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Using the Garden Planner [Desktop and tablet]
How to use the Garden Planner on computers and tablets
78 articles
Getting startedHow to get started using the Garden Planner and Journal
How to create your first garden plan
How to view a plant's growing informationHow to find all you need to know to grow each plant
Minimum system requirementsWhat you need to run the Garden Planner
How to create a new planStep by step instructions to create a new plan for your garden
Adding plants to your planHow to select plants and add rows and blocks of plants on your plan
How to add garden beds to your planHow to draw your garden beds on your plan
Drawing in-ground bedsHow to indicate the position of in-ground beds (as opposed to raised beds) on your plan
How to draw multiple beds in one planPlanning all your growing areas in one place
Adding Garden Objects to your planHow to add and use raised beds, greenhouses, fences and other 'garden objects'
Adding Shapes to your planHow to add and use shapes (rectangles, circles, triangle and the line tool)
Adding Text to your planHow to use the Text tool to write on your plan
How to save your plan
Navigating around your planScrolling around the planning grid using a mouse, trackpad/touchpad, or your finger
Zooming in or out of planHow to get a closer or wider view of your plan
How to resize your planHow to make the planning grid bigger or smaller
How to plan a garden that is not rectangularHow to use the Garden Planner to plan an odd-shaped garden or irregular-shaped plot
How to rotate itemsRotating shapes, objects, and rows of plants on your plan
Block spacing vs row spacingUnderstanding the difference between planting in blocks and planting in rows
How to use the plant filtersFiltering the plant selector to show only plants that meet your needs
When to plantHow to use the Garden Planner to find recommended growing dates for your location
How to assign favorite plantsHow mark plants as favorites to make them quicker to find in the plant selector
How to find, customize or add your own varietyHow to select plant varieties and customize an unlisted variety
Find and sort your plansHow to locate your plans in the Garden Planner
How to lock layers on your planHow to fade out specific elements of your plan and make them non-selectable
Creating a Follow-on PlanHow to reuse your plan's layout to create next year's plan
How to view harvest totalsHow to view harvest reports and total yields for the year
Companion PlantingUsing the Garden Planner to find companions for the plants in your garden. Bad companions advice.
Choosing a new Sample PlanHow to find and use our templates to try out different layouts for your garden
How to restart a planWays to delete or remove all items from a plan to start over
Copy and pasteHow to copy and paste items on your plan
Deleting an itemHow to delete a plant, object or shape on your plan
How to snap items to your plan's gridlinesHow to use the Snap to Grid function to 'snap' items to the nearest gridline for accurate positioning
How to group items to move, copy or rotate togetherHow to group items to move or copy them all together
Show or hide gridlinesTurn grid lines on or off on your plan
Turn rulers off or onToggling rulers
How to minimize the Drawing ToolsHow to make more space to view your plan
Adding a compass to your planAdd a compass to work out where sun and shade are likely to fall in your garden
How to plan your container gardenHow to use the Garden Planner to plan your pot-grown plants.
How to add irrigation to your planHow to find irrigation components to add to your plan
Using season extenders on your planAdding cold frames, greenhouses, row covers etc to your plan to extend your growing season
Changing season extender settingsHow to edit the number or weeks a season extender adjusts your growing season by
Setting co-ordinates of Garden Objects and ShapesHow to set the exact position and dimensions of Garden Objects and Shapes on your plan for maximum accuracy
How to edit plant spacingsCustomizing your own planting distances
Creating custom plantsEditing plant icons to represent unlisted plants
How to turn plant labels on or offShow or hide plant labels on your plan
Turn off or resize plant labelsHow to adjust the size of plant labels, or turn them off altogether
Adding notes to plantsHow to add notes to plants on your plan
Creating unique notes for a plant or varietySet a note for a specific instance of a plant on your plan (useful for Succession Planting)
Resize or turn off colored plant backgroundsHow to adjust or turn off the colored plant backgrounds
Copy variety informationUsing your own spacings and growing dates for multiple varieties
How to set a plant's exact coordinates on your planUsing the Position setting for maximum accuracy
Custom sow, plant and harvest timesCustomizing plant icons to set your own growing dates
How to edit or hide plant labelsHow to change how plant labels are displayed on your plan
Setting up Crop Rotation in the Garden PlannerHow the Garden Planner helps with crop rotation
How to filter the plant selector by crop familyHow to view and choose crops belonging to a particular plant family
Crop rotation warningsWhy some areas flash red in your follow-on plan
Planning your succession plantingSet in-ground dates for your plants so you can see what's growing and when throughout the year
Setting in-ground dates for overwintering plantsHow to make sure your overwintering plants display on next year's plan
Creating a follow-on plan for fallHow to create a whole new plan for your autumn garden
How to turn crop rotation warnings on or offHow to add or remove a linked plan from a plan's crop rotation history
How to show plants that can be sown or planted in the autumnUsing the plant filters to show only plants that can be sown or planted in the fall
How to copy your planTwo ways to create a duplicate plan for trying out different layouts
Large or commercial vegetable gardensWays to plan your large growing area
Sweet potato classificationWhy the Garden Planner classifies sweet potato as Solanacaeae
How to add a desktop shortcut to the Garden PlannerHow to create a desktop shortcut to the Garden Planner on Windows, Mac, and Chromebook
How to close the chat windowHow to minimize the chat box when you've finished talking to us
Colored backgrounds on plant iconsWhy plants are color-coded in the Garden Planner
Keyboard ShortcutsKeyboard shortcuts for the Garden Planner (Windows and Mac computers)