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Frequently Asked (Gardening) Questions

Geo Garden Club was created to increase the performance of home, community, and school gardens and efficiency of the gardener by answering questions a gardener might have as they plan or work through the gardening season. Here are some of the questions that Geo Garden Club can help answer:

I'm new to the area, what should I plant here?​

Look through the Crop Index for inspiration about what to grow. Use it to jog your memory about a crop you might be forgetting to include or to learn about a new crop you've never grown before.

Navigate to the Crops Index by tapping the menu icon at the top left of your screen. Select Crops.

For each crop, expand each section to see more details.

  • View which gardens have grown the crop, and tap those garden chips to be taken to the garden's Garden Summary Screen, and from there the Garden Details for timeline information.
  • See which gardeners have experience growing the crop
  • Check out the outcomes for a sense of how easy that crop is to grow locally
  • Notice which varieties are being grown.
  • Look through the observations to see pictures of that crop and notes from local gardeners.

After you've chosen a crop to grow, you can see which varieties have been most successfully grown by chapter gardeners. Expand the Varieties section for that crop, or use the Outcomes Variety filter to see which varieties have been grown and how well they've performed. Gold variety chips indicate that the variety has been frequently grown by chapter members with great outcomes.

You can see which gardens have grown this crop and which gardeners have experience growing this crop by expanding those sections.

When should I plant beets?​

You can see the timelines and outcomes related to a crop by navigating to the Garden Details Screen and then selecting Filter from the bottom navigation menu. Select Crops and the planting bars for that crop will be displayed for the years you grew that crop. Tap the planting bar to see timing specifics and outcomes, as well as any observations.

Chapter timeline data coming soon!

When I grew beets two years ago, how did that work out?​

You can see the outcomes related to a specific planting by navigating to the Garden Details Screen and then selecting Timeline from the bottom navigation menu. From there, scroll to the year you are looking for information for, and tap the relevant planting bar. It will display the timing and outcomes data for that specific planting.

Or, you can see the outcomes related to a specific planting by navigating to the Garden Details Screen and then selecting Filter from the bottom navigation menu. Select Filter By Crop and select Beets to see all of your beet plantings listed by year. Tap the appropriate planting bar to see timing specifics and outcomes, as well as any observations.

I had a great crop of beets last year, how can I replicate that success?​

You can see find information about successful plantings by navigating to the Garden Details Screen and then selecting Timeline from the bottom navigation menu. From there, scroll to the year you are looking for information for, and tap the planting bar for beets. It will display the timing and outcomes data for that specific planting.

Or, you can see the outcomes related to a specific planting by navigating to the Garden Details Screen and then selecting Filter from the bottom navigation menu. Select Filter By Crop and select Beets to see all of your beet plantings listed by year. Tap the appropriate planting bar to view timing specifics and outcomes, as well as any observations.

Copy that planting to this year's timeline by selecting copy icon from the top menu. Update fields as necessary. For any dates, update the year to the current year. Once complete, select Submit.

Who in my chapter is really good at growing tomatoes?​

To identify who in your chapter is really good at growing tomatoes, navigate to the Badges Index Screen and select Gardener from the bottom navigation menu. Then select Crop Whisperer from the top filter, and choose the crop you are interested in from the new dropdown menu that appears. The app will display the gardeners who have the Crop Whisperer badge for that crop.

How can I replicate the success of another gardener in my chapter?​

You can replicate the practices of another gardener by finding them in the Gardener Index Screen Then, select the garden you are interested in learning specifics about. From there, you can select Details to see information about their timing and outcomes for each crop they have grown.

A great garden planning feature is the ability to copy a planting from one year to the next, one bed to another, or from another garden to your own. Navigate to the planting and tap the copy icon at the top menu. Update bed if needed. The dates will automatically update to the current year and can be adjusted as needed. Then, select Submit.

I like to rotate my crops. What did I grow in a specific garden bed over the last three years?​

You can see the history of what was grown in a garden bed by first navigating to that garden's Garden Details Screen. Then, select Filter from the bottom navigation menu and at select Filter by Bed. Select the bed you are interested in to see the crops that have been grown in that bed for all seasons of data you have entered into the app.

What if I know the crop but not the variety for seeds I'm planting?​

Sometimes you may not know the variety name of the seeds you are planting (perhaps they were shared with you and just labelled with crop name or maybe you haven't decided which variety but know you want that crop included in your plans). You can add that crop and leave variety blank. This will allow you to enter the crop into your timeline without specifying the variety. You can always update the variety later if you find out the name.

This means if you see a planting in a Garden Details Screen that doesn't include a variety, the variety is unknown.

What does it mean when a Seed Start Date says N/A?​

This means that the seed is from a vendor, as opposed to being grown in the chapter,and so the date the parent plant was sown is unknown.

More coming soon!