Adding Sun, Soil, Water, and Zone Preferences to a Plant File

In order for the Gardenality Virtual Garden System to work properly, it is important that the fields on this page are filled out accurately on a Plant File.

Adding SUN Preferences

Various types of plants prefer or require certain amounts of exposure to sunlight.

To select Sun xxposure requirements for a plant, start by clicking on the Sun tab in the Plant File Editor. You will see a list of various types of sun exposure. For each type, select one of the following:

• Ideal - This means the Sun Exposure type is ideal for this plant.
• Neutral - This means the Sun Exposure type will probably not hurt this plant.
• Bad - This mean the Sun Exposure type will most likely hurt the plant.

Adding SOIL Preferences

Specific types of plants prefer growing in specific types of soil.

To select Soil preferences, start by clicking on the 'Soil' tab in the Plant File Editor. Under this Tab, you will be making preference selections for 3 soil requirements:

Soil TYPE - While some plants will grow in any or all types of soil, others prefer a specific type of soil. See 'Soil Types' descriptions and instructions below.

Soil DRAINAGE - This refers to how quickly or slowly a soil drains after rainfall or irrigation. See 'Soil Drainage' descriptions and instructions on next page.

Soil pH -This refers to the acidity or alkalinity of soil. See 'Soil pH' description and instructions on next page.

For each of the three Soil preferences listed above, select one of the following:

• Ideal - This means the type is ideal for this plant.
• Neutral - This means the type will probably not hurt this plant.
• Bad - This mean the type will most likely hurt the plant.

Adding WATER NEED Preferences

This refers to the amount of supplemental water or irrigation a specific type of plant might require if there isn't average rainfall.

To select Water Need preferences, start by clicking on the Water tab in the Plant File Editor. Then, as with Sun and Soil preferences above, select whether the Water Need type is Ideal, Neutral, or Bad.

Adding ZONE Preferences

Zone refers to the hardiness of a plant based on the low temperature it can withstand without being hurt or killed. Most plants will survive in a range of hardiness Zones.

To select a Zone, start by clicking on the Zone tab. Then select "Ideal" for each Zone the plant is known to perform well in. Select "Neutral" if the plant might be okay in the Zone. Select "Bad" if the plant will not survive the low temperature in the Zone.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are creating a new plant file in which the plant is an "annual plant" (lives for 1 year or less in any part of the world), such as many "annual bedding plants" and many "vegetables," mark all zones as "BAD."

NOTE: If you are not sure about the Hardiness Zones for a specific plant, do a Google Search. In the search, type in the name of the plant, then a comma, then the word "USDA Zone." Check several sources.

NOTE: During the process of making selections, you can "Undo" any selection you've made by clicking on the "Undo" link next to any particular selection in the Your Changes section just below the fields