Covering an area stretching from the Queensland border down to the Liverpool Plains, the awards recognise “creative thinking to initiate or introduce improvements in a skill, product, methodology or process”.

One of the finalists being showcased at the gala dinner and awards ceremony is Armidale-based business Hutchinson Software.

Their product, Gardenate, which is designed to help home gardeners keep a steady stream of vegetables flowing to the kitchen table, began life as a website and a free email reminder service.

It was launched as a mobile app for iPhones in 2010, and there are now versions for iPad, Symbian phones, and Android phones and tablets.

The app has climate-specific information about sowing, growing and harvesting vegies, and covers multiple countries, including Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. 

The website also hosts a thriving online community of people enthusiastically swapping tips about gardening and cooking.

Business owner Chris Hutchinson has spent 20 years as an IT consultant, creating custom software for large organisations such as universities, research centres, government bodies and online retailers.

He developed Gardenate in his spare time, because New England has a short growing season and he found it difficult to keep track of what he should be doing in his

garden.

His mother, Liz Hutchinson, a keen gardener living in New Zealand, was responsible for data entry.

“The mobile app makes the information from the website portable, so people can look up what their garden needs while they are out shopping for seeds or plants,” Mr Hutchinson said. 

“The app also lets you record what you have planted in your own garden and its progress, track your own plant varieties, and store photos and gardening notes.”

In the highly competitive world of mobile apps, Gardenate has consistently ranked in the top 10 of the lifestyle section for iTunes in Australia and New Zealand. 

It’s been commended for its usefulness and usability and has featured in ‘best of’ lists published by The Sydney Morning Herald and The New York Times. It was  also the runner-up in the Nokia ‘Calling all Innovators 2011’ competition. Mr Hutchinson said it was only in the last five years that it has become possible for a small, regionally-based software development business to easily reach a global mass audience. 

“With distribution channels like the iTunes store and Google Play, you can connect your work directly to large numbers of people nationally and internationally,” he said. “There’s now a market for small pieces of software being sold directly to individuals around the world, and because there’s so many people using smartphones and tablets, even specialised apps like Gardenate can find a good-sized audience.”