3 Free Apps To Help You Enhance Your Garden Skills

Guest post by Wendy Dessler

They say that some people are just born with a green thumb. These are folks who can grow anything, anywhere. Then there are the rest of us.

If you want to have a beautiful flower garden, plant fall veggies, or grow an herb garden, you can. The following apps make it easy. These apps will tell you what to do, or more importantly, what not to do for a successful crop.

The first thing you need is a professional supplier. The seed shop you choose is very important. You want pros that know what they are doing and seeds that are hearty. You will need to build a relationship with your seed store because you will return again and again as the seasons and the planting needs change.

They will need information in order to help you. Be ready to answer these questions.

• Do you want flowers that bloom late in the year and come back next year, or do you want plants that produce all year?
• Is your garden going to be inside or outdoors?
• How much space you have to work with.
• What plants grow well together and which will not get along?

Once you have determined where your garden will be and what materials you need to gather, you are ready to begin.

There are tons of free apps online for the new and the experienced gardeners. These apps walk you through every step, making your project fail proof. You can try them one at a time and then select the one that works the best for your life.

The top 3 apps (in my humble opinion)

Gardening Know How

This app is the mac daddy of all gardeners apps. If you need to know something, it is in there. Regardless of your gardening skill level, this app will take you from planting to harvest. Get tips on everything from soil to pests control. If you have a question, chances are, they have the answer.

Garden Squared

This free app has it all. It has step-by-step instructions on how to plant just about anything. If you don’t know what it is, the app can help you identify it. It has a place for you to add notes and it can remind you when something is going to need something. Garden Squared is available at Google Play.

Forest

You can do everything right when you plant, but if you do not care for your plants properly they will not thrive. That is where this app comes into play.

This free app help keeps you on target. It reminds you of the needs of your plants are. Luckily, plants are pretty resilient, but they still need to be cared for and this app will help. As a matter of fact, it may help with other duties too. 

So, now you are ready to start your garden. There are always answers to your questions in the groups and from planting to blooms and even how to deal with pests. Be brave, you can do this. Everything you need is at your fingertips. If you make a mistake, nature is pretty kind and you will recover.

GMG's Friday Find: Hydroponic goes High-Tech!

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using a nutrient-rich solution instead of soil. There are many advantages to growing hydroponically--no soil is needed, water and nutrition levels are controlled and plants grow healthier. Bitponics, a new high-tech hydroponic system, helps even the brown thumb be successful with indoor gardening.

A Brooklyn start-up, Bitponics takes gardening into the digital age with a device that lets you manage your plants, produce and flowers from the web. It is made up of two parts: a sensor and an online account. The sensor, connected to the device, collects readings on water and air temperature, humidity, brightness and pH, and is compatible with already existing hydroponic systems.

The online account is where you plug in your information on what you're growing and what system you're using. This generates a growing plan which is a road map for taking care of  your plants. You then receive tailored information on how many hours of light your plant needs, when to change the lighting schedule (as in the flowering stage), what pH range is safe for your plants, when to replace your nutrient solution and how often to run your water pump. The readings from your Bitponic device are automatically logged into your online account, or you can opt to manually log the data and even upload photos. The device also has two power outlets that can be set up on timers via the website to control lighting and water pumps.

Another major benefit of the Bitponic system is becoming a part of an online 'growing' community where plans and results are shared.  This community is where members can share their growing plans and successes with each other, from 'easy' tomato plants to more complex plant production. As an educational tool, this device is ripe with opportunity for schools and other gardening communities gaining knowledge on collaborative experiments.

Bitponic's goal is to allow more people to grow plants, no matter where they are or how much experience they have.  The urban apartment dweller, the suburban weekend gardener, or the seasoned farmer, all can experience the ease and bounty of hydroponic gardening.  Would you be willing to try  hydroponic gardening with your personal gardening assistant ready to advise and assist  you along the way?  We'd love to hear your thoughts.  Happy gardening!

~Peggy
Garden Media Group