I only knew about these free gardening apps before starting my first garden. I decided to use a spreadsheet to plan my garden. After putting in 8-10 hours of manual labor, add the plants, their dates of planting and harvesting, and plant notes in different tabs. I was finally done.
Technology is a fantastic asset! As a new gardener, downloading a simple app could be one of your best tools. If you are tight on time but still want to start a vegetable garden, these gardening apps will come in handy. They’ll research for you and help determine what plants best suit beginners. If you’re feeling lost and need help figuring out where to begin, this can be a great resource.
Here is a list of 10 free gardening apps that can help you with everything from starting your first garden to selecting the right seeds, designing your garden, and attracting pollinators to help your space thrive. The gardening apps will also identify bugs or weeds which can damage your veggies. Finally, there’s an app that will give you information about toxic plants and help you protect your furry friend from potential dangers.
If you’re passionate about gardening, then downloading these free gardening apps for beginners would be extremely beneficial for you. Here are a few of the best gardening apps, compatible with both iOS and Android operating systems.
From Seed to Spoon Gardening – Best Gardening App for Beginner
The From Seed to Spoon Gardening App is the perfect solution for new gardeners who need help finding all the right information. The app offers everything you need to know, from seed selection to harvesting, so you can confidently get started on your gardening journey.
Through their garden planning guide, this guide will teach you how to grow fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
The app tells users when their crops will likely sprout and be ready for harvest based on the date they plant them. The app provides information on companion planting, so you can easily find out which plants grow well together and which ones don’t. This app is very user-friendly and helpful. It is especially for first-time users who may feel overwhelmed by the process.
- Select what health benefits you want, and we will show you a list of filter plants.
- Remember to plant your garden again! With our GPS location-based planting date reminders, you can be sure that your plants will always be taken care of.
- Keep your plants healthy and free of pests and diseases using companion planting strategies that have been proven to work.
- Bring in helpful insects to attract your garden.
- You can browse and purchase seeds and transplants from Burpee, one of the most reliable names in the seed industry.
SunCalc – Sun Finder for Garden Planning
Before you do any planting, you need to find an area in your yard that gets a lot of suns. They need around 6-8 hours of sunlight daily to grow correctly for most vegetables. There’s no need to look out your window and map where the sun hits your yard or where shadows fall.
SunCalc is the perfect tool for understanding what is going on in your place relative to the compass grid and the sun’s path across the sky.
With this tool, enter your home address and see how much direct sun exposure to expect throughout the seasons. You can also change the settings based on a calendar month. This is important because you receive less natural light exposure during the winter months.
- It combines data with a compass and time and weather.
- The product quickly and easily detects the sun’s path, peak, sunrise, and sunset.
- This software allows you to see the azimuth, altitude, and shadow length for any location and time.
Homegrown With Bonnie Plants – Gardening App for Vegetable
Did you want to plant a vegetable garden but need to know where to start? This app is perfect for beginner gardeners! You can learn about more than 250 different veggies and herbs, track the process and see current and forecasted weather conditions for your exact location.
Creating tasks for yourself within the app is an easy way to remember key gardening activities like planting, watering, weeding, and to apply fertilizer. This app was created by a seed and plant supplier, so when you’re ready to buy, it’ll be simple to do.
- Take Notes – Progress can be like growing a plant: you have to track it, water it, feed it, and then harvest the results.
- Track Your Garden – Fertilize, plant, and harvest over 250 veggies & herbs with this easy guide.
- Learn to Grow – After determining what type of garden you want, use these articles to help you plan it.
- View the Weather – Never worry about whether to water your plants or not again! With our app, you can always see your location’s current and forecasted weather.
- Take Photos – Record the growth of your plants over time with photos and notes.
- Share with friends – Share thoughts and photos with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.
- Help Me Choose – This tool helps you to decide what type and variety of vegetables to grow based on your preferences.
Seek By Inaturalist – Plant and Animal Identifier
When you are outside exploring nature, you want to take in all the sounds and sights around you. With SEEK by iNaturalist, you can quickly and easily identify the plants and animals around you using image recognition technology.
If you are into gamification, you can even earn badges for spotting different types of amphibians, birds, plants, and fungi. Also, compete with others in monthly observation challenges hosted by Our Planet on Netflix.
- Learn about the fun facts about the organisms all around you.
- Take a picture of any outdoor living thing, including plants or animals.
- Keep a record of what you find in your explorations.
- Take pictures of the wildlife and plants you see to earn badges.
Lawn to Wildflowers – Pollinator Habitat
This gardening apps will show you how to transform your outdoor areas into wildflower habitats that are friendly for pollinators. By planting bees and butterflies friendly flowers, you can help these pollinators while making your backyard or garden more beautiful.
Lawn to Wildflowers teaches you about the various plants and insects local to your area. A major benefit for you would be learning to identify different native plants and the types of pollinators they attract.
The type of pollinators present in an area varies depending on the region of the country. For example, someone living in the southeast US would have different pollinators than someone living northwest US.
- Pollinator ID Game: By learning about the plants and pollinators in your vicinity, you can help create a better environment for them.
- Pollinator Count: Help us out by sharing how you’re progressing in transforming your yard into a pollinator-friendly space. Pollinator patterns differ by region, and data can help explain these variances.
- Pollinator Guide: This guide provides full-color images and in-depth descriptions of various pollinators, so you can easily identify the ones you encounter in your backyard or neighborhood.
- Purchase Seeds: Use our seed finder to discover wildflowers native to your area that will help support local pollinator populations.
Flower Checker
Flower Checker is the best app for the job when you need to quickly and easily identify plants. Our team of botanists, who are experts in the field, create our products to ensure that errors are minimal. This application can identify over 90 percent of plant species and contains no advertisements. It is made for use on both Android and iOS devices.
- No advertisements
- Flower identification
- Plant identification
APPC (Animal Poison Control Center By ASPCA) – Animal Protection
This app is a must for all pet owners, whether you have a dog, cat, horse, or bird. This app lets you quickly and easily identify more than 275 toxins from common household items, plants, medications, and weather conditions. The database is searchable, so you can find what you are looking for quickly and easily.
The information in this app about toxic substances comes from the experts at the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center. Every year, they handle 180,000 cases of pets being exposed to toxic substances. The following is the list of plants that are poisonous to pets:
- Yuca
- American Holly
- Lilies
- Aloe
- Tulips
- Johns Wart
- Rhubarb
- Spring Parsley
- Tomato plant
- Shamrock Plant
- A searchable database of hundreds of different substances, perfect for those who want to know more about what they’re taking.
- Color coding is a quick way to determine which toxins are most dangerous.
- These calculators let you know how severe chocolate or rodenticide poison will be for your pet.
- Add the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center to your speed dial for one-touch calling.
- The app will include toxins’ scientific and common names, sample images, exposure severity levels, and potential symptoms for at-risk dogs, horses, birds, and cats.
Iscape – Garden Design App
You want to start a garden but need to figure out where to begin when it comes to design. iScape is a wonderful garden design tool that helps you visualize what your project will look like on your property.
The proof isn’t only effective for vegetable gardening. At our store, you can find everything from plants and trees to mulch and shrubs, as well as fences, brick pavers, water features, and fire pits.
If you want a professional to help you with your landscaping, hire an iScape Pro Designer.
- Visualize – Before you start your project, gathering a clear vision will help the process immensely, whether you plan to do it yourself or hire someone.
- Design – By using augmented reality 3D or traditional 2D designs, you can easily connect your physical and digital living spaces.
- Share – Involve your spouse or a landscape professional in the project and utilize iScape to communicate your vision and ensure its execution. Now, you can design in an Augmented Reality world.
- Don’t know how to design your garden? Hire an iScape Pro Designer.
Picture This – Plant Identifier
You know when you’re out for a walk and see a plant or tree that catches your eye? Maybe you’re in your garden and see one of your bushes drooping or white mold on the leaves. You then think to yourself, “How do I take care of this?”.
At PictureThis, we utilize artificial intelligence technology to analyze pictures of plants that you take or upload. You will then get immediate and accurate plant ID results.
- Plant care tips
- The accuracy rate of 95%
- Watering frequency for pest and disease control
- Identify 99% common species. 10,000+ species in our searchable database
Garden Answers – Plant Identifier
Garden Answers is an app that helps you identify plants. You have plant and gardening experts who can answer your questions right at your fingertips. The app includes over 20,000 plant entries and answers to more than 200,000 commonly asked questions about plants. Only beat yourself up if you can tell the difference between a plant disease and an insect infestation. This app has everything you need.
- Get Expert Advice and recommendations.
- Identify almost any plant within seconds.
- Simple interface that is point-and-click and easy to use.
- Keyword searchable database to find even more information about a plant.
Final Thoughts
The earlier you start planning your garden, the better. There’s never a bad time to begin thinking about starting your first garden. The 10 gardening apps on this list are all free, easy to use, and will give you the information you need without even having to open your email. Technology can help you achieve a lot, including growing your own food.
If you want to save time and have a manageable garden layout, download my first vegetable garden here. To get started, you’ll have 20+ plants to choose from. Start slowly by planting fewer items rather than all of them at once. Would you like to receive helpful tips like this straight to your inbox? You’ll love receiving weekly gardening tips every Tuesday when you sign up for our newsletter.
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