Plant Cheatsheet

When I select plants/seeds to try for the first time, I just make sure that I have or can make the garden work for the plant.  Once I have ordered my “non-standard” seeds, I sit down and do up a cheetsheet on what each type of plant needs.  I look at multiple sources for the information and slowly fill in my cheatsheet.  This gives me a chance to start making any amendments to the soil that I may need to do.  Here is a sample of the start of my cheatsheet for this year:

Plant	Soil PH	Soil Type	Lighting	Sowing	Disease & Pests	Harvesting
Amaranth Mix	6.0-7.5	well drained soil	Full sun	Direct sow in late May to early June. Optimal soil temperature: 18-24°C (65-75°F).	Watch for slug/snail damage to young plants. Amaranth is not prone to pest damage.	Pick baby or mature greens as needed. Simply cut them with scissors as you would mescluns. The leaves have an appealing, nutty flavour. If growing for seed, choose A. hypochondriacus and provide ample spacing. Seed will ripen in late summer or early fall.
Red Quinoa	6.0-7.5	well-drained, loamy soil with added orgnaic matter	Full sun	Direct sow in late April to the end of May, while night temperatures are still cool. Optimal soil temperature for germination: 18-24°C (65-75°F). Seeds should germinate in 4-10 days	Watch for slug/snail damage to young seedlings. Keep the area free from debris where these pests like to nest.	Harvest any time after seeds have changed from green to their calico colours, even after light frost.

Does anyone else do this when they try a new food plant?