Homemade orchid reference book

[basicallyeileen]

Hello all. I thought I'd share an idea I recently had. I've started growing types of orchids that I never had before. I wanted an easy way to reference their individual culture without having to flip through my reference books or the internet (I'm over 40 so I can't remember everything so well as I used to ).

I used excel, but you could use whatever program you like. I printed on heavy cardstock, and 1/2 size letter paper. I've included points that are important for me: water, light, temp, potting, flowering, special requirements, notes. I use pictures of my own orchids for reference. Then you just hole punch and connect with book rings. You can add or revise pages easily whenever you want. It's working really well for me. Maybe it would be helpful to other growers. Eileen

[cb977]

Nicely done!

[Angurek]

That's a great idea, because it takes personal experience with different genera into account. Culture books don't come more customized than that.

[Grandma M]

I really like your system a lot. Where do you get the culture info for the various genra? So often I find the culture info will vary a lot from one source to another.

Marilyn

[basicallyeileen]

Hi Marilyn. That's true about the information. I start with what I find in my books. Then if there is an orchid I have no info on, I go to the internet. I've also kept random notes over the years on observations I've made from my growing conditions. What works for how we each individually grow is what's most important. So the book is a culmination of all this information. I'm glad you liked it.