Free Garden Planning App: Learn to Grow Food with Beacon's GrowGuide
Free Garden Planning App: Learn to Grow Food with Beacon's GrowGuide
Free Garden Planning App: Learn to Grow Food with Beacon's GrowGuide
Learn How To Garden With Me & Explore Beacon's GrowGuide
Table of Contents
What You'll Find On This Page:
- Learn to garden with me. From planning to harvesting – join me as we learn how to grow our own fresh vegetables and herbs
- Free garden planning tools: I made a free garden planning app called Beacon’s GrowGuide – a project of Beacon Ranch Studio
- 5 real garden videos: Mom and me planting herbs, harvesting vegetables, and learning as we go
- Growing guides: Companion planting, container gardening, raised beds, organic pest control, moon phase gardening, and nutritious recipes
- Garden to kitchen: Recipes and wellness uses for everything you harvest
More Than Food: The Deeper Purpose Of Gardening
Starting a vegetable or herb garden isn’t just about food—it’s about connecting with the earth and remembering how our ancestors grew nutritious and delicious food.
I made Beacon’s GrowGuide, a free garden planning tool to inspire you to start your own journey of growing fresh veggies no matter your space. The guide includes directions for containers or raised garden beds, companion planting, organic pest control, recipes and more.
My hope is that through learning to garden together we foster a sense of accomplishment and joy at the wonders nature provides for our mind, body and spirit.
How Our Free Garden Planning App Works
Beacon’s GrowGuide is a complete digital gardening companion that makes designing your garden as simple as clicking and dragging. This interactive tool includes everything you need to plan, track, and manage your garden from seed to harvest.
Visual Garden Layout Designer
- Interactive grid system with optimized templates (1×4 Row, 2×3 Compact, 1×5 Long Row, 3×3 Square)
- Drag-and-drop plant placement with visual icons and color-coded categories
- Smart plant database with 34+ vegetables, herbs, and flowers, each with difficulty ratings and companion planting suggestions
Advanced filtering by plant category, difficulty level, and your specific hardiness zone
Complete Garden Management
Organize everything in easy-to-use tabs:
- Layout: Design your garden visually with the interactive planner
- Journal: Track daily observations, weather, and garden progress
- My Plants: Record what you’ve planted, when, and where
- Tasks: Create and manage your gardening to-do list with due dates
Notes: Save ideas, observations, and planning thoughts
Export Everything Download your layout, journal entries, plant lists, tasks, and notes as professional PDFs or high-quality JPEGs. Perfect for printing, sharing, or keeping offline records.
Try It Now – No Download Required Ready to start designing? The complete planner is embedded below with no sign-up needed. Your progress saves automatically, so you can access your garden plans from anywhere.
Where To Begin When Starting A Garden: Find Your Zone First
There are so many yummy vegetables and herbs to pick from. How do you even decide what to plant?! You’ll want to visit the zone finder first (you can find it below) because not all things grow as easily in every climate—at least not outside. If you’re container planting and have space inside, you have a little more flexibility.
Once you know your zone, write down what kind of vegetables you like and pick a couple to start with. But know it does take daily care to get the most out of your garden, so make sure it can fit realistically into your schedule.
Understanding USDA Hardiness Zones
USDA Hardiness Zones divide North America into regions based on average annual minimum winter temperatures. Each zone represents a 10°F difference, helping gardeners determine which plants will survive their climate.
Quick Zone Overview
- Cold Zones (2-4): Very short growing seasons, focus on cold-hardy crops
- Moderate Zones (5-7): Balanced seasons, widest plant variety
- Warm Zones (8-11): Long/year-round growing, need heat-tolerant varieties
Your zone is your starting point, but your specific conditions matter too – cities run warmer, water moderates temperatures, and even which direction your garden faces can change what grows well.
The key is knowing your zone first, then observing what actually thrives in your specific garden space.
Plant Placement and Growing Guides
Figuring out where to plant is the next step after you know your climate zone and have decided what you’re excited to grow.
Not all vegetables like to be together, so I made a comprehensive guide on how to companion plant to boost your garden’s success naturally.
You can read it on the website, access it in Beacon’s GrowGuide app or download:
The Complete Companion Planting Guide
If you’re growing in containers, I suggest one vegetable per container and you can find the size you’ll need in the plant database. So far I have over 34 vegetables to choose from that I’m growing at Beacon Ranch, but if you have any suggestions feel free to DM me on instagram @beaconranchstudio
Companion planting basics
Some plants actually help each other grow better, while others can stunt growth or attract pests. Here are the key principles to keep in mind:
Great plant partnerships:
- Tomatoes + Basil (pest control and better flavor)
- Cucumbers + Radishes (radishes repel cucumber beetles)
- Peppers + Basil (natural pest deterrent)
- Beans + Corn (beans climb corn stalks, corn gets nitrogen from beans)
- Marigolds with almost anything (natural pest control)
Plants to avoid together:
- Tomatoes + Potatoes (attract same diseases)
- Onions + Beans (onions can inhibit bean growth)
- Fennel with most vegetables (can stunt nearby plants)
Learn more about companion planting strategies and plant partnerships in our complete guide.
Container Growing Tips
Like I mentioned, one vegetable per container works best! With limited space, you can still use companion principles by:
- Adding herbs like basil around the edges of tomato containers
- Planting marigolds in separate pots near your vegetables
- Using vertical space with climbing plants like beans on trellises
For complete container gardening success, check out our tips for gardening in pots guide.
You can read it on the website, find it in Beacon’s GrowGuide app download:
Tips for Gardening in Pots: Simple Container Gardening Success
Everything you need to know to start a successful container garden, even in small spaces:
- Choosing the right containers
- Best soil mixes for containers
- Watering techniques for container plants
- Space-saving container arrangements
- Container-friendly vegetables and herbs
Raised Bed Gardening
Raised beds give you more growing space and better soil control than containers. We planted our tomatoes and cilantro in raised garden beds, which worked beautifully for companion planting while keeping the soil quality consistent and making maintenance easier.
Get detailed tips for gardening in raised beds to boost your garden productivity. You can read it on the website, access it in Beacon’s GrowGuide app, or download the pdf version here
Learn how to build, fill, and maintain productive raised bed gardens:
- Building your first raised bed
- Optimal soil mixes for raised beds
- Square foot gardening techniques
- Season extension with raised beds
- Crop rotation in raised beds
Garden to Kitchen: Nourishing Your Mind, Body, and Spirit
As a certified health coach, I’ve learned through my journey into post-traumatic growth how vital proper nutrition is. Food isn’t just fuel – it’s medicine for our mind, body, and spirit. While I’m still unpacking my dishes here at Beacon Ranch, I’m excited to share how growing your own food creates the foundation for true wellness.
Simple ways fresh food transforms your daily life:
- Fresh herbs turn simple meals into nourishing experiences
- Baby greens harvested at 3 inches provide the most tender nutrition
- Zucchini abundance means healthy winter baking (freeze grated for year-round use)
- Cucumber water offers natural hydration and gentle detox
Wellness through homegrown herbs:
- Lemon balm tea for calming your nervous system and better sleep
- Orange mint supports digestion and brings joy to summer days
- Holy basil (tulsi) tea helps reduce stress hormones – ancient wisdom that actually works
- Fresh herbs create mindful cooking rituals that nourish more than just the body
Get complete nutritious vegetable recipes from garden to table. You can read it on the website, access it in Beacon’s GrowGuide app, or download the pdf version here
More Helpful Guides Available
Organic Pest Control for Gardens – Safe, effective solutions to manage garden pests without harmful chemicals. Available on the website, in Beacon’s GrowGuide app, or as a pdf download.
- Identifying common garden pests
- Creating habitat for beneficial insects
- Homemade organic pest sprays
- Physical barriers and traps
- Companion planting for pest management
Gardening by the Moon – Harness nature’s rhythm for a thriving garden using lunar cycles. Read on the website, access in Beacon’s GrowGuide app, or download the pdf.
- Understanding moon phases and zodiac signs
- Planting by the moon’s phases
- Harvesting according to lunar cycles
- Biodynamic gardening principles
- Combining moon phase and zodiac systems
Check them all out under guides in the free garden planner app: Beacon’s GrowGuide
How much space do I need to start a vegetable garden?
You can start successfully with containers or small garden beds. I use both – containers for herbs that need specific drainage, and garden beds for vegetables. Use our free garden planning tool to visualize your space before planting.
What vegetables are easiest for complete beginners?
Based on my first-year experience: zucchini (producing beautifully), Swiss chard (keeps giving), cucumbers (learning timing), and cabbage (harvest when firm). Even as a beginner, these have given me excellent results.
How long before I can harvest my first vegetables?
When should I plant my vegetable garden?
Can I grow vegetables in containers?
How does gardening connect to wellness and healing?
How do I know what plants grow well together?
How do you deal with garden pests?
Are the garden planning tools really free?
Your Garden Journey Starts Here
Growing your own food is more than gardening – it’s an act of reclaiming your connection to the earth and remembering your innate ability to create, nurture, and provide. Every seed planted is a step toward deeper self-trust, every harvest a reminder of what’s possible when we work with nature’s rhythms.
Whether you’re healing, growing, or simply seeking more meaning in your daily rituals, your garden becomes a sacred space for transformation. From the first sprout to the final harvest, you’re not just growing vegetables – you’re cultivating resilience, mindfulness, and the profound satisfaction that comes from co-creating with the earth.
Ready to begin? Try Beacon’s GrowGuide for everything you need to start your garden planning journey – from companion planting strategies to moon phase timing, organic pest control to nutritious recipes.
Start Your Free Garden Planning Journey
Follow our real gardening adventures on YouTube @BeaconRanchStudio in the “Grow With Us: Gardening at Beacon Ranch” playlist – where we share every success, surprise, and learning moment as we discover what it means to truly grow our own.
Your garden is waiting. Your transformation begins with a single seed.