What software do you use for garden planning/record keeping?

Indianapolis, IN(Zone 5b)

We've been discussing this in another thread, so I thought I'd move the discussion to its own thread to keep things organized and easy to search.

Do you use software that is specifically designed for gardening? If so, which one and what do you like about it? Do you use software that isn't designed for gardening? If so, try to show us an example of what you do and add some comments on how you do it.

Personally, I'd like to find software that's designed specifically for gardening, but I haven't run across one that seems to do what I want. So I'm thinking about doing my garden layout in either Word or Excel. The attached is a mockup I did using tables in Word.

I've seen some really great stuff in other threads, so please share! I would've never thought to use a spreadsheet program for garden layout - until I saw it on DG.

Thumbnail by dividedsky
Indianapolis, IN(Zone 5b)

Another gardener mentioned using OpenOffice software, which is great for those of us with tight budgets. OpenOffice is a software suite that is available for free (!) at www.openoffice.org It includes a spreadsheet program, a word processing program, a presentation program, and more.

The reason it's available for free: The short answer is that there's a large community of software developers (the open source community) who love what they do so much that they do it for free. That's only part of the answer, though, so if you're curious, google the term open source is.

Ashland, MT(Zone 4a)

Yes, the OpenOffice software is quite mature. I have been using it full time for about 8 or 9 years.

It is compatible with MS Office. I have found a few incompatibility issues, mostly between OpenOffice Presentation and MS PowerPoint.

I will sometimes use it for work that I take home with me; spreadsheets and word documents and need to be finished. Other than that, my gardening notes are completely maintained with OpenOffice.

Give it a try, it's free.

Southern NJ, United States(Zone 7a)

I am looking for software which will allow me to set up a basic template of my garden in proportional scale (it's 84' x 72'), marking the rows, paths, brick walks and greenhouse, and permitting me to rotate crops on the plan so I can print them out each season and see where I want to put things when I'm actually out in the garden. I have a plan that I made up in AppleWorks but it's kind of clunky. I also downloaded GardenSketch, but I don't see how to make it do what I'm looking for and maybe it's just not designed for that.

I'm on a Mac but do have MS Office, after resisting buying it for a long time. I tried to make something in Word but had no idea how to start making paths and rows with that program.

I don't keep track of yield, and my notes about flavor and productivity are fairly informal; what I need is a flexible garden plan.

Leslie

Stevensville, MT(Zone 4b)

try growveg.com It will let you draw your garden, add ANY vegetabe(cute pictures) Will give you a graph of when to start or when to plant etc etc. Enjoy!!

Ashland, MT(Zone 4a)

Humm, sounds like your looking for something more visual than a plain word document or spreadsheet.

You can perform these functions in word but, it would be a little hard to do.

I looked for some gardening software in the past but finally landed on spreadsheets and word processing documents.

It is nice to have a visual on how your garden will look. I drew the last map I had by hand and then this year decided to just use a spreadsheet. There are no pictures but it does get the job done for me.


Thumbnail by wthex
Southern NJ, United States(Zone 7a)

The problem with growveg.com is that it's all on the web; can you actually download the plans?

Ashland, MT(Zone 4a)

wendyloo,

Just took a look at growegg.com. Very cool!

Although I wish it was a download. I don't really care for Web2.0 technology.

Indianapolis, IN(Zone 5b)

Yeah, I've ruled out the online stuff because most likely if you cancel your subscription, you'll no longer have access to your data. And if the company tanks, you're out of luck.

Ashland, MT(Zone 4a)

Agreed, I prefer to keep my own copies.

Southern NJ, United States(Zone 7a)

That was my objection to growveg.com, too.

Here's the plan I have of my garden on AppleWorks. You can see what I'm looking for. Maybe I just need to use paper and pencil, but it seems so archaic and it's not as handy:



This message was edited Feb 15, 2009 3:36 PM

Thumbnail by greenhouse_gal
Ashland, MT(Zone 4a)

That looks nice.

Just out of curiosity, is that software still called Appleworks or is it Clarisworks?

I used one of the first versions of AppleWorks on a Apple IIe computer.... that was, well, a year or two ago back when Apple released their enhanced version of the Apple IIe.

Looks like you could use some sort of drawing software to accomplish the task.

The problem with either drawing software or any word processing software is the graphic image library.
A person almost always has to create the images they need.

Clarkson, KY

I think they've replaced it with iWork or iLife -I still use AppleWorks myself...

Indianapolis, IN(Zone 5b)

You could use Google SketchUp if you wanted to do it in 3D. If you do, I wanna see it!

http://sketchup.google.com/product/gsu.html

Southern NJ, United States(Zone 7a)

It's back to being AppleWorks. I wasn't impressed with the offerings in iWork so I stuck with my AppleWorks. But the drawing is still clunky. I don't have any drawing software; you're right, that might help, but I need something with numbered axes so I can draw to scale. I wouldn't need any graphic images because text would be fine for what I'm after.

I'm actually an artist but I don't do any art on the computer....I use oils and canvas!

Ashland, MT(Zone 4a)

greenhouse_gal,

I've always admired people who have the talent for art. I couldn't draw a stickman if threatened. lol

There are some opensource CAD programs available. I would just google it, I think when I was still a Windows user I was using EagleCAD for some renewable energy projects that I still need to finish.

Not sure about Mac Software. I haven't touched a Mac since they were introduced but maybe CAD will work for you.

Southern NJ, United States(Zone 7a)

I do mostly portraits, but also some figurative work and some landscapes, so yeah, I can draw stick figures ;-D

I've been looking for programs but I'm not familiar enough with CAD to know what I need, and I sure don't want to spend $300 just to make a garden plan. I have PhotoShop Elements but that's really just for manipulating photographs. Other than that, AppleWorks is all I own.

Ashland, MT(Zone 4a)

greenhouse_gal,

They are really just something that you will have to try to know what to use.

There are some listed here: http://www.freebyte.com/cad/cad.htm

and and least one here: http://www.pillarsoft.net/applied-fields/cad/art-of-illusion.shtml

I might try the art-of-illusion one since it is supposed to work on Linux.

I would try the 2D stuff first.


This message was edited Feb 15, 2009 3:07 PM

Southern NJ, United States(Zone 7a)

Wthex, most of the ones on the first page don't seem to run on Macs. The descriptions are Greek to me, though, anyway. Which of them would you try for the sort of garden plan I want to draw?

The art-of-illusion is 3D; otherwise that would run.

Ashland, MT(Zone 4a)

Well, I would say just about anything that was 2D.

I'm not a CAD expert, but the 3D CAD software packages that I have used are all capable of 2D.

3D - Three Dimension
2D - Two Dimension

That is about all I know.

I was using EagleCAD on a Windows Operating system to try out design ideas for axial flux wind turbines.

Interesting... while typing this reply I decided to check on EagleCAD software. It looks like it can be used on Linux and Mac.

http://www.cadsoft.de/

I would give that one a try.

Here is the download link: http://www.cadsoft.de/download.htm



This message was edited Feb 15, 2009 10:17 PM

Elmira, NY(Zone 6a)

I was using Photoshop (a free version I got years ago) to plan out my garden, but this year I switched to GIMP, which is an open-source free graphics editor. It's way more sophisticated than I would expect. I set the plans up so that 1" = 1ft in my garden. I make colored squares for the individual plants that are the size of the plant's growing space (say 18" planting space is 1.5" in graphics) and try to choose colors to match, like purple for eggplant. Then I can arrage them (and rearrange and rearrange) on the individual garden plot. I have five garden plots. This has helped me ENORMOUSLY in terms of knowing how much I can fit into my gardens, where I can put things, how much to start, etc. Now that I have been doing this for several years, I don't know how I got along without it. Most especially, it has helped keep me from starting too many plants. I think folks here know how that is!

I use an html table for the text part. It's not a spreadsheet, although it can sort for alphabetical. I use Composer, because it is part of my browser, so I can check say the spacing or height of something and then just enter it right through my browser. Any html editor would work. Composer is just a simple one.

I also use ReminderFox to keep track of when to start seeds. It's a pop-up reminder that works with Mozilla, Firefox, or SeaMonkey, which is what I use. It's handy because it keeps your reminders for as long as you want them, so you can go back and just reset them to keep showing on the same date for years if you want. That way you don't have to re-enter the info about when to start what every year.

This message was edited Feb 16, 2009 11:46 AM

Southern NJ, United States(Zone 7a)

Paracelsus, how did you use Photoshop for planning? I have the newest version of Elements for Mac but I don't see how it would work for drawing shapes. Is GIMP Mac OSX compatible? Which browser do you use that has Composer? I mostly use Safari. I have created my own websites but I don't know that I'd be conversant enough to make html tables for text.....

Leslie

Clarkson, KY

{{keep 'em talking -gleaning lots here}}

Elmira, NY(Zone 6a)

Hi, Leslie,

First I measure my plot. One I have is 12ft x 12ft. So I created a new jpeg with the graphics editor that is 12" x 12" and the standard 72 pixels per inch and called it plot_by_patio. Using 1" = 1ft just makes it easier for me. I decide where I want the beds. GIMP has a graph that you can make appear. Probably photoshop has one too. That makes it easier to just create rectangles of green where the beds will be. If not, there is usually a ruler for help in measuring where beds will go. I make my beds 4-5" wide with 1.5" paths. Then I create new files that represent, say, a beet square or a carrot square. Like a 1" square represents 1 ft of whatever, say, carrots. I will color that square orange and write "Carrot" and how many will fit in there and name it carrot.jpeg. I copy that square and paste it in the plot jpeg where I think it would work. GIMP is nice because the undo goes all the way back to opening the file, so you can always change your mind easily.

I just checked, and GIMP is just for Windows at this point:

http://www.gimp.org/

Sorry about that. But Photoshop works well for the same thing.

The browser that I use that comes with Composer is called Seamonkey. It was designed to be all-in-one like Netscape was, but I just use the browser and Composer and then use Thunderbird for mail. Seamonkey is a relative of Mozilla, but it's less common even than that, so it's really rare for any viruses to be written for it; that makes it really secure. I like it for that reason and because it does have Composer, which I use a LOT. Composer is great for creating files where I can take notes or past stuff from websites that I want to remember. Mozilla has Composer too, and so does Netscape, if you can find it. Otherwise, there are other open-source programs for simple html editing out there.

It's easy to make a table in html with a WYSIWYG editor. Just open a new document and there is usually a heading called Table that you can drop down. I use NAMO WebEditor for my website; it's a cheap Korean knockoff of Dreamweaver, etc. It's the same in that one of the headings is Table and you can pull that menu down and create a new one or modify an existing one. I don't do any code. Too much work. I only look at the code when I want to tweak something.

I know some people just use a pencil and paper to do their garden plans, but I change my mind too much for that to work and I am used to doing most of my work on the computer anyhow. It is much easier for me this way.

PS--usually there is a function in an html editor that allows you to draw shapes if you don't want to use just squares and rectangles. Mine makes circles, ovals, etc. You can even do some of this in Paint, which is a freebie graphics editor that comes with Windows.

Harry

This message was edited Feb 16, 2009 5:16 PM

Southern NJ, United States(Zone 7a)

Actually GIMP does come in a Mac OS X version, and I even have the optional x11 application it needs for Leopard. So I'm downloading it and I'll see how it works. Thanks, Harry! I'll let you know how I make out with it. If you saw my AppleWorks plan, I am hoping that GIMP will allow me to create something that looks a little better. I do wonder why no one has come up with decent software just for the purpose of planning a garden. From the number of people looking for it on the web, it would probably be a decent seller.

Leslie

Elmira, NY(Zone 6a)

That's terrific you found GIMP for Mac. I really like this program, but I have a lot to learn about using it. I especially like the Layers function.

I wonder why there isn't better software out there for garden planning too. Could it be because there is good landscaping programs that are very expensive and that's it? I actually used a couple of so-called garden planning programs in the past, but I didn't like them. One would make these weird colored blobs to represent plants. Looked like a cheap paintings, you know, the kind they do with a sponge.:)

Ashland, MT(Zone 4a)

Since I'm a bit of a computer geek so I will just throw this out there...

Actually GIMP was created for Unix and its variants., such as BSD, Linux, Solaris etc, and OSX is a derivative of BSD.

greenhouse_gal - I don't know why I didn't think of GIMP sooner. I've completely switched from Windows to Linux and don't foresee myself migrating back for any reason at this point. Anyway I've been aware of GIMP for many years now and cant believe I didn't suggest it....

Also, I downloaded a copy of EagleCAD just to see if I can read my old project files. I would be nice to continue with them.


If you google "Garden CAD" you will find many Garden CAD software packages. Since I'm "into" free software I will very rarely purchase any software.


This message was edited Feb 16, 2009 6:56 PM

Southern NJ, United States(Zone 7a)

I know that OSX is a variant of Unix, but I've never gotten that deeply into computerese.

I downloaded GIMP and now I have to figure out how to use it. That's the problem with these things - since I really only want it for one purpose, I am hoping that the learning curve isn't too high!

I tried googling Garden CAD but wasn't sure what to make of the things I found....

Leslie

Ashland, MT(Zone 4a)

I have seen some spectacular images created with GIMP.

If you create gallery of images that you will use in GIMP... Please let me know how I can talk you out of them! :)

I would be compelled to try my hand at mapping my garden with GIMP..

Elmira, NY(Zone 6a)

What I would like to do with my garden plot images is put them on an html page so I can use hover-overs with info that pops up about the various plants in the plot, including spacing, when to start, how best to preserve, and all that stuff. I've got my front garden plots done; now I'm working on the back plots. As soon as I get them roughed out, I want to start on the pop-ups. It would really be handy to have all the info compressed like that, I think.

Southern NJ, United States(Zone 7a)

I am very impressed with your ambitions, Harry! So far I'm having trouble drawing a straight line. Wthex mentioned that he couldn't draw a stick figure with a pencil - I can't even do a simple path with GIMP! I have tried using the pencil tool but I don't get any lines that way. With the brush tool I end up with a blurry line, even if I hit shift while drawing to make it straight. Grrrrrrr! That's why I wanted a simple piece of software that would be more intuitive.

Maybe if you can get yours "roughed out" you can send it to us, except I probably couldn't open it on my Mac.

Leslie

Elmira, NY(Zone 6a)

Use the thing that is shaped like a rectangle that is in the menu on the side called Toolbox. Then click anywhere on your image you want to make the rectangle. Click, then you can move the cursor towards the edges to change the length and whatnot. Then use the paint bucket to fill it. You can change the color in the paint bucket by clicking on the foreground color square (which will probably be black at that point). A thing will pop up to let you change the color. There is also a circle thing very similar to the rectangle thing. The path thing is as far as I can tell, for creating undulating areas that can then be colored in or for creating a line that text will follow (I haven't worked with this function much, as my garden is rectangular, although I used it to make some color fields in a graphic). Only problem is you have to remember that once your shape is filled, you might want to "flatten" the image (under "Image" in the pulldown menu up top). Otherwise, you will keep working on the rectangle layer. Hope this helps.

I know--this thing is way more powerful than I expected it to be, especially for something that is free, and more powerful means more complicated. It is a struggle to learn. Still, I have done more with this thing for my business (making labels, for instance) and for my garden than I ever did with the low-powered version of Photoshop I had. It is just better.

Harry

This message was edited Feb 17, 2009 2:15 PM

Southern NJ, United States(Zone 7a)

Harry, thanks, that sort of helped. I don't have time to fool with it right now, but I'll try again this evening. I needed to know that I click first and THEN draw out the line or rectangle or whatever. This isn't like the tools I'm familiar with!

Leslie

Clarkson, KY

Paracelsus -is this GIMP you are talking about or AW?? Sounds Apple to me...

Southern NJ, United States(Zone 7a)

It's GIMP - at least that's what I'm using in an effort to make a better-looking plan that will be easier to modify year to year than my old AppleWorks one.

This message was edited Feb 17, 2009 2:34 PM

Clarkson, KY

I'm hoping to learn vicariously, green, so keep 'em coming!!

Indianapolis, IN(Zone 5b)

I wish SmartDraw had a vegetable garden add on. I'm currently editing a book on that software and it sounds pretty easy to use. Windows only, though, unfortunately.

(Maggi) Big Sandy, TX(Zone 8a)

Wow! Y'all get really into this.

Ken has built more raised beds for us to garden in - this year we will be using most of 13 beds that are 11 1/2' x 4 1/2'. A couple of the beds have some of my herb plants in them or in 1/2 of each bed, I guess.

I tend to plant things closer together in the raised beds, so I don't pay a lot of attention to recommended spacing and there are some things we can't grow - like corn (sigh).

I used to raise Call Ducks and have a number of small wading pools that are left over from those days, so this year I am drilling holes in the bottoms and pressing them into service for some gourds, melons and squash. I grew Butternut in one of the raised beds in 2007 and it took over 4 beds by the end of the season, so this year it's going in the biggest pool - and at a good distance from the rest of my veg.

I am using one small pool for my salad garden, I will plant one quarter with greens and bunching onions every two weeks or so until it gets too hot here. I may have to use 2 small pools for this - LOL!

I tend to plant one or two plants of each tomato, pepper, etc that I start and then give the excess plants to friends. This list looks long, but keeping in mind that I'm not doing large numbers of each of some plants I think it's pretty well-rounded (except for the lack of corn). Some things, like the green peas that are up now will be coming out when it gets too warm and a new veg will go in it's place.

http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/t/maggidew/11294/

We'll do a whole different selection of veg in our winter garden, I think I will start working on a plan for it now and use some of the suggestions here to see which program I like best. This thread has been a treat!

Elmira, NY(Zone 6a)

"Paracelsus -is this GIMP you are talking about or AW?? Sounds Apple to me..."

It's GIMP for Windows. Learning it is work, but I need a graphics editor for my business anyhow, and in terms of gardening, without it, I just get overwhelmed. I have a large garden, and without strict planning, I don't know how many plants I should start in the winter and then when spring comes, I have so many that I get overwhelmed, and I'm not sure where to put them. Planning out everything has been a huge help for me and has really cut down on the number of plants I start and the confusion with so many seedlings. I do a much better job of finding the optimal spots for things. Plus it's gardening I can do in the winter.:)

It hasn't stopped me from buying too many seeds, though!

Clarkson, KY

The terminology you were using sounded Apple...thought if it were similar enough it would be worth checking out. I HATE the patented terminology thing -what makes the most sense gets patented first then everyone else has to try and be as sensible....rrrrgh.

Just checked it out a little. Does seems very much like what I've been doing since I started using a computer anyway. Just with far more high tech options. Then checking out memory etc....hmmm. Not really understanding how the layering is different except maybe it has more button/ pop-up capabilities?

Seeds --half my freezer door is filled with seeds. Try to buy a few (ONLY a few) varieties each year. Only have about 50 packs going now, lol...

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