Select “Beds” in the left navigation. Then click “Create new bed” at the top right. A dialogue for the new bed opens. The same dialogue is used later to edit an existing bed.
Bed type
Choose the type of your bed. Each bed type comes with a short description and sometimes a link to further information.
The bed type determines whether you want to place plantings freely on the bed or use a row companion planting system.
You cannot change the bed type later. If you change your mind, delete the bed and create a new one.
Basic bed data
Give your bed a unique name.
For free beds you simply enter length and width.
For row companion planting beds you enter front edge and row length instead. The front edge is the side from which the rows run into the bed. The row length is the depth of your bed, i.e. how long the individual rows are. More on this on the page Row companion planting display.
If your bed is in a greenhouse, this affects the planting times. grove uses these times for filters, sowing, harvest and task planning.
Gertrud Franck and the Langerhorst family
Both companion planting systems use a fixed row spacing, usually between 40 and 50 cm. You enter this as an additional measurement.
Once you enter the width of the front edge, grove automatically calculates the rows (A, B and C rows). If you change something later, the layout adjusts immediately.
Advanced settings: start row & offset
You can change the start row if your bed dimensions don’t fit neatly into the usual sequence (C-A-C-B). This prevents two A-rows ending up directly next to each other after the year change.
You need the offset of the start row when transferring an existing bed into grove that you already manage using this system. The first row might need to start offset by 25 cm to make everything line up.
Important
Many of your bed settings cannot be changed afterwards. So take your time and think through what you need.