Value function
The first release optimizes for local correctness, practical planning, plant-library growth, personal garden memory, FVF voice, and source trust.
Full notes live in VALUE_FUNCTION.md so future features have a product compass.
Methodology
Layered, cached, and allowed to learn.
The planner uses public data as a source layer, then stores reviewed plant knowledge in its own library. The daily note is not allowed to invent facts; it turns cached plant data, weather, and timing rules into useful garden language.
Cache rule
Live weather can refresh often. Plant facts should be reviewed, normalized, and cached before they drive advice. That keeps the app stable and keeps the FVF layer from becoming a paid API wrapper.
SEO/SERP personas
Small-bed food growerintentFind a square-foot garden planner that turns limited space into practical planting choices. Target angle: square foot garden planner, vegetable garden planner, small garden planning app.
Forecast-watching northern gardenerintentPlan around frost, wet soil, wind, and short-season weather. Target angle: weather aware garden planner, Michigan garden planner, frost planting planner.
Seed-starting plannerintentTrack starts, hardening-off timing, transplant windows, and seed shelf gaps. Target angle: seed starting planner, transplant schedule planner, garden seed inventory.
Annual flower and pollinator growerintentBlend useful annual flowers into a vegetable bed without wasting space. Target angle: annual flower garden planner, pollinator garden planner, cut flower planner.
Returning season loggerintentKeep a garden record across planting, care, harvest, reset, and next-season rotation. Target angle: garden journal planner, harvest tracker, garden rotation planner.
SEO score matrix
Search intent match22%Each critical page has a clear query, persona, title, H1, and description.
Crawl and index clarity18%Canonical URLs, sitemap inclusion, robots allow, and stable internal links.
Structured data16%Valid JSON-LD for software, dataset, breadcrumbs, and plant records without fake claims.
Useful content depth18%Pages answer real garden decisions instead of thin keyword pages.
Internal link graph12%Home, use-case pages, plant library, plant pages, and methodology reinforce each other.
SERP presentation8%Concise titles, unique descriptions, OG/Twitter images, and H1s are distinct and click-worthy.
Trust and source clarity6%Data sources, creator/publisher, cache rules, and no invented ratings or unsupported claims.
Plant API strategy
The planner uses public sources for lookup, optional keyed sources for enrichment, and a reviewed local cache for the facts that drive advice.
Perenual API88/100Optional care, images, hardiness, and variety/cultivar detail.
Trefle API84/100Optional taxonomy plus botanical traits.
USDA PLANTS downloads82/100Authority cache for U.S. plant identity and regional context.
GBIF Species API78/100Live public taxonomy matching.
iNaturalist taxa API72/100Live public species/photo/community context.
Plant record score
Taxonomy confidence18%Can the app connect common names to stable species names?
Square-foot usefulness22%Does the record help someone choose spacing, support, and bed position?
Timing and care depth20%Does the record include sowing, transplanting, germination, water, soil, and cautions?
Species and variety drill-down16%Can a gardener compare cultivars, series, mixes, and useful traits?
Annual flower intelligence12%Does the library help flowers work as beauty, pollinator support, and companion structure?
Source readiness12%Can the record be enriched by cached public or optional external data?
National Weather Service API
Official U.S. forecast points, daily forecast, and short-term weather risk.
Revalidated through Next/Vercel fetch caching so a garden page stays fast while weather refreshes regularly.
Source referenceUSDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
Hardiness-zone context and winter survival framing.
User-provided zone in the MVP; future release stores verified zone lookups with date checked.
Source referenceOpen-Meteo Forecast API
Ten-day daily outlook for garden concerns: lows, highs, precipitation probability, precipitation totals, and wind.
Daily outlook is fetched by ZIP-derived coordinates and revalidated every three hours.
Source referenceUSDA PLANTS Database
Plant identity, taxonomy, nativity, and conservation flags.
Normalized plant records are stored locally with source references before being used in advice.
Source referenceGBIF Species API
Accepted scientific names, taxonomy matching, and occurrence context.
Used as a taxonomy support layer; names are cached after review instead of queried on every page load.
Source referenceiNaturalist Taxa API
Public species, common-name, and community observation context for richer plant drill-down.
Queried only through server-side enrichment and cached before any field changes are trusted.
Source referencePerenual Plant API
Optional detailed plant care, images, hardiness, bloom, cultivar, toxicity, and ornamental data.
Requires an API key; use as an optional enrichment layer and cache reviewed fields into local records.
Source referenceTrefle Plants API
Optional global plant taxonomy, subspecies, varieties, hybrids, and synonym cleanup.
Requires a token; use for reviewed imports rather than live page rendering.
Source referenceWorld Flora Online Plant List
Accepted botanical names and taxonomic cleanup.
Reference-only in the MVP; future imports are cached into the plant library.
Source referenceMichigan State University Extension
Michigan vegetable-garden timing, frost awareness, and practical garden planning.
Regional rules are converted into transparent timing offsets and field notes.
Source referenceCornell Vegetable Growing Guides
Crop-specific vegetable growing guidance.
Plant traits are cached in the FVF plant library after review.
Source referenceUniversity of Minnesota Extension
Upper Midwest vegetable guidance, cold-climate timing, and succession ideas.
Used to sanity-check cool-season and short-season crop behavior.
Source reference