Smart Gardener: A Review

Have you heard about this new website called Smart Gardener? It’s an online tool that helps you plan your garden, then helps you keep track of things like harvest dates and what’s performing well.

I just started using it, but so far, it’s been super easy.

First, I told it where I lived, and what the last frost dates were. Then I drew my garden, with one square equalling one foot. 

I told it which was was north (although I would also love to tell it there’s a fence in the picture, but it doesn’t have those capabilities yet.)

Then, I browsed all the different kinds of plants and chose what I’d like in my garden. It gave me all sorts of details, and told me how many square feet each plant would need. 

If I liked what I saw, I would add it to my garden (that little leaf icon above). It would keep track of how much room I had left, and I could adjust quantities depending on my preferences.

Once I picked all my plants, it created a recommended garden plan, based on what plants go well together, what direction my garden is situated, and my climate.

Here’s my recommended garden (with a few modifications I made to account for the fence.):

We have peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, carrots, radishes, beets, kale, and a lettuce mix.

Once I’ve planted (which will HOPEFULLY be in two weekends – next weekend to prep the soil, planting the weekend after that), it gives me weekly to-dos, and a place to track my little veggies growth.

Since we’re planning on staying put for a while (seriously this time – don’t laugh!) I’m excited to be able to use this program to keep track of planting/harvesting dates, and what crops perform well for many planting seasons to come.

I’ve just started using it, and it seems fairly new so there are a few glitches with the design, but overall, I’m hoping this will be a great addition to my veggie garden.

How do you keep track of your garden’s big hits and busts? Do you keep track of every detail, or just start fresh each year?