Understanding Planting Statuses
Every planting in TilthIQ moves through a defined lifecycle from initial planning to final harvest. Keeping statuses current unlocks the full value of the app — accurate task generation, rotation history, and a true live view of your garden.
The Full Status Lifecycle
1. Planned
The planting has been recorded but nothing has been sown or transplanted yet. Use this status when scheduling future plantings for the upcoming season or a planned succession round.
2. Germinating
Seeds have been sown — either directly in a garden bed or indoors in a tray. The planting is waiting to sprout. TilthIQ starts tracking your germination window from the start date.
3. Sprouted
The first true signs of life are visible. Seedlings have emerged and are actively growing. Move plantings to this status once you see consistent germination from the majority of seeds.
4. Hardening Off
For indoor-started seedlings, this status represents the transition period when you gradually expose seedlings to outdoor conditions before full transplant. This phase typically lasts 7 to 14 days.
Tip: Skip Hardening Off for Direct Sow plantings — they are already outdoors. Move directly from Sprouted to In Ground.
5. Transplanted
The planting has been moved from an indoor start tray to its final outdoor location, but is still in an early establishment phase. Roots are adjusting to the new environment.
6. In Ground
The plant is fully established and actively growing outdoors. This is the primary growing status for most of the season. Watering, fertilizing, weeding, and pruning tasks are most active during this phase.
7. Harvesting
The plant has begun producing and you are actively harvesting. For crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, and beans, this phase can last weeks or months. For single-harvest crops like carrots or lettuce, it may be brief.
8. Done
The growing season for this planting is complete. The plant has been removed or died back. Moving to Done records the planting in the rotation history for that location — this is how TilthIQ knows what crop families have occupied each bed over multiple years.
Why Statuses Matter
Task generation — TilthIQ uses status to determine which care tasks are active and when they are due. A Planned planting does not generate watering reminders; an In Ground planting does.
Rotation history — only plantings that reach Done status are recorded in the rotation ledger. This enables the rotation tracker to warn you about repeating a crop family in the same bed.
Dashboard accuracy — the "Currently Growing" count reflects plantings in active statuses (Germinating through Harvesting). Keeping statuses current gives you an accurate picture of your garden at any moment.
Updating Status
Use the Status dropdown on the Planting Details page, or click the quick-update button directly on the Plantings list. You can also select multiple plantings and use the Bulk Actions menu to update statuses in batch.