Tasks & Timelines
Understand how MyVeggieGarden generates tasks from milestones and frost dates, and how the timeline helps you stay on schedule.
Tasks in MyVeggieGarden are auto-generated action items — things you need to do at specific times to keep your garden on track.
How tasks are generated
Tasks are created from the intersection of:
- Milestones — Lifecycle phases that have a scheduled action (e.g., "Start seeds indoors", "Transplant outdoors")
- Your plants — Which plants you've approved for the season
- Frost dates — Your local last frost date determines when things happen
Each milestone can have a frost offset — the number of days before or after your last frost date when that action should happen.
For example:
- "Start seeds indoors" might be -42 days (6 weeks before last frost)
- "Transplant outdoors" might be +14 days (2 weeks after last frost)
- "Direct sow" might be 0 days (right at last frost)
Task lifecycle
Tasks have a simple status:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Not yet due, coming up on the timeline |
| Due | It's time to do this |
| Completed | Done — a log entry was created |
| Skipped | Decided not to do it this season |
Completing a task creates a log
This is a key design principle: task completion and logging are the same action. When you check off "Start seeds indoors — Cherokee Purple Tomato", the app:
- Prompts you for notes ("How did it go?")
- Creates a planting log tagged to that milestone
- Marks the task complete
This ensures the data loop stays intact: planning → doing → recording → learning.
Log-to-task sync
It works in reverse too. If you create a planting log and tag it with a milestone that has a pending task, that task is automatically completed. No double-entry needed — log from the drawer or complete from the task list, the result is the same.
The task timeline
The Act column on the Plan page shows tasks in chronological order — what needs doing this week, next week, and beyond. Completed and skipped tasks are hidden to keep focus on what's next.
This is more useful than grouping by plant because your garden work happens in time, not in categories. On any given Saturday, you might need to start tomato seeds, transplant pepper seedlings, and direct-sow lettuce — those are three different plants but one gardening session.
Growing methods affect task timing
Different growing methods generate different task sequences:
Seeds indoors:
- Start seeds indoors (frost - 6 weeks)
- Harden off (frost - 1 week)
- Transplant outdoors (frost + 2 weeks)
Direct sow:
- Direct sow (frost + 0-2 weeks)
Transplant (store-bought):
- Transplant outdoors (frost + 2 weeks)
The specific offsets depend on the plant and your milestone configuration.
Frequently asked questions
How are garden tasks generated automatically?
Tasks come from the intersection of milestones, your plants, and your frost date. Each action milestone with a frost offset creates a task at the right time. Different growing methods generate different task sequences.
What is log-to-task sync?
If you create a planting log tagged with a milestone that has a pending task, that task is automatically completed. No double-entry — log from the drawer or complete from the task list, same result.
Where do I see my garden tasks?
Tasks appear chronologically in the Act column on the Plan page. Completed and skipped tasks are hidden to keep focus on what's next.
Related
- Milestones — How lifecycle phases and frost offsets work
- Planning your season — Where tasks come from in the planning workflow
- Planting and logging — How task completion creates log entries