Garden Time Planner vs SOW
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Garden Time Planner
Plan your garden with ease. This app provides region-specific planting and harvesting schedules for vegetables and herbs. It automatically generates task lists and offers a plant database, local weather, and gardening video links.
- Region-specific planting schedules
- Automated task lists
- Plant database
- Local weather integration
- Gardening how-to videos
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The Garden Time app from Burpee is the perfect tool to help gardeners know when to sow, transplant and expect to harvest vegetables and herbs specific to their garden region. The app automatically creates a task list to notify the user when their next sow or transplant date arrives. Included within the app is a full database of plants, local weather, and links to how-to gardening videos.
SOW
This app helps home gardeners determine the best time to plant various crops based on their location. It provides detailed information for each crop, including harvest estimates, yield, spacing, and planting depth. The app covers specific growing zones and offers a way to request additional zone support.
- Optimum planting time recommendations
- Crop-specific planting information
- Estimated days to harvest
- Estimated yield per plant
- Plant spacing and depth guidance
- Suggested crop varieties
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The “SOW – A Planting Companion” app is designed to tell you the optimum time to plant crops in your home garden. Choose your location and start planting. Tap the photo of a crop to see more information: • Estimated days to harvest • Estimated yield per plant • Spacing between plants • Planting depth below ground level • Suggested varieties • Special notes as needed The Alabama Cooperative Extension System, University of Kentucky, and North Carolina A&T State University Extension have partnered to provide crop and planting information for growing zones 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, and 9a. If you would like to see your state/zone in this app, contact Alabama Extension at acesapp@auburn.edu.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SOW at 2.7 against Garden Time Planner's 1.5. SOW also leads on review sentiment (31% vs 4%). Garden Time Planner's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (184 vs 53). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
SOW holds the better App Store score, 2.7 against 1.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 184 and 53 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 4% of Garden Time Planner's written reviews are positive against 31% of SOW's.
Garden Time Planner ships an update every 2 months, SOW every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on July 4, 2026 and July 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Garden Time Planner | SOW |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.5 (184 ratings) | 2.7 (53 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 3.6% of reviews | 31.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 184 — better | 53 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 99 MB | 52 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Burpee | Alabama Cooperative Extension System |
Customer experience
Garden Time Planner
SOW
Bugs and requests
Garden Time Planner
Reported bugs
16 issues- App crashes when attempting to create account
- Login fails with false 'no internet connection' error
- Cannot add plants to garden - screen flashes and reverts to previous page
- App freezes when scrolling or selecting options
- Garden data lost after app updates
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- Error 3 message preventing app from loading
- Buttons unresponsive or require multiple presses
- Delayed notifications from button presses
- Plant recommendations contradict growing zone
- Zip code field not recognized or saved
- App stuck on select garden screen
- Video links non-functional
- Text field selection not working on newer iOS
- App repeatedly requests data downloads on startup
- Garden list displays only one item despite multiple entries
- Support link redirects to homepage instead of help
Requested features
15 requests- Search feature for finding plants by name, color, or characteristics
- Ability to add custom plants not in Burpee catalog
- Drag-and-drop aerial garden planner with spacing visualization
- Integration with Burpee online store for purchasing
- Support for indoor seed starting with flexible planting dates
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- Comprehensive plant database matching full Burpee catalog
- Soil and nutrient requirement information
- Persistent zip code storage to avoid re-entry
- Ability to rename gardens after creation
- Functional help desk and customer support
- Plant recommendations based on growing zone accuracy
- Task list view showing upcoming to-do items
- Facebook login option for account creation
- Account questionnaire for personalized recommendations
- Export functionality for garden plans
SOW
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Garden Time Planner
No in-app purchases
SOW
No in-app purchases
