Do you believe that all the knowledge you need to grow delicious and healthy vegetables is readily available in one place? The digital pocket gardening assistant Tomappo, which consists of a mobile app and a web portal, does just that, as it guides the user through the gardening season in a compact and easy way. It is designed by a team of young Slovenian experts in various fields, who is aware that browsing for information through unclear forums and thick manuals can drive away the will of gardening even before you head out to the garden. Tomappo plans gardening tasks instead of users, so they can spend more time among plants in the fresh air. The app is currently (season 2019) free for Android phones.

To avoid paying for whitered and rotten produce that have traveled thousands of miles to the shops, more and more people are opting for their own little garden with fresh spices and vegetables. But garden beginnings are often not easy. You grow peppers in a pot for a few weeks, transplant it, and then it doesn't want to grow anymore. Reason for despair? Not at all. Tomappo helps both beginners and experienced gardeners step by step throughout the season, from drawing up a garden plan to harvesting and using crops. The project leader Bojan Blažica, a doctor of information and communication technologies, received his inspiration from his father, an avid gardener. “It amazed me that my father's extensive record of growing vegetables could be made more manageable in a digital version. In addition, tips in the garden are easier to reach via a mobile phone than in a mountain of papers."

The app's database is a sowing calendar, which allows you to check which days are suitable for working with individual vegetables (according to Marija Thun's sowing calendar), and also record fruitful findings and methods for future seasons. But compared to competing apps, our version offers more as it delivers accurate weather forecasts specifically for the user's garden, the ability of setting reminders to keep track of tasks, as well as fertilization tips, pest control, optimal arrangement of vegetables, and much more. The app is region-specific, so there is no fear of it recommending papaya or mango cultivation.

Despite the importance of healthy eating and home-grown produce, most people, believe it or not, garden for the joy and relaxation in the garden. The purpose of the Tomappo team in developing the app is therefore to allow gardeners to spend as much time as possible in the garden, in the sun and in the fresh air, rather than planning and finding information in the manuals.

In the 2019 season, we are adding support for seed exchange and garden sensors to our garden solution set.

By exchanging seeds, gardening becomes even more interesting, as sorts that are not readily available in stores and are more adapted to our environment are suddenly available to us. In addition, through seed exchange, we are helping to combat biodiversity loss, which is one of the more pressing environmental problems (Rockström, Johan, et al. "Planetary boundaries: exploring the safe operating space for humanity." Ecology and society (2009).).

Garden sensors are an addition in the direction of smart agriculture. They measure soil moisture and garden temperature, two elements that define the growing conditions in which vegetables are. Based on this information, we can optimize our garden chores, which in practice means less work, less water consumed and more reliable and abundant crops. At the same time, we are raising awareness of the problem of water consumption.