The Cheap Vegetable Gardener

Vegetable Gardening Software Review

15.7 years ago computer, garden planning

When it comes to planning my vegetable garden I must say this is definitely one of my weaknesses.  I make a good attempt to map things out on graph paper ahead of time only to decide to add/remove a crop and eventually resort back to my memory and then get a surprise when I find I planted carrots and cilantro in the same place.

Given I am required to spend around 10 hours a day in front of a computer my first thought was to find a solution online in the form of some sort of vegetable gardening software.  I tried some trials of several products and got so frustrated I was about to create my own when I came across GrowVeg.com.  After signing up for their 30 day trial within 15 minutes I had my gardens planned out and saved for future reference. 

Now if when I change my mind on planting preferences I can easily modify my plan to the new desired configuration.  When I see easy I really mean it, it completely passed the “I am a man and don’t read instructions” test but there are some helpful video tutorials for those with more patience.  I can honestly say it is so easy a 4-year-old can do it.  She saw me “playing” with my garden and asked if she could “play” the gardening game as you can see below.

Once my daughter was done with her garden I proceeded to check out some of the other features.  The next feature I came across was by clicking on any of the plants it would return helpful plant information from how to plant, how to harvest, and even how/when to apply fertilizer.

Definitely the feature I was most impressed with was the planting schedule it automatically generates after you have added plants to your plan.  Not only does it tell you when to plant but also when to expect your harvest.  What I love about this is, if you are like me, you can’t decide what your frost date is, you can simply change it in the settings and the schedule automatically updates.  Now if you are forgetful like me, there is even a feature to notify you by email when it is time to plant your seeds.

Once you have built your history of garden plans throughout the years, the program will use this information my warning you if you are planning on planting the same type of plant in the same location you did before.  This enforcement of crop rotation can significantly help reduce the accumulation of soil borne fungus/disease.

For more information see GrowVeg.com

Tags: cheap, cilantro, garden seeds, outdoor plants, vegetables