TideJournal

TideJournal is a browser-based management system created for an active oyster and mollusk farming operation. The foundation is a map of leased farm plots and equipment on them: bags, cages, floating baskets and bottom lines, each with its own stocking date, source of seed material and current number of individuals. As the nursery cycle progresses, the application tracks oysters by size classes — from spat and seed to market-size calibers — and records every tumble, transplant, sort and density change, so the farmer always knows what lies where and approximately how many pieces are on a plot.

Harvest is written off by tag numbers and batch numbers, so every box leaving the dock carries full traceability back to the plot, harvest date and water in which the mollusk grew. This fulfills mollusk labeling requirements and allows a wholesale buyer or health inspector to trace a single oyster to its origin in seconds. Orders flow in two channels: wholesale boxes and half-shell portions for restaurants and distributors, and CSA-format boxes for participants paying a weekly or monthly share in advance. The reservations module manages tasting tour time slots, seat limits, deposits and dietary notes.

Water quality records and sanitary permits sit alongside the biology: salinity, temperature and dissolved oxygen readings, notifications of closures after rain and biotoxins, as well as the classified growing zone status, which determines whether harvest can be taken from a plot that day. When a zone closes, affected batches are marked automatically. Built on PHP and PostgreSQL with a responsive dashboard, TideJournal replaces a tidal-soaked tablet and a tangle of spreadsheets with one place the whole team trusts right from the boat.