Verdia · Library
Compare plant measurements without mixing units
Compare measurements only when their units and methods are recorded, while keeping the original plant note intact.
Record a quantity with its unit
A bare number such as 12 cannot be compared reliably with 120 mm unless its unit is known. Write down what was measured, the unit, the method and the date. Keep an estimate visibly separate from a measurement. Those details explain the record without turning a change in pot size or appearance into a care instruction.
A pot-diameter comparison
These are invented notes about an inner pot diameter. They are not recommendations for choosing a pot or repotting a plant. The conversion column is a separate worksheet: one centimetre is ten millimetres. A missing unit stays unavailable rather than being guessed from the surrounding rows.
| Record | Date | Supplied value | Unit | Method | Converted value (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-01 | 2026-10-26 | 120 | mm | ruler | 120 |
| M-02 | 2026-11-02 | 12 | cm | ruler | 120 |
| M-03 | 2026-11-09 | 12 | Not recorded | Not recorded | Unavailable |
| M-04 | 2026-11-16 | 12 | cm | visual estimate | 120 |
Equal converted numbers can carry different evidence
M-01 and M-02 both convert to 120 mm and both explicitly say ruler. M-03 cannot be converted because the unit is absent. M-04 also converts to 120 mm, but its method is a visual estimate. The arithmetic does not make that estimate as precise as a ruler measurement or establish an uncertainty interval that was never recorded.
Preserve the source note
The observation tool stores the supplied note as text. It does not extract the pot diameter, normalize a unit or calculate the conversion shown in this worksheet. Retain the original value and unit even when you add a calculated comparison beside it. If a note is corrected, distinguish that correction from a new measurement on another date.
Choose a comparison before drawing a conclusion
- Compare the same quantity: inner diameter and outer diameter are different measurements.
- State the unit for every reading instead of relying on a previous row.
- Keep method and estimated/measured status visible.
- Leave unavailable information unavailable. A size comparison does not diagnose a plant problem, prescribe watering or prove that repotting is needed.