Step-by-step guide
IdunSeed
Keep a seed inventory and sowing dates relative to your chosen frost date. Record your seed stock, set the frost date for your location, and review the sowing calendar calculated from your own inputs.
You keep seed packets and want one place that turns “start 8 weeks before last frost” style intervals into real dates, shows which packets are running low, and prints this week's sowing tasks.
The guide and practice files are free. The complete bundle includes the unchanged 0.1.1 program. This is a 31 October 2026 guide revision; no new Google Sheets native acceptance is claimed. Earlier program permissions remain in force.
See it in use
Plan sowing dates from a frost date
A screenshot walkthrough with fictional practice data. Select a step to explore.
The date-planning screen and earlier PDF capture are separate examples from the unchanged program; physical garden use is unverified.
1. Start with
Plan sowing dates from a frost date
Use the fictional 2027 frost settings and three seed rows.
Sample files and contents
examples/idunseed/settings.csv (a fictional last frost date 2027-04-25 and print week starting 2027-02-14), examples/idunseed/seed-rows.csv (three fictional seeds for Seeds rows 8 to 10) and examples/idunseed/expected-calendar.csv (the dates you should see).
Practice files and guides are free. The complete app is included only where the product page says so.
2. In the app
Try it in three steps
- Enter the frost date and print-week settings.
- Add the three seeds and inspect Calendar calculations.
- Compare the calendar with expected rows, then open PrintWeek.
Show every click and setting
- On Settings type 2027, 4 and 25 into B3, B4 and B5, and 2027, 2 and 14 into B10, B11 and B12.
- On Seeds type the three rows from seed-rows.csv into rows 8, 9 and 10, leaving empty cells empty.
- Open the Calendar sheet and compare rows 8 to 10 with expected-calendar.csv.
- Open the PrintWeek sheet.
3. The result
A separate demonstration
The guide expects dated sowing and transplant windows for all three seeds. The shown PDF is an older separate example, not a verified Google Sheets edit.
The date-planning screen and earlier PDF capture are separate examples from the unchanged program; physical garden use is unverified.
What to check in the practice result
Settings B6 shows 2027-04-25. Calendar row 8, Pepper Test Sun: Indoor 2027-02-14 to 2027-02-28 and Transplant 2027-05-09 to 2027-05-16, both OK, packet status OK. Row 9, Pea Early Example: Outdoor 2027-03-28 to 2027-04-11, OK. Row 10, Zinnia Demo Mix: Indoor 2027-03-14 to 2027-03-28 and Outdoor 2027-04-25 to 2027-05-09, packet balance 1, status LOW. PrintWeek for 2027-02-14 to 2027-02-20 lists one task: Pepper Test Sun, stage Indoor sowing / Посев дома, from 2027-02-14 to 2027-02-28. The five DEMO sample rows stay in the sheet but have no task in that week.
See the workflow at a glance
Choose a short explanation, then follow the worked example below. Check the requirements and compatibility before using your own files.
Turn your chosen dates into a weekly seed plan.
Keep the dates you chose in one planning sheet. IdunSeed's fictional example starts with a last-frost date of 25 April 2027 and three sample seeds. The week beginning 14 February shows one indoor-sowing task for Pepper Test Sun; another sample flags a low packet balance. Use the example to understand the calendar before entering your own information. This is a planning template, not a weather forecast or agronomic advice. Google Sheets formula calculations were checked; desktop/mobile editing and physical printing remain unverified.
View the illustrated card
Before you start
- A Google account and Google Sheets in a web browser. The .xlsx file is only the way the template travels; Excel and LibreOffice are not supported targets.
- Your own last frost date and the intervals from your seed packets. IdunSeed contains no weather data and gives no gardening advice.
- The complete idunseed-0.1.1-guide-20261031.zip download. It contains the unchanged program/idunseed-preview-20260929.zip (program version 0.1.1).
Your first result
Download and extract your bundle
Extract idunseed-0.1.1-guide-20261031.zip, then extract program/idunseed-preview-20260929.zip into a separate folder. The workbook is app/IdunSeed.xlsx inside that inner ZIP; read app/IdunSeed-instructions.pdf before using real data. GUIDE.html and examples/idunseed/ are in the outer bundle.
Put it into Google Sheets
Open drive.google.com and upload app/IdunSeed.xlsx. Right-click it, choose Open with › Google Sheets, then File › Save as Google Sheets so you work in a native Google Sheets file. Keep the original .xlsx as a clean copy. Sheet labels are in English with Russian underneath.
Set your last frost date
Practice first: set Settings B3=2027, B4=4, B5=25 and check B6 shows 2027-04-25. These are fictional inputs. For your own garden, start with a fresh copy and enter your own frost date; the shipped sample 2028-04-15 must be replaced before using a real plan.
Fill the Seeds sheet
For the first practice, use Seeds row 8 (already MY DATA): B8=Pepper Test Sun (fictional), D8=-70, E8=-56, H8=14, I8=21, P8=2 and Q8=0. Leave the other row 8 inputs blank. Calendar row 8 should show Indoor 14–28 February 2027 and Transplant 9–16 May 2027, both OK, with packet balance 2 and status OK.
Read the Calendar sheet
Each stage shows from and to dates and a check code: OK (both ends known), PART (only one end), or an E- code such as E-DATE, E-OFFS, E-FROST, E-REV or E-PKT that points to a typing problem. Packet status shows OK, LOW (balance at or below the threshold in Settings B18, default 1) or OUT (none left).
Print one week
Type the print week start on Settings (B10 year, B11 month, B12 day). The PrintWeek sheet lists every task that touches those seven days, with a Done box. Use File › Print, choose the current sheet and Scale: Fit to width, and check the preview.
Start your own garden without sample tasks
Use a fresh copy of the original workbook. Clear Seeds B3:R7, leaving Seed IDs in column A and the rows themselves in place. Enter your own seed and packet intervals in row 3 or the next empty row; set column C to MY DATA. Set your own frost date and print week and confirm Settings B19 reports zero DEMO rows. Never insert or delete aligned rows.
Saving and your data
Google Sheets saves your copy automatically in your Google Drive; nothing is sent to the publisher. Sort only the data range A3:R102 of Seeds, and clear cells instead of inserting or deleting rows, because the sheets line up by row. Share a read-only copy and ask others to use File › Make a copy.
A worked example
Plan three fictional seeds
Input: examples/idunseed/settings.csv (a fictional last frost date 2027-04-25 and print week starting 2027-02-14), examples/idunseed/seed-rows.csv (three fictional seeds for Seeds rows 8 to 10) and examples/idunseed/expected-calendar.csv (the dates you should see).
- On Settings type 2027, 4 and 25 into B3, B4 and B5, and 2027, 2 and 14 into B10, B11 and B12.
- On Seeds type the three rows from seed-rows.csv into rows 8, 9 and 10, leaving empty cells empty.
- Open the Calendar sheet and compare rows 8 to 10 with expected-calendar.csv.
- Open the PrintWeek sheet.
Expected result: Settings B6 shows 2027-04-25. Calendar row 8, Pepper Test Sun: Indoor 2027-02-14 to 2027-02-28 and Transplant 2027-05-09 to 2027-05-16, both OK, packet status OK. Row 9, Pea Early Example: Outdoor 2027-03-28 to 2027-04-11, OK. Row 10, Zinnia Demo Mix: Indoor 2027-03-14 to 2027-03-28 and Outdoor 2027-04-25 to 2027-05-09, packet balance 1, status LOW. PrintWeek for 2027-02-14 to 2027-02-20 lists one task: Pepper Test Sun, stage Indoor sowing / Посев дома, from 2027-02-14 to 2027-02-28. The five DEMO sample rows stay in the sheet but have no task in that week.
More application screens
Know your first result before you start
The revised guide gives exact input cells and expected dates. The program is unchanged; this guide revision does not claim a new Google Sheets native run.
1. One fictional seed, exact dates
2. Compare the supplied print sample
Troubleshooting
Calendar shows E-FROST.
An interval was given but the last frost date is not valid. Check Settings B3 to B5; B8 names the problem, for example a day that does not exist in that month.
Calendar shows E-DATE or E-OFFS.
An OVERRIDE date is not a real YYYY-MM-DD date, or an interval is not a whole number between -3650 and 3650. Correct the cell on Seeds.
Dates look wrong after sorting or deleting.
Sort only A3:R102 on Seeds and never insert or delete whole rows. If formulas were overwritten, make a fresh copy of the template and copy across your Seeds data A3:R102 and the Settings inputs B3:B5, B10:B12 and B18.
Sample rows still appear on PrintWeek.
In a fresh copy, clear Seeds B3:R7 to remove the five sample inputs. Keep column A IDs and the rows. Enter your own values, set each used row’s column C to MY DATA and confirm Settings B19 is zero. The fictional practice row belongs only in your practice copy.
Compatibility & limits
- Dates are counted from the frost date you enter; there is no weather, frost detection, crop database or advice.
- Built for Google Sheets; checked by importing into Google Sheets. Excel, LibreOffice, mobile screens and physical printing are not checked.
- Up to 100 seed rows. No reminders, mailings or bed layouts.
- The original program keeps its included preview permissions: you may use it, including for your own garden plans, but not sell or redistribute it (see PREVIEW-PERMISSION.md).
- Planning template only; not weather or agronomic advice. Google Sheets API formula calculations checked; desktop/mobile editing and physical printing unverified.
Need a hand?
Tell us the product, host application and version, what you tried, and the exact error. Contact support with a fictional example; keep private customer files and passwords out of your message.