It looks at your raised bed, understands the structure you've built (cage, trellis, wire sides), and figures out the best spot for each plant. Here's how it makes those decisions.
This page explains the logic. The Planner lets you see it live: place a crop, tap a cell, compare the recommendation, and then move into build or ops once the bed is stable.
Three things happen, in order, every time the planner looks at your garden.
Bed size, which side is against the wall, whether you have a trellis, which sides have wire — all the physical facts about your garden structure.
Each cell in your bed grid gets a set of labels like "this square has something to climb on" or "this square is protected from critters." Think of it like sticky notes on a seating chart.
Using those labels plus what it knows about each plant, it figures out which squares are great, which are okay, and which would be a mistake for any given crop.
After reading your setup, every square in the bed grid gets these labels.
If the square is on the trellis row (usually the back row, near the wall), climbing plants like tomatoes and pole beans can grow up. Squares without a trellis behind them don't support climbers.
Squares inside the wire-enclosed area are shielded from rabbits, squirrels, and other nibblers. Leafy greens and herbs love these spots because they're tender targets.
Squares near the door side of the cage are easier to get to. Plants you harvest often — like radishes, lettuce, or herbs — do well here so you're not reaching over everything else.
Tall plants in the back can shade the front rows. The planner knows this and avoids putting sun-loving crops in the shadow of your tomato wall.
For each plant, the planner asks a series of questions about each square and adds up a score.
| Question it asks | What happens | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Does this plant need to climb? | Climbers get a big bonus on the trellis row. They get a penalty (or a hard "no") everywhere else. | Pole beans on the trellis row = great. Pole beans in the front row = won't work. |
| Does this plant need protection? | Tender greens and herbs get a bonus inside the wire zone. | Lettuce inside the cage = safer from rabbits and gets a higher score. |
| Is this plant harvested often? | Frequently picked crops get a small bonus near the door side for easier access. | Radishes near the cage door = convenient. Radishes in the far back corner = a reach. |
| Does this plant get along with its neighbors? | Some plants help each other (companions), some fight. The planner adjusts the score based on who's next door. | Basil next to tomatoes = bonus. Fennel next to most things = penalty. |
| Is this the right season? | The planner checks whether the plant actually grows in your current season. | Planting spinach in cool weather = good. Planting peppers in early spring = too cold. |
The planner adds all these factors together. The square with the highest total score for a given plant is the one it recommends. When you use auto-fill, it places every crop in its highest-scoring available square.
Not every bad score is the same. The planner has two levels of concern.
The plant physically can't succeed in this square. Example: a climbing plant with nothing to climb on. The planner blocks this placement and shows a red warning.
The plant will grow fine here, but you're wasting a special zone. Example: putting lettuce in the trellis row when a climber could use that spot. The planner shows a yellow hint.
The plant and the square are a strong match. No warnings, no issues — just a solid placement.
The scoring shows up in several places so you always know why a plant is where it is.
Color-coded squares show trellis rows, protected zones, and problem spots at a glance.
Tapping any cell shows you why that plant is there — what labels the square has and how the score was calculated.
A list of any issues or suggestions across the whole bed, so you can scan for problems quickly.
When you let the planner fill in your bed automatically, it uses all of this scoring to pick the best layout.
Imagine you're setting up a big family dinner. You wouldn't put the tall centerpiece where it blocks someone's view. You'd put the bread basket where everyone can reach it. You'd keep the kids away from the candles. And you'd seat people who get along next to each other.
The garden planner does the same thing — tall climbers go in the back where they won't shade everyone else, tender greens go behind wire where critters can't get them, frequently harvested herbs go near the door, and companion plants sit side by side. It just does it with math instead of intuition.