Smart Gardener

Active

Country: United States (US)
Founded: 2012
Developer: Smart Gardener (company/individual not specified in search results)
Pricing: Freemium ($10 quarterly or $4.99 one-time add-ons)
Open source: No
Platforms: Web, iOS, Android

Indexes

Plant Care

Overview

Smart Gardener is an online vegetable garden planner designed for home gardeners who want to grow their own food while managing busy schedules. The application automates garden planning by collecting user information such as family size, location, and frost dates, then generates personalized planting schedules and task lists. It tracks garden activities from seed starting through harvest and calculates potential savings based on harvested produce.

Key Features

Gardening Calendar & Tasks - Customized task lists and reminders for planting, transplanting, and harvesting activities organized by week or month.
Plant Care Database - Comprehensive library with detailed information on thousands of plants including growing conditions and soil requirements.
Smart Recommendations - Personalized watering schedules, pest and disease alerts, and gardening guidance based on user's garden profile.
Garden Journal & Progress Tracking - Built-in journal to capture garden photos and track plant growth and garden progress over time.
Harvest Calculator - Tracks harvested produce and calculates monetary savings from homegrown vegetables.
Crop Rotation Planning - Tools to plan crop rotation and succession planting strategies.
Companion Planting - Guidance on companion planting combinations for optimal plant growth.
Square Foot Gardening Mode - Support for square foot gardening spacing and layout planning.

Pricing

Plan	Price	Includes
Free	$0	Basic plant selection and garden planning features
Quarterly Subscription	$10/quarter	Full access to all planning features and task scheduling
Square Foot Gardening Add-on	$4.99 one-time	Conversion of garden plans to square foot gardening spacing

Platforms & Requirements

Smart Gardener is available as a web application at smartgardener.com and as native mobile apps for iOS (App Store) and Android (Play Store). The web platform appears to be the primary interface with full functionality, while mobile apps serve as companions for on-the-go garden management.

Integrations & Ecosystem

Seed packet data integration
Baker Creek seed partnership
Harvest data export for savings calculation
Mobile app synchronization with web account

Alternatives

App	Difference
GardenPlanner (KGI)	Free web-based tool with square foot gardening support but less comprehensive plant database and task automation.
Other vegetable garden planning apps	Smart Gardener combines features of multiple competitors at a lower quarterly cost ($10) compared to alternatives.

Reputation

Smart Gardener receives mixed reviews from users. Strengths include its detailed plant database, personalized task scheduling based on location and frost dates, and affordable pricing model. Criticisms include a steep learning curve due to the amount of detail required during setup, occasional app stability issues on mobile platforms, and incomplete seed information despite partnerships with seed companies like Baker Creek. Some users find the comprehensive feature set valuable for serious gardeners, while others consider it overly complex for beginners.

Sources (6)