Get Started

PlanMyPatch.com has been created to allow anybody, regardless of experience or age, to start growing their own vegetables in their garden, allotment or anywhere where you can place a bucket, trough or pot. Growing your vegetables is a wonderful experience allowing you to enjoy your land and get reacquainted with how our parents and grand-parents used to grow their own produce.

The 'Planner' lets you mark out the vegetables you want to plant. It provides information on how to space and plant the vegetables and will build an individual timetable based upon the vegetables you intend to grow.

Using Plan My Patch means you don't have to spend time and money poring through books and other resources to start growing vegetables in your garden or allotment. We will provide all the information you require to help make your vegetable plot a success, regardless of your experience or age!

Getting Started With PlanMyPatch
So, Why Grow My Own?
OK, What's the Catch?

Getting Started With PlanMyPatch

There is no reason why you cannot jump straight into the Planner tool right now! But it is worth just taking some time to action and consider the following before diving straight in...

• Go and measure out your vegetable plot(s), allotment or garden area. With these details you will find it easier to start creating your patches in the planning tool. Please note that there is no restriction to the number of 'patches' you can create with PlanMyPatch.
• Ensure that the designated area is sufficient for your needs and will not be a burden when digging, planting and harvesting at a later date. It is often easier to start with a small patch and build upon those successes in the subsequent years.
• Take a moment to consider what kind of vegetables or herbs you want to grow. If you are growing to reduce household bills it is worth considering that growing certain vegetables and herbs may not be cost-effective when compared to other items. For example, Coriander and Basil are costly items to purchase in the supermarkets but take hardly any room in the garden as opposed to onions that require space and have a longer growing cycle but are relatively cheap to buy.
• PlanMyPatch is a free tool and has been designed to be used by individuals with some familarity with web browsing. In most cases, your 'planning' should involve nothing more than clicking the appropriate elements within the tool and on occasion drawing objects by holding the left hand mouse button down, moving the cursor with the button down and releasing the button when completed.

Once you've answered and/or considered the above there's no reason why you can't jump into the Planner Tool...

So, Why Grow My Own?

We all live busy lives and while growing our own produce sounds appealing, most of us simply don't have the time to invest in reading books or other resources, in order to start growing our own. You may have a variety of reasons to starting growing your own produce...

• you may be looking to cut the food bill. And it does, imagine throughout the Summer enjoying salad leaves, vegetables, herbs and fruits - but at a smaller cost than purchasing the same items from a supermarket? Or during the Autumn and Winter when you can enjoy squashes, fruit and root vegetables, again at a fraction of the cost to purchase. All you need to invest is a small amount of cash for buying seeds or plants and some time to start reaping the delicious rewards.
• you want better tasting vegetables and fruit. Growing, cooking and eating your own produce will take you taste buds to new places. Freshly harvested and cooked produce tastes significantly better than food bought from the supermarket, I can remember my first home-grown carrots tasting and smelling 100 times better than any shop-bought carrot. You owe it to your palate!
• you may want to simply work the land, regardless of the space you've got. It could be a couple of pots and buckets to a full sized allotment, you can start to enjoy growing your own vegetables, leaves and fruit. With today's falling house prices, isn't it time that garden started to pay its own way?
• you might want to start enjoying your garden on a different level. There's nothing like being outside with the family in Spring, warmly wrapped up and helping to prepare the vegetable garden or allotment for a year of successful gardening. It’s a great way to bond with the family and to teach the children, where our food comes from and how the cycle of nature works.

Regardless of the reason, growing your 'own' is one of the most enjoyable and low cost activities you can partake. Great for your health, great for your family, great for the environment and great for your tummy!

OK, What's the Catch?

There is no catch. We really mean 'Free' when we say Free Interactive Vegetable Garden and Allotment Planner. In the future we may provide a Premium service for those who want to get more from PlanMyPatch such as receiving regular reminder emails based upon your garden plans such as when to plan, weed and harvest your crop, as well as customised and individual advice such as companion planting.

But the core of PlanMyPatch.com is completely free so if you don't want to take advantage of the Premium Service (and showing us some love) you can still retrieve your plans and individual timetables whenever you need...