i don't keep journal.. paper trails are not good.. well.. i think they are not good, but i know i'm wrong. 

so, what's the best way to go about keeping fig journal? online? in a notebook? i guess online is more "public". 

i need to start keeping one. i'm not sure what i have and no idea what i had. it's getting rather confusing. 

Pete, I have been keeping one along the way. I try to keep up with what plant, where I got it, when I got it, origin if I can find out and
about the only other thing is when I move it from one pot to the next. I just made a spread sheet.

Use to years ago but no longer as i enjoy taking dated pictures which tell me things i need to know.
Then after season ends i take off computer and put on dated disk.

i think i'll buy a nice notebook to keep them in. easier to burn them if i need to. computer records are.. forever.. 

I was sloppy when handwriteing and disorganized .

Pete, if you are a Mac guy you can create a cataloging / journal with Pages or Microsoft Word created for Mac 2011. if Windows guy  then use Microsoft Wordto. Put the name, how you acquired (through whom), maybe what year, pictures or fruit, leaf and tree..., and notes about it as it grows... This may be the best useful way of doing it, it looks great, very efficient and you can always edit it.

I've kept 2 journals. One on line(just recently) and the other in a notebook. I like to keep acquisition info and any other origin info I can gather. I'd like keep better track of growing and taste info of my varieties though. 

I have a spreadsheet which has recorded variety name, source, forum user name, date of acquisition, whether cutting or plant, method(s) used for rooting, outcome, and misc notes.  I have this pretty well organized, complete to date.

I have some paper scribblings at my potting/cutting table where I have been recording details and progress of rooting, but need to have this better organized - but that is not where my computer is so it is not efficient.  I need to organize better records of what I am using for potting mixes for various batches of cuttings as well.

Need to start taking pictures as some of my cuttings are getting of a size worth recording, and will need to get those organized as well. 

Too much info  :(

I keep track of it in a paper notebook that is also for the rest of my garden. I also take pictures like Martin in case I forget to update the notebook. I like using my iPhone for the pictures because it auto stamps them with the date and I don't have to worry about keeping the date/time right on my camera.

I'm too lazy to keep a journal. I kind of use my posts on f4f as a journal to look back and see what different plants were doing in the past.

There are a few of us who use MS Access.  Easy to set up and expand later.  The only hard part is being disciplined enough to get everything in.

I use Microsoft OneNote for some stuff( soil mixes, pot sizes, and dates plants were up potted if they will be there at least a year). I also have a "Fig tree care" print out I made saved in Word, that way when I give someone a tree I just print it out and give them that with the tree. Nobody around here really has any idea of how to care them, in pots anyway.
Funny you started this, because I just started a Fig note page in my processing (food) notebook, this one is old school paper. Notes on things like when I started the shuffle, fertilizer regimen, first visible main crop and harvest, breba history will go here also when I start playing with that.
I really want to know how much leaving breba on will delay or decrease main crop figs for me. Also as the trees get older how many I can leave on.

Pete I tried to do a written journal last year and I was terrible at remembering to do it.  This year I'm going to use a continuing post here on F4F to track everything:

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/2014-season-douglassville-pa-6828190?pid=1282311122#post1282311122

I use Excel mostly just to list stuff: what is it, where is it, when it was planted, and other relevant info (rootstock for fruit trees, who it's from for cuttings, etc). At this time I don't worry much about season to season information, but I can tack it on that same sheet if need be.

For now memory does a decent job with most things, but I know I planted some Bloodroot somewhere that should be coming up about now....no idea where it is, it's like a scavenger hunt in the garden for that one. I guess memory is no longer to be relied on. Aside from money, apparently babies use up your brain.

I use a combination of 2 database: Sqlite and Ms Access. I use Access forms for data entry and reports. I use Sqlite as my main backend backup in case I loose one. Both have import and export data tools.

I track:
Fig name
Fig Description
Fig Exterior color
Fig Interior color
Fig size
Fig Source 1
Fig Source 2
Taste Description
Fig Type Name
Country Origin
Hardy Scale Number
Recommended Zone 7 Indicator
Sweetness Scale
Purchase Age
Pot size
Soil Used
Last repot Date
Dry Fertilizer Used
Liquid Fertilizer Used
Growth Rate
Winterized Indicator
Minterization Method
Comment
Fig Photo

Hi bullet08,
I use photos. It is really interesting and funny to look at old photos of the trees.
I now try to take photos more regularly. There are things you don't think of, that a photo will record.
You can count stems, evaluate die back, see leaves and fruits - time of figs appearing and progressing (or not) to being ripe...
I have a separate spreadsheet for text information .

Started one this year. I use a pen and notebook. Awesome so far and easy to use

This is my fig journal. :)

Pete
There are some great ideas (computer and manual) here to maintain a journal and you may want to keep track of all your different fig connections and fruits of the encounter this way.
But IMO in the end what counts is a good name tag for the fig plant you are. growing  Making sure to indicate the fig name, date, source and whatever history you want to keep track of.
Then anytime you are showing or admiring your plants there is the tag with the name and information at your fingertips.
:)

I like the tag idea, so how big this Tag shell be? 
So far, my tags, which are made of builder's aluminum tape , are about  3x2 inches with a triangle end where the wire goes through... 

I try to take as many pictures as I can,
Also I have a list in note on my computer, it has names and where I got it from and any notes about the variety I have read.
I use Dropbox to store it. And if I need to share my list I can link it from dropbox and they can see my list also.

Interesting that this came up.  I've been thinking about starting one for myself, since this is my first year trying to root cuttings.  I'm leaning towards OneNote, especially since I can take pictures with my phone and load them right in using the mobile app.

It's nice to see what some people are putting in so I don't kick myself a few years down the road for not including  something that didn't seem important to a newbie.
     -Travis

I try to keep notes on all my gardening experiences and also I have a blog I share some things on. I think I am going to start a separate page on my blog just for my fig adventures!