Product
Zone Garden Planting Plan
For the first-year home gardener staring at a 4x8 raised bed, a bag of seed packets, and a Zone 6a phone forecast, wondering what actually goes in this month and what is already too late. Paste your USDA zone, the month you are planning for, one to four beds or containers (with dimensions and sun hours), what you actually want to eat, an effort dial, and any microclimate notes. Get back a per-bed planting layout with square-foot-gardening spacing, position hints (taller crops on the shade-casting edge), sow-vs-buy-starts-vs-transplant instructions, and per-entry companion-planting warnings so you do not accidentally plant tomatoes next to potatoes or fennel next to anything. Every crop carries a timing verdict (on-time / buy-starts / too-late-this-year). When a crop is too late, the plan surfaces a fall alternative that is actually in-window for your zone and month plus a one-line why that names the frost math (days-to-maturity vs remaining growing days). A three-slot check-ins list (this-week / +30 days / +60 days) gives you the specific bed-scoped actions the plan expects you to take: sow now, thin later, side-dress in three weeks, scout for aphids, sow the succession round, harvest window opens. The honesty rule is a hard refusal to fake confidence: when the notes push toward planting something the frost math will not support, the plan does not recommend it, either buys starts, direct sows a shorter-days-to-maturity variety, or holds for fall. Every fake-confidence refusal, every zone-ambiguity flag, every unspecified variety, every microclimate disclaimer is surfaced in honesty_flags so a first-year gardener can see the tradeoffs. Deep tier adds the full four-bed x eight-crop layout, full companion-planting warnings on every crop entry, and the full three-slot check-ins schedule. Quick tier caps at two beds x six crops with terse warnings and check-ins. Matches produde's defensive-writer stack, one structured llm_call pass, refunds cleanly if the model fails.
About this tool
What does zone garden planting plan do?
For the first-year home gardener staring at a 4x8 raised bed, a bag of seed packets, and a Zone 6a phone forecast, wondering what actually goes in this month and what is already too late. Paste your USDA zone, the month you are planning for, one to four beds or containers (with dimensions and sun hours), what you actually want to eat, an effort dial, and any microclimate notes. Get back a per-bed planting layout with square-foot-gardening spacing, position hints (taller crops on the shade-casting edge), sow-vs-buy-starts-vs-transplant instructions, and per-entry companion-planting warnings so you do not accidentally plant tomatoes next to potatoes or fennel next to anything. Every crop carries a timing verdict (on-time / buy-starts / too-late-this-year). When a crop is too late, the plan surfaces a fall alternative that is actually in-window for your zone and month plus a one-line why that names the frost math (days-to-maturity vs remaining growing days). A three-slot check-ins list (this-week / +30 days / +60 days) gives you the specific bed-scoped actions the plan expects you to take: sow now, thin later, side-dress in three weeks, scout for aphids, sow the succession round, harvest window opens. The honesty rule is a hard refusal to fake confidence: when the notes push toward planting something the frost math will not support, the plan does not recommend it, either buys starts, direct sows a shorter-days-to-maturity variety, or holds for fall. Every fake-confidence refusal, every zone-ambiguity flag, every unspecified variety, every microclimate disclaimer is surfaced in honesty_flags so a first-year gardener can see the tradeoffs. Deep tier adds the full four-bed x eight-crop layout, full companion-planting warnings on every crop entry, and the full three-slot check-ins schedule. Quick tier caps at two beds x six crops with terse warnings and check-ins. Matches produde's defensive-writer stack, one structured llm_call pass, refunds cleanly if the model fails.
How does Zone Garden Planting Plan work?
You paste seven inputs: your USDA hardiness zone, the month you are planning for, one to four beds or containers with dimensions and sun hours, the crops you actually want to eat, an effort dial, an optional experience level, and any microclimate notes. One structured pass returns a per-bed layout with square-foot-gardening spacing, position hints (taller crops on the shaded edge), a sow-vs-buy-starts-vs-hold-for-fall verdict per crop, companion-planting warnings, a fall alternative for every too-late crop with the frost math named, and a three-slot check-ins list for this week, plus 30 days, and plus 60 days. The Zone Garden Planting Plan on produde does this in a single pass.
What can I plant in USDA zone 6a in October?
October in zone 6a leaves you about 15 days before typical first frost, so any warm-season crop from seed is off the table: tomatoes need 55 days from transplant, peppers 70. What is still on-time: direct-sow radishes (25 days), loose-leaf lettuce (30 days), and spinach (40 days). What fits with nursery starts: kale, chard, and cabbage. What is planted specifically this month for a next-July harvest: garlic. The Zone Garden Planting Plan on produde runs the same frost math for your exact zone and month and returns the honest verdict per crop, per bed.
Is it too late to plant tomatoes in October?
Almost everywhere in the continental US, yes. Tomatoes need 55 to 75 days from a nursery transplant to first ripe fruit, and October is 15 to 30 days from typical first frost in USDA zones 3 through 8. In zones 9 through 11, October is essentially still tomato season and determinate patio varieties will finish. The Zone Garden Planting Plan on produde refuses to fake-confidence a tomato into a bed that will not finish: when the frost math does not support it, the plan holds the crop for spring and swaps in a fall alternative (garlic cloves, kale starts, or a winter cover crop).
How many plants per square foot in a raised bed?
Square-foot-gardening spacing is the standard: 16 radishes, carrots, or beets per square foot; 9 bush beans, spinach, or onions; 4 loose-leaf lettuce, chard, or kale; 1 tomato, pepper, broccoli, or cabbage; 2 trellised cucumbers; and 1 zucchini or winter squash per 4 square feet. Corn goes 4 per square foot in a block, never a row. The Zone Garden Planting Plan on produde applies this table to every crop you paste, swaps in a per-pot count when the bed is a container, and returns your exact plant counts per bed.
What is the best companion planting layout for a first-year raised bed?
The four rules that matter most for a first-year bed: never mix nightshades (tomato, pepper, eggplant, potato) with brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflower) in the same bed; never plant potatoes with tomatoes anywhere near each other because of shared blight risk; isolate fennel to its own container; and keep mint container-only or it takes over. Alliums (onion, garlic, shallot) pair well with brassicas as a pest deterrent, and basil pairs well with tomato. The Zone Garden Planting Plan on produde flags every companion conflict per crop entry and suggests moving the offending crop to a different bed before you plant it.
What should a first-year gardener plant this month?
The safe first-year picks are the crops that finish fast, forgive spacing mistakes, and taste better than the grocery store: radishes (25 days, direct sow), loose-leaf lettuce (30 days, cut-and-come-again), bush beans (55 days), and basil (buy a nursery start). If you are in a fall month and it is too late for warm-season crops, add garlic (fall-planted, ready next July) and kale starts that sweeten after frost. The Zone Garden Planting Plan on produde reads your effort dial and drops staking-heavy crops for the five-minute-a-day gardener without you having to research each variety.
What are the fall garden alternatives when it is too late to plant tomatoes?
Four fall alternatives finish in most USDA zones from a mid-October planting: kale (45 days, sweetens after frost), spinach (40 days, frost-hardy), loose-leaf lettuce (30 days, tolerates light frost), and radishes (25 days everywhere). Zones 4 through 8 also plant garlic cloves in late October for a next-July harvest that occupies the tomato footprint through the off-season. For beds too late for anything edible, a winter cover crop (winter rye or crimson clover) protects the soil until spring. The Zone Garden Planting Plan on produde surfaces the right fall alternative per too-late crop, with a one-line frost-math why.
How much does it cost, and do I need a subscription?
There is no subscription. You spend produde tokens per run: 15 tokens for a Quick plan (up to 2 beds, 6 crops per bed, terse warnings, all three check-in slots) and 40 tokens for a Deep plan (up to 4 beds, 8 crops per bed, uncapped companion-planting warnings, the full three-slot check-ins schedule, and the full honesty-flag audit). Tokens are a prepaid platform credit; buy once, spend across any produde tool. If a run fails at any stage, the full token cost is refunded to your wallet automatically.
What does it cost?
From 15 tokens. Pick a tier on the form above. Produde tokens are a prepaid platform credit; buy them once and spend on any tool.
Do I pay if a run doesn't complete?
No. You only pay for results. If a run can't finish, its full token cost stays in your wallet automatically.
Is my data stored?
Your input and the run output are saved to your account so you can browse history. They are not sold, shared with advertisers, or used to train shared models. See privacy for details.