives me a starting task, and of course, being retired and the mistress of my own schedule, i can get sidetracked on a project. But this helps to have a framework to start the day with.
First coffee, then bonsai!
Click to expand...
You're lucky not having to work and do any house chores...To be able to dedicate 6/7 days of the week just on bonsai lol.
 
For me, the daily assigned task lists adds a bit of structure to a relatively ubscheduled week, so keeps things in balance. But, it sure is nice, instead of opening the shop at 530a for decades, to grab a mug and open the slider out to the balcony, in my slippers...
 
I am trying to keep better track of what I'm doing for each tree on a note card but it's hard to remember to update it. I just roughly know what I should be doing at what time of year and then my bonsai club newsletter kinda reminds me of things that I might have forgotten. My fertilizing routine was really off this year.
 
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