Editorial process
How the guides on this site are made, including the parts done with AI tools. The point is that every claim you read can be traced to a primary source you can check yourself.
1. Primary sources first
Every factual claim in a guide cites a primary source, so you can check it yourself. For care and pests that means university extensions (NC State, Wisconsin, Florida IFAS, Iowa State, UC IPM); for botany, Kew’s Plants of the World Online and the Missouri Botanical Garden; for pet toxicity, the ASPCA, or NC State Extension or another named source where the ASPCA has no entry.
2. Researched and drafted with AI tools
The guides are researched and drafted with AI tools, then edited. They are not written from first-hand growing experience, and AI output is never treated as a source: a claim stays only if a primary source backs it.
3. Stock photography
The article photos are stock images licensed from Unsplash, credited to their photographers. None of the photos on this site are mine.
4. Gear picked from specs and sources
I have not tested the products in the gear guides. Picks are based on manufacturer specifications and on what the cited extension sources say a plant needs, such as drainage, light levels and soil moisture. Gear pages carry Amazon affiliate links; the affiliate disclosure explains how that works.
5. Fact-checks and corrections
On October 12, 2026, every guide was fact-checked against the sources it cites and corrected where it was wrong. The corrected guides show that date. There is no fixed review schedule beyond that: when a reader reports an error, I check it against the source, correct the page and note the date.
Where I'm transparent about my limits
I’m not a credentialed horticulturist. The guides are not based on first-hand growing experience; they rest on the primary sources they cite. If a guide makes a claim its source doesn’t support, please email me and I’ll either correct it and note the date or explain my source.