Seed to Spoon - Garden Planner 4+

I recently got into gardening and was struggling to find a one-stop for gardening knowledge. When I came across this app it was great. There are many vegetables with guides that allow you all the knowledge required to help you start growing your own produce. On top of this, you are able to enter your location to see when you should plant things in your area. Once you have figured out what you want to plant and when you can plant it, the note/log feature is handy to keep track of when your plant has sprouted, when you have watered last, and much more. The one thing I wish was more detailed are the specific seed types that you are planting, but I know this can be hard to implement as there are so many different kinds out there and such. I have given five stars because the family behind this app has gone above and beyond and I am excited to see what they will add to the app in the future.

Thank you so much for the detailed feedback and kind words.

I downloaded this app to keep myself more organized on all the gardening tasks, journaling and note taking. Overall, this is a fantastic resource with tons of info, planting guides, and a calendar. I love that I can add images for my plants and keep detailed notes for each variety. I do have a rather large garden, so I have MANY types of plants and several varieties of each type. Sometimes when adding events to the plant log, the app will freeze or glitch so horribly I have to close and reopen. I have noticed this occurs most often with logging events for multiple plants. This isn’t a deal breaker for me though, because honestly it’s still easier than handwriting or trying to put everything into Excel correctly. I contacted technical support with a different question and received an answer within an hour of my inquiry, which speaks volumes about their customer service. I will continue to use this app, and encourage everyone to give it a try because it has definitely made my gardening more organized.

Thank you for this feedback. I appreciate the compliments on our customer support and we will continue to improve the performance and interface of the app with your input. Don't hesitate to reach out if we can help in any way!

I have had this app for a few years now, maybe 4 or 5. This app has a lot of great info, such as when to plant, pests to look out for, companion plants. I like the user friendly layout. I remember a few years ago tracking the progress of my garden and was excited to do it again this year. I began entering my plants, but after 10 you must get premium. I was willing to upgrade to premium but not for $50/yr!! That should be a lifetime price. I understand app development costs money but it does not justify that price. I remember the apps original developer prided themselves on the app being free, but they sold it in 2022 to a big company and of course the consumer is paying the price. The garden tracking is the only real benefit to premium. I don’t care for free shipping on their products because I don’t purchase them. Estimated seed sprouting and harvesting dates would be interesting, but it’s not essential for me personally. But paying $50 to track my plant progress is crazy. I can’t justify it and knocked 2 stars from the app for it. I do recommend the app for beginners or anyone not interested in garden tracking.

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts and for your years of engagement with our app. We truly appreciate users like you who have been with us since the early days and have seen the evolution of the platform.

We wanted to address your concerns regarding the premium subscription, specifically the garden tracking feature. Initially, this feature was offered for free as part of a beta phase. Our aim during that period was to identify and resolve any issues with the functionality, ensuring it met our users' expectations. At that time, the entire project was a passion-driven endeavor managed alongside our full-time jobs. However, as the app grew and the demands on our time and resources increased, we reached a point of burnout. Transitioning to a model where certain features, like garden tracking, were part of a premium plan became essential. This shift allowed us to dedicate ourselves full-time to improving and expanding the app, ultimately enhancing the user experience.

It's important to note that the features unlocked by the premium subscription, including the advanced garden tracking, incur ongoing costs on our end. We utilize Google's servers to host data, which entails a financial commitment to maintain reliability, speed, and security for our users' information. These costs are a significant part of why we've introduced the premium plan.

Beyond sustaining the app, your support enables us to introduce innovative features that make gardening even more enjoyable and successful. For instance, we've added Growbot, an AI assistant that provides personalized advice and reminders for your garden, ensuring you never miss a crucial planting or care step. We've also completely overhauled the app interface to make it more user-friendly, allowing for easier navigation and interaction with all the features our app offers. These improvements, among many others, were made possible through the support of our premium subscribers.

We understand that the transition from a completely free service to having a premium tier can be frustrating, especially for our long-time users. Please know that this decision wasn't made lightly, and our primary goal remains to provide a valuable and effective tool for gardeners of all levels. We believe that the premium plan offers significant benefits and is priced to reflect the value it provides, including continuous updates, new features, and a sustainable model that allows us to keep improving the app.

Your feedback is invaluable to us, and we are continuously looking for ways to make the app more accessible while balancing the need to support its ongoing development. Thank you again for your support and understanding.