GrowVeg Garden Planner is a browser-based vegetable garden planner from Growing Interactive, a UK company: you draw your garden to scale, drag crops into beds and get a planting calendar based on your nearest weather station, with crop rotation and email reminders. Sowstory is an iPhone app, coming soon to the App Store, that does something narrower: it lays out one raised bed for you, works out how many plants fit and gives England timing, with the first bed free.
We make Sowstory, so this comparison uses only facts each product states on its own pages, checked on 4 November 2026, and is clear about where GrowVeg does more. We do not quote other companies' prices or reviews; check their site for current pricing.
GrowVeg and Sowstory at a glance
| GrowVeg Garden Planner | Sowstory | |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | Growing Interactive Ltd (UK, founded 2007) | Sowstory (England) |
| Platforms | Web browser on any device; no store app found | iPhone app, coming soon to the App Store |
| What you plan | A whole garden: beds, sheds, greenhouses, cold frames, containers | One raised bed per plan |
| Layout | You draw and drag; rows, blocks and a square-foot mode, mixed in one plan | Sowstory places rows and plants to scale from your answers |
| Spacing | Calculates how many plants fit the area you draw | Built-in spacing for 45 growing profiles; explains each choice |
| Calendar | From your location via the nearest weather station or frost dates; UK supported; dates editable; greenhouse or cold frame extends them | England-wide months; not yet adjusted to your local climate |
| Crop rotation | Links up to five earlier plans and shows where a plant family grew before | Not planned across years yet |
| Companion planting | "Show Companions" feature | Not scored; tall crops placed on the north edge |
| Journal and reminders | Garden journal; email reminders of what to sow or plant in the next two weeks | Optional private journal per bed (up to 5 pictures per entry); no reminders yet |
| Try it free | 7-day free trial, no payment details; no permanent free tier found | First bed plan free and complete, no time limit |
| Units | Metric or imperial | Metric |
Where GrowVeg is the better fit
- Planning a whole garden. GrowVeg draws everything from beds to greenhouses on one plan.
- Local dates. Its calendar starts from your location and nearest weather station, and you can adjust frost dates or mark a protected area. Sowstory's timing is England-wide for now.
- Crop rotation over years. A follow-on plan remembers up to five earlier plans and highlights where each plant family grew before.
- Reminders. GrowVeg emails you what to sow or plant in the coming fortnight. Sowstory does not send reminders.
- Any device. It runs in a browser on a laptop, tablet or phone, so it suits people without an iPhone.
Where Sowstory is the better fit
- You do not want to draw. Tell Sowstory the bed's inside size, its sun, your postcode (to place it in England) and the crops you want; it produces the to-scale layout and quantities.
- Raised-bed rules are decided for you. Tall crops go on the north edge, potatoes get room to earth up, and a few crops check bed depth. You do not need to know these rules in advance.
- Every choice is explained. If a crop does not fit, the plan says why, rather than leaving you to discover it in July.
- Free without a clock. The first bed plan is complete and free for as long as you like; you pay only for further beds.
If you are new to raised beds, our raised bed planner guide explains what a good plan contains, whichever tool you use.
Square-foot gardening
GrowVeg has a dedicated square-foot gardening mode that works out how many plants fit each square and can be mixed with ordinary rows. Sowstory plans by real spacing in rows and squares rather than a one-foot grid. If you like the grid method, read our guide to square foot gardening and how it compares with row spacing.
The same planner under other names
Several branded garden planners carry a Growing Interactive Ltd footer, which indicates the same planner running under another name: the Almanac Garden Planner, the Mother Earth News Vegetable Garden Planner, the Allotment-Garden.org Garden Planner (a UK site) and the Southern Exposure planner. Charles Dowding's Garden Planner was made in collaboration with Growing Interactive and is built around no-dig and close spacing. If you have tried one of these, you have seen how GrowVeg works.
For a raised bed you would rather not draw by hand, Sowstory lays the bed out to scale and tells you how many plants fit. Your first bed is free when it arrives on the App Store.
Honest limits of Sowstory
- Not released yet; iPhone only at first. No web planner and no Android version yet.
- Plans outdoor raised beds in England, one bed per plan. No sheds, paths or greenhouses.
- 35 crops as 45 growing profiles; no sweetcorn, squash or pumpkins, strawberries or trailing cucumbers yet.
- No crop rotation across years, companion scores or reminders yet.
- England-wide sowing months; no frost date for your address. See last frost dates for how to judge it.
Comparing more planners? See Sowstory vs VegPlotter and the best garden planning apps for UK growers.
Sources
- GrowVeg UK home
- GrowVeg Garden Planner feature overview
- GrowVeg subscriptions page (features and trial only)
- GrowVeg about page
- Garden Planner help: Supported locations
- Garden Planner help: Crop rotation
- Garden Planner help: Units of measurement
- Almanac Garden Planner
- Charles Dowding's Garden Planner
- Sowstory knowledge base, release v1.4, and Sowstory pricing as set on 4 November 2026