Terms of use

What Sowstory does

Sowstory helps you plan an outdoor raised bed in England: a layout, quantities and a growing calendar based on published English growing guidance. Plans and guides are general advice, not a guarantee. Weather, soil, pests and varieties differ, so use your own judgement, and follow the instructions on seed packets and garden products.

Your account

You can plan without an account. To save gardens, keep a journal or share photos you sign in with Google or Apple. Keep access to that account secure and tell us if you think someone else is using it. You must be at least 13 to create an account. You can delete your account at any time in the app, under Account and then Privacy.

Community rules

You can choose to share a garden photo with other Sowstory gardeners. We have zero tolerance for objectionable content or abusive behaviour. When you share, you agree that your photo:

• shows your garden, plants, harvest or growing space, not people;
• contains nothing offensive, hateful, sexual, violent, illegal or discriminatory;
• does not show anyone’s face, a child, a house number, a number plate or other personal details;
• is yours to share and does not copy someone else’s photo;
• is not advertising, spam or a way to contact or harass other gardeners.

Every shared photo is checked before it appears. Anyone can report a photo or block a gardener from within the app. We review reports, remove photos that break these rules, and may suspend or close the account of anyone who breaks them, without warning for serious or repeated cases.

Your photos and notes

You own the photos and notes you add. Private ones are visible only to you. When you share a photo with the community, you allow us to store it and show it, with your community name and England region, to other Sowstory users until you make it private again or delete your account. We do not sell your photos or use them in advertising.

Fair use of the service

Do not try to break, overload or get around the security of Sowstory, read other people’s data, or copy the app or its plans in bulk by automated means. The growing guides on this website are free to read and link to; please do not republish them in full.

Changes and availability

We keep improving Sowstory, so features may change. We try to keep it running but cannot promise it will always be available or free of errors. If we change these terms in a way that matters, we will tell you in the app before the change applies. Purchases made through the App Store are also covered by Apple’s terms.

Our responsibility to you

Nothing in these terms limits your rights under UK consumer law. We are not responsible for losses that were not foreseeable, for crop results that depend on weather, soil, pests or care, or for losses caused by your own breach of these terms. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you keep the protection of your local consumer law and can bring a claim in your local courts.