Adding Your First Plantings
Plantings are the core of TilthIQ — each one represents a specific variety growing in a specific location in your garden. This article explains how to create your first planting.
Opening the New Planting Form
You can start a new planting in two ways:
- From the Plantings page — click the green + New Planting button in the top-right corner
- From the Crop Plan wizard — a guided workflow that helps you schedule with date recommendations based on your frost dates and the plant's days-to-maturity
Both methods create the same planting record. The wizard is recommended for first-time users.
Choosing a Plant
The Plant field searches the Plant Database — TilthIQ's built-in reference of vegetables, herbs, and fruits. Start typing (e.g., "tom") and matching plants appear in a dropdown.
If your specific variety is not listed, you can:
- Select the closest base plant (e.g., "Tomato") and enter your specific variety name in the Variety field
- Go to Planning > Plant Database > Add New Plant to add it before creating the planting
Assigning a Location
The Location dropdown lists all garden bed spots and containers in your active garden. Select the exact spot where this planting will live.
Tip: If you see a yellow rotation warning next to a location, the same crop family was grown there recently. TilthIQ recommends choosing a different spot to protect soil health.
Setting Dates
- Start Date — the date you sow seeds or put transplants in the ground. Required.
- Expected Harvest — automatically calculated from the plant's days-to-maturity. You can override it manually if your variety matures faster or slower.
Direct Sow vs. Transplant
The Planting Method field affects task generation and lifecycle tracking:
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| Direct Sow | Seeds placed directly into the bed or container outdoors |
| Indoor Start | Seeds started inside; seedlings moved outdoors after hardening off |
| Transplant | Purchasing or receiving a started plant ready to go in the ground |
| Cutting/Division | Propagating from existing plant material |
For Indoor Start, TilthIQ tracks both the indoor germination phase and the outdoor growing phase, including a Hardening Off status step between them.
After Adding a Planting
Once saved, your planting appears on the Plantings page with status Planned. From there you can:
- Update its status as it progresses through the season
- View automatically generated care tasks
- See it rendered on the Crop Plan Timeline
- Check companion planting warnings on the Details page
Tip: Even if plants are already in the ground, add them with the correct status (e.g., "In Ground") and start date. Accurate historical data powers the rotation tracker and future planning recommendations.