It might seem a long way off but now is the time to start thinking about what you want to grow next year.

As allotmenteers and kitchen gardeners we often get to that point in the year where we regret not planting something. The seasonality of growing your own fruit, vegetables and flowers provides limited windows of opportunity to sow or plant out. If you're not organised that opportunity can quickly slip by especially when you're busy in the spring.

Since we launched in January we have had an amazing take up of our vegetable garden planner. This exceeded all our expectations. Thank you to all. We also received incredible feedback and can see that it is being used to good affect. Thank you to all those that wrote to thank us. We love to hear from you and how you are using VegPlotter.

Many kindly made suggestions too, and we have listened to each one. Today we released a new version that incorporates many of these suggested improvements. We hope you like :)

Vegplotter.com uses a unique month by month approach to planning your vegetable garden. Our allotment planner shows only the plants you have in the ground in any one month.

This approach as many advantages over other tools available. The main being it highlights where and when you have gaps. This allows you to plan for and plant follow-on crops or green manures. You then get the most from your limited growing space.

Another advantage is that it allows you to see the key jobs on your plot, right there on your VegPlotter plan! And as VegPlotter works on smartphones, right in your garden as well.

Changing months is easy in our garden planning software. Click the arrows on our month by month selector. As you do, you'll notice that the plants in your plan change. Labels are added to those plants where you need to sow, plant out or harvest in that month.

VegPlotter's allotment planner has algorithms that calculate the planting schedules for your local climate. It also allows you to set your own schedules if needed.

Changing planting schedules

With your garden open in our planning software, click on the plant or row. This opens the Planting Details section in the right-hand menu. Here you can alter the schedule for the selected plant to suit your own plan.

So, if you are an expert grower and know what you are doing, VegPlotter does not restrict you. It provides the flexibility to set your own schedules. Or, if you're new to growing will VegPlotter sets the schedule for you to get you started.

To use VegPlotter's allotment and vegetable garden software, simply Register (it's FREE!)

We are working on some howto videos for our Vegetable Garden Planner. In the mean time here are some of the key points to note when planning your Kitchen Garden or Allotment with VegPlotter:

Change the name and size of your plot

Once you've created a new plot. Open the plot settings form by clicking on the cog in the right hand menu. Here you can change the plot name, alter the dimensions and set a location if different to the one you entered at registration.

Layout your beds and structures

To add and alter the beds and structures on your plot you need to have the respective menus open. So to add or edit structures you'll need to have selected the structures menu (shed icon in the right hand menu - see image) and likewise for beds.

You can alter the size and labels for the beds using the right hand menu when an item is selected, or drag the yellow handles on the selected item.

Note: You can delete points (handles) on irregular shaped beds and structures by double tapping / clicking on the handle to delete.

Add plants (plan your planting year and beyond)

VegPlotter is the only garden planning tool not to require you to create a new plan for each year. Our unique month by month planning approach allows you to add plants to your plot in the months that you plan and do so for as far into the future or past as you need.

VegPlotter uses that information to show you only the plants growing on your plot in any particular month.

You change the active month in VegPlotter using the Current Month Selector (see image) This allows you to move through the monthss and see what is in your plot each month, where you have space and the jobs needed (i.e. sow, plant out, harvest etc).

The active month also affects the plants available for you each month. As you move through the months you'll notice that plants are added or removed from the right hand plant selector based on your local climate.

To add a plant to your plot simply drag the plant from the right hand menu.

Note: You'll need to have some beds on your plot before you can add any plants.

Plants are added in rows. The default direction of a bed's plant rows can be set using the yellow double arrow that is displayed when a bed is selected.

Once added the length and orientation of the row can be altered using the yellow handles when a plant row is selected. The Yellow handle in the middle of the row allows the row to be copied out to create parallel rows of the same plant.

Deleting items

If you've added anything by mistake or want to remove an item simply select it (make sure the appropriate menu is active first) and hit the delete key on your keyboard, or you can tap the compost icon on the item details section of the right hand menu.

Hopefully this is enough to get you started. Video guides to follow. In the mean time if you have any questions feel free to Contact Us.

Happy planning

Richard