[Daamoot]

Hey all,

With the season coming to an end I am thinking long and hard about what changes I can make to my plot for planting in Spring.  I was intending to use a simple paint package to draw out the land I have and use it to plan what will go where but after a quick search on this site I read there are websites/software designed specifically for this task (and more).

So question is (albeit a bit geeky  ), does anyone have experience using any of these products and how useful did you find them?  Are there any that anyone could recommend or even if you think I'd be better to use MSpaint or keeping to pencil and paper I would be interested in your advice?

I've gotten some ideas from http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=32529.0 so if anyone has tried the Allotment.org Planning Software or growveg.com I'd like to hear your feedback.

Thanks in advance for any replies and advice,
Damian

[Goosegirl]

Hi Damoot. Personally, I find a hard-backed notebook good, as I have it on my table by my chair, and can easily retrieve it to flick through add notes and to see other year's results. I also like looking at my written notes at particular times - I can see the optimism, then some notes saying "next year, I will..." It's really what suits you, but I don't use software for this.

[JayG]

I think people plan their fruit and veg growing in different ways and levels of detail - if you've got sufficient knowledge and experience then a pencil and paper seems to work for many just to keep track of what went where and when this year, and to re-arrrange as necessary next year.

I find Excel convenient for this. I use it purely to draw scale pics of my garden, what's growing in it, and any notes which might be useful - I'm used to using it, always know where to find it   and have all my records in one place going back about 9 years now, but there are of course other apps which can do the same relatively simple job.

Not used the growveg.com tool, but have had a look at it - it looks quite useful for those with little growing experience but remember that reality can sometimes mess up even the best plans (I had to re-jig my plans this year because my early spuds took so long I had to find somewhere else to plant out my leeks!)

[surbie100]

I'm with JayG - Excel has been really easy to use this year. For next year I'm going to get a laminated print out to stick on the inside of the shed door, so I can write on what to put where. That's if OH ever build the shed he's promised me!

[Daamoot]

Thanks for the good advice Goosegirl and JayG.  I like the idea of a hard backed book since it would be portable and I used a similar book for recording my home brews which I found extremely helpful.  I'm not much of an artist though so that puts me off using it for planning.  There's no reason why I shouldn't get one for taking notes while away from a pc since I wouldn't want to be stuck in front of a computer when the sun is out and I need to read/write.

Excel is rather intriguing JayG,  I use it a lot for work and I'm quite familiar with its capabilities but I'd never have thought about plotting designs on it    I suppose all the vegetable beds do have right angles so it would be very suitable.  I'll give it a try tonight and see how I get on plotting out the garden and let you know how I find it and if I need anymore help  

Ooh Surbie just posted while I was replying, thanks for seconding the excel idea and I'll come back with questions for you if I encounter any problems.  I'm planning to build some cold frames while there's not much else to do in the winter months so hopefully your OH gets a similar idea for your shed 

Cheers everyone

[JayG]

It was quite a pleasant change using Excel just as a drawing tool rather than a highly complicated collection of tables, graphs, formulae and VBA routines which is what I was more used to doing in my working days! 

Secret is to first square up the cells so you have a grid on which you can draw everything to scale - the crops are arranged and resized using "text boxes" which of course you can write notes in too. Pic attached of part of the master sheet of my veg plot.

[Welsh Merf]

To Plan is to remember the 7 P's:

PROPER PLANNING AND PREPERATION PREVENTS P**S POOR PERFORMANCE.

And that applies to everybody (except for me!  )

[mumofstig]

Secret is to first square up the cells so you have a grid on which you can draw everything to scale - the crops are arranged and resized using "text boxes" which of course you can write notes in too.

That's exactly how I do mine, change it at least once a week during the winter 

In spring I print a copy and fix it to the back of the shed door, sometimes I even look at it before I plant things

[Auntiemogs]

I use the growveg planner. 

[DD.]

To Plan is to remember the 7 P's:

PROPER PLANNING AND PREPERATION PREVENTS P**S POOR PERFORMANCE.

And that applies to everybody (except for me!  )

Being a P lover, I work on 8 P's. You forgot "Perfect" before "Preparation".

[mumofstig]

That's taking the P 

[SnooziSuzi]

I've used Growveg and I thought it was a brilliant programme - even if you don't pay attention to the spacings that the software gives it helps to visualise your allotment, however as you get used to how large a veg item becomes you'll just do with a pen and paper

[DD.]

I use the same as my grandfather and keep it all up top.

As long as I can still remember what I planted where last season I'll be OK!

[Daamoot]

I wish my memory could serve me as well as that!  Maybe I need to up my pea intake or something to improve it?  hehe.  I quite like the sound of growveg.com except for the cost.  I'll try to keep things simple for the timebeing and focus on building a good spreadsheet and starting a journal.

Here's what I managed over the weekend but I still have to properly measure the patch and adjust the spreadsheet so its scaled:



If you spot any issues with it, feel free to fire some constuctive critism my way  :blink:  Thanks for the input everyone, its been really helpful!

[sarajane]

Secret is to first square up the cells so you have a grid on which you can draw everything to scale - the crops are arranged and resized using "text boxes" which of course you can write notes in too.

 sometimes I even look at it before I plant things