What info in your spreadsheet / database?

[cb977]

I'm really looking forward to it!
Imagine clicking on a plant in your own list on Orchidwiz and having the corresponding Orchidwiz information page pop up!

[Lorraine]

I started out with just a Word list then decided to do a Microsoft excel spread sheet.
Columns start with:
Full Name
Type
Color
Where I got it
Date
Info about plant eg. division/give away/repot, etc
another column for potting, growing info

The very bottom has a couple items I have cut & pasted with info I want to have handy. Like my "WISH LIST" I love this list!! Makes it easy to move the newbie name up to the group.

I have the types of chids alphabetical so I can add and find them easier. I spent a lot of time doing this well after I had 50/60 chids and wish I had done it sooner

I just keep adding rows when I buy/inherit/or divide. The divisions get assigned a # to the name.

All chids have a tag on their pot even if it's a Noid. They get either the persons name (Noid Glen) or a # so I can keep track of blooming, repotting, dividing or re-homing.

I have a separate word List for tracking blooming and spikes by the month.

Hope this helps.

[theredhead]

Joseph – thank you so much for sharing your nifty database with me. I’m looking forward to playing with it this weekend.

Bob – thanks for sharing your experience with the Aircone pots. They look like they may be appropriate for the dry climate here in Colorado. I’d like to keep a little bit of moisture around the roots, but they do seem to promote drainage and airflow.

Cb977 – it’s great to hear a little about Cattleya Log. I’ll be downloading the demo this weekend to check it out. Good advice to start documenting early. I only have 4 plants now, but if you take a peek into my intro thread you will see my Mom is sending me a bounty of orchids once the weather warms up.

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I’ definitely going to give everything it’s own number tag.

-the redhead-

[dragom]

I have finally found a template in access that is close to what I want to keep track of. I have had to change some of the fields but I think it will work for what I am planning to use it for also it has a place that you can put a picture too so that has been a plus. It is the template that you can download called home inventory it took me a while to figure out how to change the headings so that they would reflect what I want but I think I can be happy with the way it is now. Thing is I bought the Access 2007 for Dummies book and I figured out how to change the heading by accident so I didn't even get anything out of the book yet. I am sure I can use it later on the adjust the database or at least I hope so 23.00 for nothing.

[Ed b]

Hi Red;
If you would like to try a program that lets you post your photos and keep all of your records.Go online and look for orchids you can download a trial for free.Hope you find what your looking for.
Ed b

[cloudswinger]

I use an Access db that is based on an Asset management template. It's got a lot of information, such as the standard name, var, etc. Plus there are tables for vendor information, so I can keep track of contact info for the vendors I've purchased from, and then a list of all the plants that are in the Vietnam orchid checklist, with all the information from that(elevation, frequency, some other culture data). And other culture information such as whether it needs a winter rest, or the notes from the vendor. I keep a pic of the bloom and a pic of the plant, and I plan on taking a plant pic yearly(at least for the seedlings) to see the progress, although I haven't decided how to handle that in the db yet. It's got a section where you can enter the maintenance done, so you can keep track of when things were repotted, etc.
It's definitely got my science geek going, since I'm accumulating information on tons of things. I even had added a table for Genera synonyms, so that I could cross-reference old names. Then I also want to be able to move it to my pda and take it out to the garden to make notes there. Luckily my garden is small and low maintenance right now, otherwise I'd have no time for all the computer stuff.

[epiphyte78]

Access is what I use to keep track of my orchids. It's quite flexible and if you're a high tech type of girl I would recommend it. I have two tables (Plants and Notes) and here is how the Plant table is set up...

Plants Table
Field Name - Data Type
Plant_ID - AutoNumber (Primary Key)
Name - Text (Laelia anceps, Dendrobium speciosum, etc.)
Location - Text (Cedar tree, Lemon tree, ect.)
Status - Memo (doing great, not so great, etc.)
Received - Date/Time (When I received the plant)
Type - Text (Orchid, succulent, etc.)
Source - Text (Hanging Gardens, SBOE, etc)
RIP - Yes/No (Whether it kicked the bucket)

Here is how the Notes table is set up...

Notes Table
Field Name - Data Type
Note_ID - AutonNumber (Primary Key)
Note - Memo (Spiking, leaves falling, etc)
Date - Date/Time (Default Value: Now())
Plant_ID - Number

I created a one to many relationship between the two tables so in the Plants table I can click on + sign which will display the notes for that orchid and allow me to enter a new note.

[theredhead]

Thanks everyone - this has been a really informative discussion.

I had the opportunity to play around with several databases this weekend. They all have so much to recommend them. The organized, sciencey part of me had a lot of fun.

I really appreciate the intricacies of Cattleya Log. Just playing encouraged me to read up on a few things. I did, however, run into a stumbling block with the numbering scheme. Does anyone know how to prompt the program to ask me what scheme I want to use? It seems to have picked one on it's own, of course not the one I want.

-the redhead-

[theredhead]

I received a very helpful answer from the cattlog creator, and have gotten the desired numbering scheme set up. I'm really liking the option to easily add multiple photos, so I can track each plant's progress.

Now I just have to fill in all the data.

-the redhead-

[theredhead]

Just testing how to post a picture

-the redhead-