Real-Time Intelligence
Garden Intelligence
Your location-specific gardening briefing. Soil temperature with planting guidance, per-bed watering recommendations, pest timing from Growing Degree Days, disease risk from weather conditions, frost alerts, and what to do this week -- all driven by real data from NOAA, the USDA, and university extension research.
How This Works
Weather translated for gardeners
Raw weather data is useful for meteorologists. You need to know whether to water your beds, whether it is warm enough to transplant, and whether tonight will damage your tomatoes. This dashboard translates hourly weather station data into decisions you can act on today.
Pest timing from accumulated heat
Insects develop based on temperature, not calendar dates. Growing Degree Days (GDD) measure accumulated warmth since January 1. When enough heat units accumulate, specific pests emerge -- and we can predict it 1-2 weeks in advance. The thresholds used here come from decades of entomological research at Cornell, Michigan State, UMass, and other land-grant universities. Every management recommendation is cultural or mechanical -- row covers, hand-picking, timing, and habitat management for beneficial insects.
Disease risk from weather patterns
Fungal diseases need specific combinations of temperature and moisture to infect plants. The models used here -- BLITECAST for late blight, the FAST model for early blight, the Modified Mills Table for apple scab -- are the same models used by commercial growers to time their management. We track the conditions and alert you when risk is elevated, so you can improve air circulation, adjust watering, and protect vulnerable crops before disease establishes.
Watering based on actual water demand
The watering engine uses the FAO Penman-Monteith method -- the international standard for calculating crop water demand from weather data. It accounts for your specific soil type (auto-detected from USDA data), what you planted, your growth stage, whether you mulch, and whether your beds are raised or in-ground. The result is a per-bed recommendation calibrated to today's actual conditions -- not a generic "1 inch per week."
Data Sources
Weather + Soil Temperature
Open-Meteo (ECMWF/GFS/ICON weather models). Hourly resolution, global coverage, free API.
Frost Alerts
National Weather Service API. Official frost/freeze advisories, warnings, and watches.
Soil Data
USDA NRCS Soil Data Access (SSURGO). Soil type, pH, drainage, organic matter for any US property.
Pest + Disease Models
Cornell NEWA, MSU Enviroweather, UMass Extension, Purdue, Penn State, and published entomological/pathological research.
Want a professional to manage your garden?
This intelligence dashboard gives you the data. A site consultation gives you the expertise -- soil assessment, custom planting plans, variety selection, and ongoing data-driven management for your specific property.
Schedule a Consultation