Diary Tab - Complete Plant Journal

🎯 What You'll Learn

• Diary timeline - Complete activity history
• Entry types - Care, health, growth, observations
• Creating entries - Quick and detailed options
• Searching history - Find past events easily

⚡ Quick Start

View complete plant history:

1. Open plant → Click Diary tab
2. Scroll timeline - All activities chronologically
3. Filter by type - Show only watering, health, etc.
4. Click entry - Expand for full details

Result: Complete plant care journal at your fingertips!

📚 Complete Guide

Diary Timeline View

Chronological record of everything that happened to your plant.

Timeline Display

Default View: Newest First (reverse chronological)

Each Entry Shows:

• Icon - Visual type indicator (💧, 🌿, 🐛, 📸, etc.)
• Title - "Watered", "New leaf spotted", "Pest treatment"
• Timestamp - "2 days ago" or "Oct 22, 2025 3:45 PM"
• Preview - First line of notes (if any)
• Thumbnail - Photo preview (if attached)

Example Entry:

💧 Watered
2 days ago (Oct 22, 2025 3:45 PM)
"Soil was very dry, watered thoroughly until drainage..."
[Photo thumbnail]

Click to Expand: See full notes, all photos, edit/delete options

Display Options

Sort Order:

• Newest First (default) - Most recent at top
• Oldest First - See plant's history from beginning

View Mode:

• Timeline (default) - Vertical chronological list
• Calendar - Monthly grid view, see entries by date
• Compact - Condensed list (less detail, more entries visible)

Density:

• Comfortable (default) - Full previews
• Compact - Smaller spacing, more on screen
• Dense - Maximum entries visible

Entry Types

PlantKeeper tracks many activity categories.

Care Activities

Routine Maintenance:

• 💧 Watering - Regular watering logged
• 🧪 Fertilizing - Fertilizer applications
• ✂️ Pruning - Trimming and shaping
• 🪴 Repotting - Pot changes
• 📍 Relocation - Moving to new spot
• 🧹 Cleaning - Leaf dusting, showering
• 🔍 Inspection - Health checks

Auto-Generated: When you use quick actions (Water Now, Fertilize, etc.)

Manual Entry: Add via "+ Add Entry" button with custom notes

Health Events

Medical Journal:

• 🐛 Pest Found - Pest discovery (type, severity)
• 💊 Treatment Applied - Pesticide, fungicide, etc.
• 🍄 Disease Detected - Fungal, bacterial issues
• 🏥 Doctor Consultation - Plant Doctor AI diagnosis
• 💪 Recovery Noted - Improvement observed
• ⚕️ Health Status Change - Updated from Healthy → Needs Care, etc.

Why Track: See treatment effectiveness, identify recurring issues

Growth Events

Development Milestones:

• 🌿 New Leaf - New growth spotted
• 🌸 Flowering - Buds or blooms appeared
• 🌱 Propagation - Cuttings taken
• 📏 Measurement Recorded - Growth tracking entry
• 🎉 Milestone Achieved - Doubled in size, anniversary, etc.
• 🍂 Leaf Drop - Shedding leaves (track patterns)

Auto-Generated: When adding growth records or milestones

General Notes

Observations & Ideas:

• 📝 Observation - General notes ("Leaves more vibrant today")
• 📸 Photo Added - Progress photo uploaded
• ❓ Question - Something to research ("Why are tips browning?")
• 💡 Idea - Care experiments ("Try bottom watering")
• 🎁 Special Event - Gift, move to new home, etc.

Most Flexible: Use for anything not fitting other categories

Filtering & Searching

Find specific entries quickly.

Filter by Type

Click Filter Icon → Select types to show:

Preset Filters:

• All Activities - Everything (default)
• Care Only - Watering, fertilizing, pruning, etc.
• Health Only - Pests, diseases, treatments
• Growth Only - New leaves, measurements, milestones
• Photos Only - Entries with photos attached

Custom Filter:

• Select specific types: ✓ Watering, ✓ Pest Found, ✓ New Leaf
• Save as custom view

Search Diary

Text Search Box (top of Diary tab):

Searches:

• Entry titles
• Notes content
• Tags

Examples:

• Search "spider mites" → Find all pest treatment entries
• Search "overwatered" → See when you suspected overwatering
• Search "propagation" → All cutting-related notes

Filter by Date Range

Date Picker:

• Last 7 Days - This week's activity
• Last 30 Days - This month
• Last 90 Days - This quarter
• This Year - 2025 entries only
• Custom Range - Specific start/end dates

Use Case: "Show all entries from summer 2024 when plant was struggling"

Adding Diary Entries

Two methods: Quick and Detailed.

Quick Entry

30-Second Add:

1. Click "+ Add Entry" button (top-right)
2. Select type from dropdown (e.g., "Observation")
3. Write notes (optional): "New growth on top stem!"
4. Date/Time: Auto-set to now (editable)
5. Save

Result: Entry added to timeline immediately.

Detailed Entry

Full-Featured Add:

1. Click "+ Add Entry" → Select "Detailed"
2. Entry Type: Choose from all categories
3. Title (optional): Custom title vs default ("Watered" → "Deep watered after 2 weeks")
4. Notes: Rich text editor
   • Markdown support: Bold, italic, lists, links
   • Formatting: Headings, bullet points
   • Emojis: 🌱 Enhance readability
5. Photos: Upload multiple images
6. Tags (optional): Custom tags for grouping ("experiment", "problem", "success")
7. Linked Entries (optional): Reference other entries or growth records
8. Date/Time: Set exact timestamp (for backdating)
9. Weather (auto-pulled): Temperature, humidity on entry date
10. Save

Result: Rich, detailed journal entry.

Auto-Generated Entries

PlantKeeper Automatically Creates Entries For:

✅ Quick Actions:

• "Water Now" button → Creates watering entry
• "Fertilize" button → Creates fertilizing entry

✅ Growth Records:

• Add measurement → Creates "Measurement Recorded" entry
• Milestone achieved → Creates "Milestone" entry

✅ Plant Doctor:

• AI diagnosis → Creates "Doctor Consultation" entry
• Links diagnosis report

✅ Reminder Completions:

• Complete reminder → Creates entry for that task

Editable: All auto-generated entries can be edited to add notes/photos!

Editing & Managing Entries

Modify or remove past entries.

Editing Entries

Steps:

1. Click entry to expand
2. Click "Edit" button (pencil icon)
3. Modify any field (type, notes, photos, date)
4. Save

Common Edits:

• Add photos to auto-generated entry
• Expand notes with more detail
• Fix typos or incorrect dates
• Update entry type (wrong category)

Deleting Entries

Steps:

1. Click entry to expand
2. Click "Delete" button (trash icon)
3. Confirm deletion

⚠️ Warning: Cannot be undone (entry permanently removed)

When to Delete:

• Duplicate entries
• Accidental entries
• Test entries

Alternative: Edit to "Canceled" or "Mistaken entry" instead of deleting (preserves history)

Calendar View

Alternative way to view diary entries.

Monthly Calendar

Switch to Calendar View: Click "Calendar" tab (next to "Timeline")

Display:

• Monthly grid (like traditional calendar)
• Dots on dates with entries (color-coded by type)
• Click date → See all entries that day

Benefits:

• Visual pattern recognition: "Watered every Saturday"
• Identify gaps: "No entries for 2 weeks - what happened?"
• Plan ahead: See upcoming reminders vs past activities

Multi-Day Events

Tracking Extended Events:

• Example: "Spider mite treatment" (Oct 10-20)
• Shows as span across calendar
• See duration of treatments, experiments

Diary Statistics

Insights about your plant care patterns.

Activity Summary

Stats Shown (above timeline):

• Total Entries: 87 entries all-time
• This Month: 12 entries (Oct 2025)
• Most Common Type: Watering (35 entries)
• Average Gap: 3 days between entries

Use Case: Gauge care consistency

Care Consistency Score

Calculated Metric:

• Based on watering/fertilizing regularity
• High Score (80-100%) - Very consistent ✅
• Medium Score (60-79%) - Acceptable
• Low Score (<60%) - Improve routine ⚠️

Example: "You water every 6-8 days (target: every 7). Consistency: 87%"

Export Diary

Get your journal out of PlantKeeper.

Export Options

PDF Report:

• Complete diary in printable format
• Includes photos, dates, notes
• Good for plant-sitter reference

CSV Data:

• Spreadsheet format
• Columns: Date, Type, Title, Notes
• Analyze in Excel/Sheets

Print View:

• Simplified layout for printing
• No ads, no navigation
• Just the journal entries

💡 Tips & Tricks

Daily Journaling Habit

End-of-Day Entry:

• Add quick observation daily (even if just "Looks good!")
• Builds complete picture of plant's life
• Future you will appreciate the details

Use Tags for Experiments

Track Care Experiments:

• Tag entries: "bottom-watering-experiment"
• Filter by tag later
• See results: "Bottom watering → less fungus gnats!"

Photo Everything

Visual Proof:

• Attach photo to every health event
• Before/after treatment comparisons
• Documents progress objectively

Weekly Review

Sunday Routine:

• Review past week's entries
• Identify patterns ("Droops every Thursday - needs water Wed night")
• Plan upcoming week's care

Correlate with Growth

Cross-Reference Tabs:

• Growth tab shows height spike in May
• Diary tab shows you increased fertilizer in April
• Conclusion: More fertilizer = more growth! 🎉

❓ Common Questions

Q: Can I add entries for past dates?

A: Yes! When creating entry:

1. Click date/time field
2. Select past date
3. Save

Use Case: Backfill forgotten activities ("I watered 3 days ago, forgot to log it")

Q: How far back does the diary go?

A: Unlimited history. From the day you created the plant entry to present. All entries preserved indefinitely.

Q: Can I import diary entries from another app?

A: Yes, via CSV import:

1. Settings → Import Data
2. Upload CSV with columns: Date, Type, Notes
3. Select plant to import to
4. Entries added to diary

Q: Are auto-generated entries editable?

A: Yes! All entries (auto or manual) can be edited:

• Add photos to auto-generated watering entry
• Expand notes with details
• Change entry type if wrong

Q: Can I share my plant diary with others?

A: Yes:

• Export PDF → Email to friend
• Share Link (if privacy set to Public) → Anyone can view read-only
• Print → Physical journal

🔗 Related Topics

Essential Reading

• Creating Entries - Detailed entry creation guide
• Entry Types - All diary categories explained

Related Features

• Overview Tab - See recent 10 activities (preview)
• Growth Tab - Growth records auto-add diary entries

Analysis

• Viewing Entries - Advanced filtering and search
• Diary Features - Templates, export, analytics

Last Updated: October 24, 2025
Document Version: 2.0 (Modular Structure)