Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: steve1967 on January 02, 2013, 15:43:18
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Hi all,
Not sure I should have posted this here but wasn't sure where else to put it.
I received a DT Brown catalogue today with a leaflet telling me about an online Allotment Planner they now provide. It comes with a 30 day trial and thereafter £15 per year. I am very interested in this concept as I usually resort to sheets of paper which either get lost or are to muddy to read.
I would like to know if anyone has tried this planner or others or if there is a downloadable version where you pay once. I am not looking for anything to technical all I want is to be able to list what variety of what is planted where, how it performs etc.
Any help with this will be much appreciated.
Steve
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There was a guy on here who asked for volunteers to beta test an allotment planner. I found it quite amusing to give it a try and find various bugs and suggest things.
But I am much too much of an impetuus gardener to be regimented by having to set up the names of the beds and then log in the crops etc.
But I prefer to use an excel spreadsheet. I can draw out the plot on a sheet and mark things in.
I am rather tight and have other things I would rather spend £15 on. But saying that I worked with Excel for many years so it is second nature to me.
Can you provide a link to the one you are talking about.
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yes here is the link http://http://gardenplanner.dtbrownseeds.co.uk/plan I think I have done it right :tongue3:
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I'm with Digeroo
I bought a gardening design software package years ago and it looked so pretty pretty but very faffy so I kicked it into touch, and produced my own!
So why spend money when you can have these for free;
http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Planners/Fruit%20&%20Veg%20planner.htm (http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Planners/Fruit%20&%20Veg%20planner.htm)
http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Computers/Plot%20layout.htm (http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Computers/Plot%20layout.htm)
http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Computers/Sowing%20Plan.htm (http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Computers/Sowing%20Plan.htm)
http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Computers/Diary.htm (http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Computers/Diary.htm)
Meant to mention that the guy Digeroo was referring is here;
http://www.thevga.co.uk/index.cgi (http://www.thevga.co.uk/index.cgi)
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Thanks TG I could not remember the name of the one I was talking about, the link is on my old computer.
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Although I am a great fan of DT Brown I guess they really want to get to know what people are growing and where .... this will give them a lot of data to play with...
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That is fine but why charge for it? I am not sure I want to pay for them to know what I am planting.
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Hi I used a online planner called growveg.com
I found it very good I was able to work out to scale roughly what ground I have to grow with and how many raised beds I could fit before cutting my wood.
I found it very handy here is my simple plan
http://www.growveg.com/garden-plan.aspx?p=323480
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This looks the same as the Sutton Seeds planner I tried a few years ago, didn't like that either ...
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I have just browsed the net and found this free software. Not a trial period unlike most others. Never used one myself but may start with this as it is freeeeeeeee :blob7:
http://planmypatch.com/gettingStarted.aspx
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Kt or anyone else have you got "plantmypatch" to work ? I have been using the free 30 day trial for this year as a starting point and was pleased to find your link to free site but I cant get it to work ?
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Hi I used a online planner called growveg.com
I found it very good I was able to work out to scale roughly what ground I have to grow with and how many raised beds I could fit before cutting my wood.
I found it very handy here is my simple plan
http://www.growveg.com/garden-plan.aspx?p=323480
The D T Brown one is the GrowVeg one, they have obviously sold it to some seed companies!
I like a simple pencil and paper to be honest. Although I am starting to use my ipad mini for my own planning.
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I use graph paper to plan out my plot which then I scan onto my PC and run a couple of copies off One I use as a working sheet One I put up in my shed and the other one I file away so that I can use it to plan for next years crop planing. Paper and pencil I find the best way also I don't stick to my planning rigidly and always make it a little bit flexible
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Looks like www.garden planner has gone in cahoots with various seed merchants.
My catalogue from Fothergills arrived this morning and they are offering if for £15 pa after a 30 day trial
see here; http://gardenplanner.mr-fothergills.co.uk/?utm_source=leaflet&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=mrfothergills (http://gardenplanner.mr-fothergills.co.uk/?utm_source=leaflet&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=mrfothergills)
However; I will still be sticking with my own system, it works for me and as they say " if it is not broke don't fix it", but it does sound interesting if you are in to that sort of thing!...Tg
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Hi all,
Thanks for all your advice. I am going to try the 30 day trial and see if its what I want. Will wait till nearer planting time so I can get the full benefit of the 30 days before making a decision.
Thanks again.
Steve
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I'm with Digeroo
I bought a gardening design software package years ago and it looked so pretty pretty but very faffy so I kicked it into touch, and produced my own!
So why spend money when you can have these for free;
http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Planners/Fruit%20&%20Veg%20planner.htm (http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Planners/Fruit%20&%20Veg%20planner.htm)
http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Computers/Plot%20layout.htm (http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Computers/Plot%20layout.htm)
http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Computers/Sowing%20Plan.htm (http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Computers/Sowing%20Plan.htm)
http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Computers/Diary.htm (http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Computers/Diary.htm)
Meant to mention that the guy Digeroo was referring is here;
http://www.thevga.co.uk/index.cgi (http://www.thevga.co.uk/index.cgi)
I know this is an old post, but I can't get the links to work- did you move the files? I'd like to take a look...
Thanks.
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I think the directory is changed.Have a go from here:
http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk
I found the link was within the title line, not the picture as described. Very useful.
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I think the directory is changed.Have a go from here:
http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk
I found the link was within the title line, not the picture as described. Very useful.
This is what I was after http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Computers/Computers%20and%20Gardening.htm (http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Computers/Computers%20and%20Gardening.htm)
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I used the dt brown online planner for three years and it did help to get my allotment sorted and rotations going. I stopped last year and just numbered my raised beds in a notebook, writing notes in pencil and forward planning for next year. It was worth the cost for the first couple of years, it enabled me to design my plot visually but not worth it after that time
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I signed up for the Suttons planner to help me design my new veggie plot and it seems very comprehensive. However it doesn't cope with something on the scale of mine - 29m x 25m and can't get it all on one screen or sheet of paper in a scale that's useful to me so I've ended up drawing it on A3 paper. On the other hand, there are regular newsletters with tips and info on rotations and what and when to sow and plant.
I reckon that between that and TeeGee's almanac I've got it covered and can always ask for advice on here too.
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A lot of interesting suggestions, but for anyone who is competent using a computer I would suggest using a standard spreadsheet.
You can draw, shade, use different fonts, different colour text, add notes and dates, shopping lists, and keep track of spending, create plans, record which areas were mucked and when, etc, etc. The flexibility is huge. I have been using spreadsheets for my allotment planning for about years now and find it invaluable.
But as this is a fairly standard bit of software on many computers why spend more than you need?
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All in my head, then I can chop and change at will. I know what is growing, I know what I have planted. I can stand at the top of the plots and see it all, what do I need a planner for?
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A lot of interesting suggestions, but for anyone who is competent using a computer I would suggest using a standard spreadsheet.
You can draw, shade, use different fonts, different colour text, add notes and dates, shopping lists, and keep track of spending, create plans, record which areas were mucked and when, etc, etc. The flexibility is huge. I have been using spreadsheets for my allotment planning for about years now and find it invaluable.
But as this is a fairly standard bit of software on many computers why spend more than you need?
Yup- tried it today using some of the ideas from Tee Gee's website and in a few hours knocked out something pretty presentable on Google docs.
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This is my 2017 Plot layout and first page of my sowing programme.
As you can see in my Plot Layout I have two full sized allotments on it, three greenhouses, and the stock requirements to fill the beds, all on an A 4 sheet of paper.
No need to scale anything all you need to know is what each column or part column refers to you on your plots/s
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Try it this way around
The red figures are bed or greenhouse sizes and the black text is what is in them
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Do you you know that I have been on this site for nearly 11½years and this is the first time I have found this photo upload facility.
As they say " live & Learn"
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Do you you know that I have been on this site for nearly 11½years and this is the first time I have found this photo upload facility.
As they say " live & Learn"
More great stuff- thanks.
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All in my head, then I can chop and change at will. I know what is growing, I know what I have planted. I can stand at the top of the plots and see it all, what do I need a planner for?
You make an excellent point. Planners are not for everyone. Most of the time, I use mine to help my unreliable memory. By looking back I can see what parts of the plot have not had any manure for a couple of years, how long it has been since the top end was used for onions, where I grew beans last year so I can allocate that area for this year's brassicas, etc.
It also helps me to remember which varieties I liked and which ones did not seem to grow or taste as good as others. So, for me, the value lies in being able to check back on previous seasons and use that information to help plan the current season.
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Most of the time, I use mine to help my unreliable memory.
So, for me, the value lies in being able to check back on previous seasons and use that information to help plan the current season.
Couldn't put it better myself.
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I needed a visual plan because I now have full time "help". OH has retired and thinks he knows about gardening whereas I think of him as an apprentice under gardener with handy muscles. His idea of weeding is to blitz every plant, good or bad so, in Belgium, I had the most expensive compost heaps in Europe and had to ban him from the flower beds.
Here, we are laying out a completely new fruit, veg and cut flowers garden and he needs visual aids and measurements or he goes off half cocked. Can't tell you how many times I've explained that raised beds have to be between 1.2m and 1.4m wide so we can get in from both sides. What did he do while I was out one day? Built me 3 raised beds 7.5m long and 2.5m wide because he didn't want raw cut sawn ends............... Next time he was out all day I shrank one to 1.25m wide and oiled the sawn ends. Much muttering but he will do it right from now on, once I re-draw the plans to leave one 2.5m wide bed for squashes and sweetcorn to share.
I do have spreadsheets for all my seeds plus another of new plants bought. If we ever get any rain, I shall add sowing and planting info as I go but meantime, I do need a drawn plan.