I have had a couple of you ask me if there were any gardening apps I would recommend. But to be completely honest, I am more of a pencil and paper kind of girl. Maybe I’m weird, I don’t know, but I barely know how to use my iphone, and I just learned how to download songs from itunes about 3 months ago.
But I did a little research, and here are 5 cool choices for planning your garden and/or plant reference guides:
The Garden Tracker allows you to customize your planting/gardening to your size and location of plot. It helps you track when to water, plant, harvest, and how to do it. You can break up your garden into sections, like window boxes, patio planters, and raised beds. It allows you to grid your garden, making sure you have the appropriate planting space, etc. If only it could do the weeding too. It runs $1.99 for the iPhone and $3.99 for iPad.
Next up is an app for iPad users only. It’s called Garden Plan Pro. It runs at a higher price of $9.99, but is a complete planting reference guide AND garden planner. This app has EVERYTHING, and is highly rated by The Times, Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, and the list goes on. It looks like the Holy Grail of garden planning.
{Vegetable Planting Calendar – remember, this one is free,
so I guess we’ll have to overlook the 3 p’s in upper!}
If you are looking for a simple app, that tells you when to plant, where to plant, and how to care for your veggie garden, go with the Vegetable Planting Calendar, it’s free for both iPad and iPhone users. It’s a very basic reference guide, but comes in handy when you need a quick overview on how to care for your garden.
Gardenate is another option in the lower price points. It allows you to schedule your planning around fully customized plant choices. It tracks when you planted and gives a very general overview of each plant. It runs $1.99 for iPhone and $3.99 for iPad users.
Finally, the Vegetable Gardening Guide, is more of a handheld reference book. It is unique because it offers several reference pictures, general tips, and recipes for your harvested veggies. It’s $2.99 for both iPhone and iPad users.
Do any of you have an app you just love for gardening?
If so, let us know in the comment section below.
May the trowel be with you,
Mavis
Lauren says
These look great… I wish I had i-things! Just moved a year ago from zone 9 to zone 4b. Wow. Steep learning curve, there. I could really use something like this. Have you or any of your readers come across any good ones that run on Android?
Lisa says
I’ve tried all of the apps you listed (with the exception of the $9.99 one, it is beyond my $2.99 app price limit). They are ok. I like Garden Tracker the best. Although I don’t use it to track my actual garden. I use it for the “What to Plant Now” feature to update the shop’s facebook page.
However, I do love the gardening program Smart Gardener. It is by far the best automated system for garden planning and tracking. They are working on a mobile app that will be available for iPhone & Android. It just isn’t finished yet. I can’t wait.
Lauren says
Thanks, Lisa!
I think I am mostly looking for something to tell me when to plant and harvest — besides a calendar! Also, I’m having such a tough time knowing when to plant and what varieties out here! Last year was especially hard with the drought — not much that I planted did well, except peppers. And based on how little snowfall we’ve gotten and our 50 degree temperatures already, this year may be similar. I really want to start my garden right now, but that’s probably a pretty stupid move. It’s still so early.
Dawn Isaac says
More for inspiration, than planning per se, but we’d love you to take a look at intoGardens for the iPad.
It’s part app, part magazine and it includes everything from garden reviews and plant profiles to practical advice and edible gardening. It’s also been designed to make the most of what the iPad can do so it includes films and audio as well as the more traditional pictures and writing. It has a scrapbook function so you can save pictures from issue to issue to build up a garden ideas book. You can even tap on plants or accessories within a picture and chose to add them to a shopping list or buy them there and then.
Anyway, if you would like to take a look you can find it here – https://itunes.apple.com/app/intogardens/id543857092. It’s $4.99 an issue or $13.99 for an anuual subscription but there is also a free sample on there which gives you a chance to see what it’s all about.
Best
Dawn
'Tara says
Another smartgardener.com fan!! I love that it also tells you when to start seeds indoors, plant transplanted or seedlings or plant seeds outdoors based on zone. It also has a huge database of seeds. Ohh and the suggestions of companion planting… I could go on and on.
Kristin says
I love mother earth news tor my gardening and they have a decent app. I wish the farmer’s almanac did too. I just use their website
Ruth Wawrd says
Such a pity!
I don’t waste my time with looking at tiny screens.
Do you have anything that I can download to my laptop?
Alicia says
For those who want to use one on their computers (they have an app too, I believe), I used the Mother Earth News one last year and loved it. It’s free for 30 days so you can make up your plan and print it out, or give it a try and love it and pay the annual fee. Here’s the link if it’s okay? http://www.motherearthnews.com/garden-planner/vegetable-garden-planner.aspx
Michael says
Another +1 for Smart Gardener. Looks like they are working on a more social site in addition to the planner/calendar called Zukeeni. That’s how I found them. The planner app is superior on the smartgardener website though. Zukeeni doesn’t show all the features.
– Rumblewand from TX