A vegetable garden can give you organic, fresh produce year-round. But, as vegetables vary greatly in size, spacing, harvest time and growing conditions, planning tools are an essential part of any garden strategy.
Jump to a section: Paper Garden Planners | Garden Planning Software | Garden Planning Mobile Apps | Regional Garden Planning Resources
Paper Garden Planners
Simple garden planners, calendars, and logbooks, have been around for many years, and are still just as useful as they always were. If you prefer writing to typing, you may prefer these offline options.
Week-by-Week Vegetable Handbook (Top Paper Planner Pick)
This #1 bestseller helps you make the most of your vegetable growing season. Detailed weekly to-do lists break managing your garden into simple tasks for both seasoned gardeners and beginners alike.
The Garden Journal, Planner and Log Book
This 8.5×11 notebook includes monthly planning checklists, a shopping list, grid plans, and to-dos.
Garden Journal and Planner
Create a book of garden memories with this journal and planner by Michelle Marsh. Initially created for her own use, this record aids in planning ahead and also provides browsing of past thoughts and projects for years to come.
Multi-Climate – Year Round Garden Planner
This $4 planner slides to give you year-round planning based on your chosen climate’s start date. A handy and portable guide, this is easy to store anywhere and bring outside to the garden too.
Clyde’s Garden Planner
Clyde offers a little of everything with a planner, app, and blog to support your efforts to plant between the frost in multiple different climates. Choose the right fit for your veggie needs, or combine his different advice for a bigger picture.
Vegetable Garden Planning Software
Raddish
Raddish is a newer app released in 2021 that helps you build out your garden timeline and features growing data for your own region. It’s at the top of our list for clean design and simple interface.
Vegetable Garden Online
This item is a basic grid planner with drag and drop veggies. The website itself offers specific advice on many different vegetables, and the software requires no learning curve.
Find it at Vegetable Garden Online
Smart Gardener (Top Veggie Knowledge Pick)
Smart Gardener is a garden planner and mentor all in one. You will need to sign in and create a free account, but the ability to customize and create down to the exact vegetable variety is unmatched. The planner gives you growing information, buying information, and square footage advice. There are suggested templates for small space or low sun, and free templates for circles and triangle patches too. You can also purchase add-ons for shade gardens and landscaping shapes. The setup of your plot is a little time-intensive, but the results will be highly customized and usable for your yard.
Grow Veg Garden Planner (Top Crop & Planting Pick)
The Old Farmer’s Almanac has long been a gardener’s trusted companion. In addition to the annual planting advice, the Almanac crew also recommend garden planning software though Growing Interactive Ltd. This software is also the planner of choice for Mother Earth News. Described as simple yet powerful, this planner offers a feature not found in other tools with their option for succession planting and crop rotation. With 180 different vegetables, herbs, and fruits, this intuitive design also has the depth to plot and plan a complex garden too. This planner begins with a free 7-day trial and can be continued with an annual subscription of $29.
Find it at Growing Interactive Ltd.
Plangarden
Plangarden offers a free 45-day trial. The software is described as a program specifically for vegetable gardeners, but can also accommodate strangely shaped gardens and raised beds. This program uses a drag-and-drop interface to create rows or individual plants. A standout feature unique to this product is the harvest estimator to help stagger crops.
$eed Money
Seed Money offers a 7-day free trial and the option to extend to a $29 per year subscription. In addition to a large variety of plants, this grid-based system also gives advice on spacing and rows.
Kitchen Garden Planner
In addition to a design your own option, this free software offers 26 pre-planned options including many designs for raised beds. We recommend the Cook’s Choice garden. The interface features easy drag and drop edits too.
Find it at Kitchen Garden Planner
Garden Design Mobile Apps
A computer is useful, but not portable—a bit of a drawback when we’re talking about outdoor planting. Some of the garden design programs mentioned above also have a mobile option, such as Growing Interactive’s Planner. But these apps are meant to function as planners on their own—no desktop computer needed.
Vegetable Tree
Vegetable tree lets users browse a “constantly growing” vegetable catalog via mobile. Included is an interactive calendar, progress tracking using text and picture notes, email support, and more. This app costs $4.99 and rates at 4.5 stars.
Gardroid
Gardroid, your Android gardener, tracks planting while also giving advice on sowing depth, spacing, and desired planting temperatures. Choose from the free version or Premium available for $2.27.
Garden Compass
Described as the app that “gives plants a voice” Garden Compass provides advice on more than just planting months. Experts provide info on pests and weather, also plant and flower.
Garden Manager: Plant Alarm
This app is more task-oriented. Plant Alarm is designed to make sure you do those intended gardening tasks from watering to fertilizing. Don’t risk neglecting your garden needs, instead log and share your progress.
Regional Garden Guides & Resources
The basics of choosing your veggies and planting rows can get a lot more complicated when it comes to different climates and growing seasons. What might work for Tucson likely won’t work in Chicago or San Francisco. Plan your garden with region specifics for your area. Some common climates in the United States include Mediterranean, Subtropical, Continental, and Oceanic.
Oceanic/Maritime:
Month-to-Month Almanac for the Pacific Northwest: This monthly planner includes suggestions both on planting times and harvest times, with handy suggestions to help you eat local organic produce year round.
Beginner’s Guide to Gardening in the Northwest: ParentMap provides simple, yet detailed, ideas for gardening in the Pacific northwest. Find suggested planting times, lists of recommended veggies, and also tips on soil, spacing, and more.
Puget Sound Garden Timetable
Suggested planting times inland of the Puget Sound, based on historic frost and maximum temps in the area.
Continental/Prairie:
Cold Climate Vegetable Timeline
Colder climates have significantly shorter growing times than other areas. One great feature of this resource is the “weeks to harvest” reminder on each crop type.
Fall Planting Guide
Specifics vary based on your cold hardiness zone, but many prairie climates can produce a bounty of fall vegetables.
Extending the Growing Season for Cold Climate Gardening
With advice so successful people have purchased it twice, “Cold-Climate Gardening: How to Extend Your Growing Season by at Least 30 Days” was originally written in 1987 and still rates highly today with customers in both Alaska and New England.
Mediterranean/Coastal:
Seasonal Garden Bed Preparation
How to grow gardens year round in warmer climates. Details the different steps you need by season.
How to Plant a Southern California Vegetable Garden
Erik Knutzen is a well-respected homestead writer, and he doesn’t disappoint in this resource-filled veggie how-to blog post.
Southern California Organic Gardening
This updated classic includes month-by-month planning and color photos.
Subtropical/Humid:
Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide
The University of Florida provides the highly specific planting guide for this hot and humid area. The guide also addresses factors like pest control without pesticides and soil pH.
Florida Vegetable Planting Calendar
Without needing to check a climate zone map, this guide provides handy planting advice city by city.
Georgia Vegetable Chart
True to its southern climate, this Georgia planting calendar has both spring and fall planting dates.
What an absolutely fantastic site Kane!
From the article, i know appropriate time is good for planting. So, when we plan to plant, we should follow the time.
Looking forward to checking these out as I plan for the upcoming season (albeit a bit late?). Just FYI… having trouble with the zukeeni link; it isn’t “safe”.
Hi Katharine!
It looks as though Zukeeni is now Smart Gardener. I’ve updated the link on the article. Happy gardening!
Leigha