Topic: Screen Test......planning your plot

[twinkletoes]

There is a 30-day free trail for this new crop rotation planning website.   www.growveg.com.  Haven't had a chance to check it out myself yet so don't know how much it will be to subscribe or how easy it is to use.
Twinkletoes

[sarah]

oooo great. good link, i will try this out too. i am getting through reams of paper.  ;D

[twinkletoes]

OK - I've had a quick sticky-beak at the site now.  It appears fun to use and has lots of sowing, planting, growing and storing information so reckon it could be a useful site to point newbies to.  The subs are £15 for a year and £25 for two - is that a lot?   I like the fact that it will work out the correct spacing of plants for you too.  Not to mention the dreaded job of working out the rotation of plantings - well some of us find it tricky.
Twinkletoes

[Lauren S]

Twinkle , thanks for this link.
Do you know if you can create using English measurements..I.E...Feet and Yards  ;D
I just cannot comprehend Continental measurements I.E Metres  :'(

[twinkletoes]

Just so everyone else is in the loop - Lauren S found that thankfully you can use imperial or metric measurements when using this program.
Twinkletoes

[leiden64]

Hi, I signed up for the free trial and have been playing with it. Seems to be an ok programme, great for beginner veg gardeners, some useful feature for plot rotation. It makes 'pretty' pictures, but personally I I would like more ability to write notes, keep a diary online, and have some way of putting down areas where I'd added e.g. manure and other soil treatments. Think I'll make use of the free trial, print out the plan for the year, but not sign up for payment. Not sure it's worth paying for a year, after all, I only need one plan per year, plus my notes.

[sarah]

thats what i was thinking too; i have tried to do a plan on it but it is a bit primative and i keep making things the wrong size. its a good site but the plan i am finding a bit tricky. think i will stick to my paper and pencil. its not too bad though.

[Barnowl]

Have you had a look at the Vegetable Gardener's Alamanc?

http://www.thevga.co.uk/

Takes a bit of practice but might well suit.

[littlebabybird]

Barnowl are you a member of Vegetable Gardener's Alamanc?

[Barnowl]

Barnowl are you a member of Vegetable Gardener's Alamanc?

I use the software. Have discovered I can run it from a usb flash memory drive so can take it in to the office for those quiet moments.

[jeremydore]

Tom,

Shhhhh  ;D

No Need To Subscribe

Ive Just Found Away Round It

Click The Folloeing Link Then When It Comes Up In A New Page Click Back In Your Browser Then Forwards  ;D

http://www.growveg.com/members/growveg.aspx

Works 4 Me

Tom

Don't think that will actually work - you have to have signed up for the trial or subscription to get anything to load or save.

I'm one of the people who developed the site and it would be nice not to have to charge a subscription but there are a lot of development and running costs to cover, not to mention the email support.  We think most people will save at least the £15 subscription on not wasting plants or seed once their garden is well planned, crops rotated and they are getting email reminders about when to sow and plant.

There are lots of plans to develop the site further, so feature requests are always welcomed.

All the best,

Jeremy

[springbok]

I tried this trial program, but for somebody like myself that grows everything in the garden I couldnt get an accurate enough drawing. 

Think its more for folks with allotments and tons of space :)

[OllieC]

Well, I think it's a lovely idea, but would rather use a bit of paper & a pencil. I've found that no matter what I plan, things die & get replaced, gaps appear, room is needed for gifts, I do a bit of intercropping, I want to leave a couple of something to run to seed etc etc... The trouble is the ongoing need to be reactive...

Good luck with it though, I'm sure it has it's place.

p.s. I would try it for a season if it was free for a year. I don't really like 30 day offers that then vape my work if I don't pay. Is that what happens here?

[jeremydore]

Ollie,

No, GrowVeg.com doesn't vape your work after 30 days - it's kept on the servers but in order to access it you need to subscribe.  Pity there has to be a subscription but it's either that or a whole load of invasive advertising getting in the way of your plans and non-existant e-mail support, which is the only other way to cover costs when running a complex website.  We thought a modest subscription cost was better than that option.

We realise that it won't be everyone's cup of tea - there are plenty of people whose years of knowlege and well refined pencil and paper methods work really well for them.  That's what the trial period is for - so that people only pay if they really like it and want to continue using it after their first plan (which can be printed off and kept).  Your point about being reactive is spot on - that's why a lot of gardeners do go on to subscribe because plans always change when the weather/seed/pests mean that not everything goes according to plan!  Intercropping is something that will probably be added to GrowVeg.com in the future.

One other solution is that GrowVeg.com do gift certificates, so it's worth trying that if a relative would like to buy one rather than giving another pair of socks!

p.s. Thanks for the feedback!

I tried this trial program, but for somebody like myself that grows everything in the garden I couldnt get an accurate enough drawing. 

Think its more for folks with allotments and tons of space :)

p.p.s  I've been planning my front garden with GrowVeg.com for 3 seasons now - it's a modest size (15 foot square) but I get a reasonable range of veg from it and have found the drawing tools OK.  Like I said, though, it won't be everyone's cup of tea.

[Belinda]

Hi Barnowl,

I'm intrigued by the idea of running the application from a memory stick. How much memory do you have on the stick? Do you just install the app to the stick rather than the hard drive?

I've been looking at the VGA ever since it was first launched but would be in a tricky position with not 'officially' being allowed to install it on my office laptop.

[Barnowl]

I copied the entire app onto the memory stick and created a shortcut to vga exe in the root directory of the memory stick. Takes up about 30 Mb.

I'm still not making the best use of the program - there is a bit of a learning curve - but I find it worthwhile.

[Belinda]

Thanks for that Barnowl, sorry for the tardy response - have been away. I have to say I am sorely tempted  ::)

[Barnowl]

If you do, have a few practice runs with just one or two beds