Define a garden

How to create a garden and specify its beds and plantings.

Defining a garden in GeoGardenClub requires you to create three kinds of entities: a "Garden", one or more "Beds", and one or more "Plantings". (You can also define a fourth type of entity, "Outcomes", but we'll get to that later).

This section takes you through the steps involved with defining these basic parts of a garden.

Add a garden

Each time you log in, you will be in the Home/Tasks Screen.

To add a garden, tap Gardens in the bottom menu to get taken to the Home/Garden Screen. Next, tap the +Garden floating button in the bottom right corner to open the Create Garden Screen.

You can access the Home Screens anytime by tapping the menu icon at the top left of your screen and then tapping on Home.

Fill out the form in the Create Garden Screen:

• Name: Give your garden a name. This name is public to others.
• Picture: (optional) Add a picture to be associated with your garden. This could be a garden map or photo.
• Plot Plant: (optional) Add a picture of your garden plot plan. This is especially helpful to help you remember which bed is which.
• Editors: (optional) If there are other people who help complete tasks in your garden you'll want to make them an editor. By adding their username, they will be able to see and edit your garden. You can add or subtract editors at any time in the Update Garden Screen.
• Initial Bed Name: Add the name of one garden bed. Beds can represent literal garden beds, pots/containers, a greenhouse, or other locations where you grow food. Additional beds can be added in the Timeline Screen (more instructions below) Bed names must be:
  • 20 characters long or less
  • Made of letters, numbers, and spaces. No special characters.
  • You don't need to include the word "bed", we've done that for you!
• Community or school garden? Check this box if this is a community or school garden. There are special badges for gardeners that participate in these group efforts!
• Pesticide free garden? Check this box if you are committed to not using pesticides in your garden. There are special badges for gardeners who choose to be pesticide free.

Hit Submit and you are ready to start adding more beds or plantings.

Add additional beds

If you have more than one bed in your garden, they can be added in the Timeline Screen. To get to the Timeline Screen tap the Details button for the garden you want to add a bed to in the Home/Gardens Screen. This will take you to the Timeline Screen. Tap the + button in the bottom right corner and select + Bed to open the Create Bed Screen. Fill out the form and hit submit.

Update or delete a bed

Sometimes you make a mistake: you either named the bed incorrectly, or you don't want it in your garden at all. To fix either of these problems, go to the Timeline Screen, then tap a bed chip to go to a screen that lets you update its name or delete it (by clicking on the trash icon in the top right area of the screen).

Add plantings

Now that you have a garden with at least one bed, you can add plantings. You add plantings to your garden by navigating into the Details Screen for that garden by tapping on the +Planting floating button to open the Create Planting Screen.

Now that you're there, fill out the form in the Create Planting Screen Note that you don't need to fill out every field. The required fields are marked with a red "*".

• Garden: This is autopopulated for the garden you chose Details for. If you want to add a planting to a different garden, you can navigate back using the arrow on the top left of the screen and choosing a different garden's Details page.
• Bed: Choose the bed you want to add this planting to. If you don't see the bed you want, you can add it by navigating back one screen to the Garden Details Screen and selecting the pencil icon at the top of the screen and adding a bed.
• Crop: Choose the crop you are planting. If you don't see the crop you want, you can find instructions for adding crops in the Add Vendors, Crops, and Varieties section.
• Variety: Choose the variety you are planting. If you don't see the variety you want, you can find instructions for adding varieties in the Add Vendors, Crops, and Varieties section.
• Seed Supplier (optional): If you want to track where you got your seeds from, you can add a seed supplier. If you don't see the supplier you want, you can find instructions for adding suppliers in the Add Vendors, Crops, and Varieties section.
• Start Date: Add the date you expect to plant your seeds. You can update this to the actual date the seeds were planted when you complete that task.

The Start Date will be the same as the transplant date if you are planting starts you didn't grow from seed yourself.

• Pull Date: Add the date you expect to pull your crop. You can update this to the actual date the crop was pulled when you complete that task.
• Transplant Date (optional): If you are starting your crop indoors, in a greenhouse, or using store bought starts, you can add the date you transplanted the crop into the garden here. You can add your expected transplant date if you want a transplant task to populate in your Tasks Screen. You can update this to the actual date the crop was transplanted when you complete that task.
• First Harvest Date (optional): Once you have your first harvest, you can add the date here. It is recommended to add an expected date of first harvest so that a harvest task populates in your Tasks Screen. You can update the task if your estimate is off, and by completing the task you record the actual date of first harvest.
• End Harvest Date (optional): If you have a crop that you expect to save seeds from and has some time between the final harvest and seed collection time, you can add the date you expect to stop harvesting here. You can update this to the actual date the crop finished harvested when you complete that task. Otherwise, the Pull Date is assumed to be the End Harvest Date.
• Used Greenhouse: If the seeds were started in a greenhouse or other climate controlled scenario, like inside with grow lights, check this box.
• Has Seeds: If you saved seeds from this crop, check this box.
• Are Seeds Available: If seeds are available for others in the chapter, check this box.
• Outcomes: Complete this section as the crop grows. You can update this section at any time.
  • Germination: How well the crop germinated.
  • Resistance: How well the crop resisted pests and diseases.
  • Flavor: How tasty the crop was.
  • Yield: How well the crop produced.
  • Appearance: How beautiful the crop was.
    You can update this section at any time by navigating to the Timeline Screen, tapping the planting bar, and selecting the pencil icon at the top menu. See Outcomes for more information.

Hit Submit and you have successfully added your first planting. Continue adding plantings or add more later.

Troubleshoot planting date errors

A planting timeline error can be created when a user completes tasks for a planting out of order. For example, if you complete the harvest task before "start" or "transplant" tasks, the system will throw an error. The error will make the planting bar red and display an "Invalid dates" error message.

To fix this error, navigate to the Update Planting screen and edit the dates to follow this rule:

Start date ≤ Transplant date < First Harvest date < End Harvest date ≤ Pull date