Free Garden Planning Software

[Squingy]

I know there are Apps and plot planning software out there, can anyone recommend a good one, they've used personally?

I want to be able to draw my plot out, preferable to scale and put what I'm going to plant where and when.

[burnie]

I use a bit of graph paper and a pencil...……………………(stoneage I know)

[Snoop Puss]

I signed up for a free trial on a well known planner (GrowVeg) and paid for a two-year subscription when it came up on special offer. To be honest, though, there's nothing better than graph paper and a pencil or pen.

Edited to add: Beat me to it, Burnie. Sometimes, the old ways are the best ways. Even though I've got this subscription, I've still got a hand-drawn version on paper.

[Squingy]

Some time ago I hand drew but kept scratching things on and off and was becoming too time consuming starting over again and again.

Last year few years been using Evernote (brilliant free app btw, esp for studies).
With the handwriting feature can drawn straight lines to identify my beds, erase and add whenever.
However my handwriting looks like chicken scratch and the end result is not too pleasing.

[burnie]

Can you just use notepad or something similar from microsoft?

[veggiechicken]

Here's my Master Plan for a laugh! No app can draw the way I do.
I put some tracing paper over the Master Plan and write on each bed what grows there - that's the theory. I've done it twice so far.
Easy to rub-out and add too and my writing is "chicken scratch" anyway.

[Squingy]

Can you just use notepad or something similar from microsoft?

I don't know if I can, that's why I am asking.

I have just checked notepad++ but I cannot draw a box in that. I use Gimp and Inkscape but those are heavy drawing and image processing programs, it's like outing a lit match with a whole water butt.

[Squingy]

Thanks for that VC. Don't know if it'll load but this was the last one I did on Evernote.

Have a good laugh people.

[veggiechicken]

I can follow that, Squingy, which is more than I can do with these app ones. The bean sticks do look a bit like chicken feet.

[Squingy]

hahahahaha

[Snoop Puss]

That plan looks perfectly fine to me, Squingy. If you want to mark out where everything grows, try and draw a bed to scale size and then mark in each individual plant as a dot or other symbol that you recognise. Really easy to do on paper... The other advantage of paper is that I draw mine in a book of squared paper, so I can easily look back at previous years and compare.

[mcdood]

Hi Squingy, I use openoffice, an opensource free download equivalent of microsoft office. I use calc (excel) for stock, sowing and planting out dates etc and draw(ppt) for mapping out the allotment, crop rotation etc. Draw does crash on me quite often which is really annoying so save often if you go down this route.

[Snadger]

I think I used Microsoft Paint to plan my last plot layout. Now I just blag it

[Cadalot]

A9CAD is a Freeware CAD package its like a lighter version of AutoCAD LT

[Squingy]

Hi Squingy, I use openoffice, an opensource free download equivalent of microsoft office. I use calc (excel) for stock, sowing and planting out dates etc and draw(ppt) for mapping out the allotment, crop rotation etc. Draw does crash on me quite often which is really annoying so save often if you go down this route.

Thank you Mcdood. When Microsoft had to stop bundling MSOFFICE with their PCs I used Openoffice, but that predated Draw. Glad to see it's on there now. Use Google Sheets now for dates, seed stock etc.

That's exactly what I was asking for. Well see for yourself, planning the Man's plot for him, hehehe.


Thanks for the tip. Definitely recommend this one.