I am planting (and replanting) trees with a lot of different varieties on two orchard sites. I have a fear that I will not be able to identify a tree down the road. I have just been plotting them out on grafting paper as I go but now there are ten dirty coffee stained sheets. I need a better way to keep track of them. I was wondering how others are keeping track of where everything is planted. Is an Excel spreadsheet the way to go?
I think itās a good question and Iām also interested in hearing peopleās answers as Iām a pen and paper man myself. Iāve always intended to see if thereās any good, free, and easy to use landscape design programs, but I just havenāt done it.
I use an excel spreadsheet with headings. Bill
I also label each tree and limb if it has multiple varieties. Labor intensive but fun on a small scale like my orchard.
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Maps are a great idea, but honestly, is there really any better solution than permanent (yeah, there really isnāt such a thing) in the field marking or labeling. I still havenāt seen anything better than the Dymo tapewriter using stainless tape and stainless safety wire with loops large enough to accommodate future limb/trunk sizing. I just donāt see anything not using stainless as something long-term, including light guage aluminum and copper.
All sorts of things can happen to any map, whether it be āpen and paperā (Iām also a pen and paper guy) or worse some form of electronic file.
Just my opinion.
This is something I have to address alsoā¦unfortunately my half-arsed labels will only barely outlive my terrible memory.
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Recently I have started using Google Drive which has a large free 15GB free cloud storage. It also has a free spreadsheet similar to excel and as a bonus whenever you use Googles sheets none is counted toward your 15GB. Here is the feature that I really like the most. I can take a small device such as my android phone or tablet into to the orchard and key the information in. When you get back all your data automatically loads to the free cloud service and sinks with all your devices. Iām an older guy who loves technology when it offers something worthwhile. This is so easy after you get use to it. Bill
PS I still use a durable label on all my trees.
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Use autocad to draw the orchard to scale in addition to using aluminium tags for each variety.
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What we have found to be the most reliable for our 200 tree orchard is drawing out on paper a grid of the trees and then numbering them. Then having a separate paper key that corresponds to the number. Then we laminate them. Multiple copies arent a bad idea. Maybe one master copy filed with important papers and a few working copies. The key can be remade from time to time as changes happen.
Ive personally found the aluminum tags to troublesome. The trees tend to swallow them as they grow.
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I do Billās spreadsheet idea. The only difference is I use Dropbox to synchronize, not Google. Its very handy with a smartphone to always have the full orchard map with the latest data right there in your pocket. I also permanently tag trees. Why do both? When you have a lot of stuff you will make mistakes. Occasionally I even get mixups with both forms.
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I have a tiny orchard and use Visio which most people donāt have so itās not much help.
The numbers are in the order that I planted them and correspond to the word doc that has my growing notes.
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Sketch up. Download the trees, space and label them with whatever data you wish.
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The guys in Uganda use a GPS for the coordinates and then a database program to record the lat./long. location, variety, date of planting, and orchard owner. We use those paint markers junkyards use to mark parts and label a rock at the base with the variety.
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Wow applenut that seems high tech for Uganda. It looks like a fruit growing paradise. It sounds like you are helping with a great project there.
I think the google sheets idea best fits my needs.
Thanks for all the ideas
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Great idea using the coordinates/database. My only question is it accurate down to like a 1-2ā range so it can be used on individual trees? Looks like it is working well for their needs. Thanks. Bill
The trees are planted on 15ā centers, so yes, its accurate enough for that use.
EVERYONE in East Africa has a cell phone, even the poor widow in the mud hut with only a beat up cooking pot and two sticks to put under it. She may have to walk 4 miles and pay $0.45 to charge it, but they have a phone. It is their currency exchange, you can go into a Western Union kiosk, pay them cash, and they will put it on your phone. You SMS the cash to another phone, who can cash it in at any Western Union kiosk or just about any store. Smart phones are becoming more common, and they can buy internet bundles in small packages over the phone to allow them to surf the web with no power or computer. There are solar flashlights that allow them to charge the phone also http://www.dlight.com/
They text more than they call, and receive information such as the best type of maize to be planting for their area, etc. The database theyāre using is pretty sophisticated, Ask Sam. Theyāre pretty meticulous about records.
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Thanks
No need to draw a map anymore. Just go to Google maps and print out the satellite view (or take a screenshot and paste into your favorite paint program.
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Iām a fan of Inkscape for this sort of thing. It is an open source, multiplatform vector graphics package which is powerful and not too hard to get started with. It is a lot like Adobe Illustrator, though different enough that you will be frustrated at first if you already know Illustrator. There are lots of tutorials and online resources. It runs very well on Linux, a little less smoothly on Mac.
You can import DXF too if you have a plot plan in Autocad or something. Colors and text are way easier to deal with than in Autocad. Export back to Autocad is not always issue free but usually workable.
I did lots of versions of a plan for landscaping our small urban yard in this package. Here is one version (already badly out of date):
My orchard is truly micro sized; about 15 square meters, or roughly the area under one mature M111 tree, so itās not hard for me to remember things. I do intend on putting some metal labels out too at some point but havenāt gotten to that yet. I like the idea of GPS for tree locations!
Here is a drawing I did in Inkscape for the micro-orchard:
<img src="/uploads/default/original/2X/c/c492ca4d8c748b342a37427b89a56b8d510cc64e.png" width=ā1000ā height=ā400ā
As you can see, I like to fiddle with drawings on the computer almost as much as actually planting stuff 
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I finally found a way to make permanent orchard labels at home.
I have tried aluminum, soft brass strips, antifreeze plastic container strips with markers etc. They all failed me over the years. I settled on the two ply ABS material used to make all those outdoor plastic signs you see all around. Material: Microsurfaced ABS, two ply colors.
Matte, non glare, 2 ply, 1ā16" thick, sheet size 12x24" or 24x24."
I get the sheet from: Google: Johnson Plastics. Their site is a little hard to navigate.
Click āstart shoppingā on the far right:
Engraving Product / Engravable Plastics / Rowmark Plastics / Rotary Engravable
then on the left side, find: The Mattes w Value Mattes / 1ā16 Inch Thick 2-Ply
actual link complete:
http://www.johnsonplastics.biz/category/M37/1/1/1646
you have to create and account and log in to purchase.
Many colors are available: I chose #222744V, yellow on black, 24"x24", 1/16" sheet. I cut the sheet on a table saw, with a fine tooth blade, into 1 1ā4 x 2 1ā2" strips, and then drilled 5ā32" (.156) diameter holes. I engraved them with a cheap hand rotary engraver, which I had sharpened the tip very very sharp. I gave em two coats of floor polyurethane, and I hung em with 14-Gauge Solid THHN Wire indoor home AC circuit wire.They have been in place on sixty trees some, for well over five years. Some of the polyurethane overcoat is peeling, but it was an indoor floor grade, and had no UV protection. See the Afghanistan label below. I am working on a suitable overcoat. Perhaps Marine Varnish?
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My Orchard map is in Excelā¦ easy to edit.
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