Help:How to edit a plant article - Revision history

WikiWorks at 18:14, 20 August 2010

2010-08-20T18:14:20Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:14, 20 August 2010
Line 1:		Line 1:
	The vast majority of the articles on Gardenology.org are plant articles, since the free plant encyclopedia we are building is one of the main goals of this site, and there are tens of thousands of plants out there. Our focus of course is to cover all of the garden plants in the world, with instructions on how to grow them. This article will go into great detail about how to edit each article, and what the goal is of a plant article.		The vast majority of the articles on Gardenology.org are plant articles, since the free plant encyclopedia we are building is one of the main goals of this site, and there are tens of thousands of plants out there. Our focus of course is to cover all of the garden plants in the world, with instructions on how to grow them. This article will go into great detail about how to edit each article, and what the goal is of a plant article.

			==User accounts==
			Before following the editing instructions below, ''you must have a user account''. Accounts are completely free, but you must now request one by email. Just send a note to raffi@ followed by the name of this website (gardenology.org) and include the username you'd like to request. Sorry for the extra step, but it helps to maintain a high quality of information as well as eliminate spam. Anyone can get an account if they are willing to follow the [[Help:Editing]] guidelines!

	==How to edit==		==How to edit==

WikiWorks: /* Plant box */

2010-02-13T17:32:50Z

Plant box

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:32, 13 February 2010
Line 29:		Line 29:
	*Flower features - again, only fill this in if the plant is grown at least in part for its flowers.		*Flower features - again, only fill this in if the plant is grown at least in part for its flowers.
	*Minimum temp - this is the lowest temperature a plant can survive before it normally would die.		*Minimum temp - this is the lowest temperature a plant can survive before it normally would die.
	*USDA zones - usually you'll at least know the lowest zone a plant will grow in, oftentimes you'll know the top as well.		*[[USDA zones]] - usually you'll at least know the lowest zone a plant will grow in, oftentimes you'll know the top as well. Some sources have subcategories with a and b. A zone 4a is the same as zone 4, but a zone 4b should be entered as 4.5.
	*Sunset zones - please use the National Garden Book for these, or at least mention that you are using just the Western or other edition in the reference section!		*Sunset zones - please use the National Garden Book for these, or at least mention that you are using just the Western or other edition in the reference section!
	*Infobox needs help? - this checkbox will display a message on the page if it is checked off, asking visitors to add information. If a few of the fields are already full, you can uncheck this.		*Infobox needs help? - this checkbox will display a message on the page if it is checked off, asking visitors to add information. If a few of the fields are already full, you can uncheck this.

WikiWorks at 21:16, 3 February 2010

2010-02-03T21:16:04Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:16, 3 February 2010
Line 51:		Line 51:
	PASTE OR TYPE THE BOTANIC DESCRIPTION HERE		PASTE OR TYPE THE BOTANIC DESCRIPTION HERE
	}}		}}

			Remember, Wikipedia is a great place to copy/paste a plant description from, and it is perfectly okay in terms of licensing. However, if part of the description is very academic, it belongs in the botanic description box. If it is not really related to describing the plant or growing it (for example details on the use or history of the plant) then it does not belong on Gardenology.org.

	===Cultivation===		===Cultivation===
			This section should have the information on how to grow the plant. Where it likes to grow, what type of soil it likes, pruning details, more details on watering, fertilizing, etc. Anything that is useful to know when growing it.

	===Propagation===		===Propagation===
			How does this plant multiply? List all the ways you know of, including seed, cuttings, layering, grafting, etc. If you have information on how the seeds should be planted (distance, moisture, temperature, presoaking or not, on site or not, etc), or special directions on cuttings or grafting, definitely include it. If not, just saying it grows from [[seed]] or [[grafting]] for example, with those words linked to the articles is explanation enough.

	===Pests and Diseases===		===Pests and Diseases===
			What pests or diseases (if any) is the plant most prone to? If there are remedies that are specific to this plant, then list them here as well. If they just need regular treatment for these problems, like [[aphids]] for example, a link to that article should explain how to treat them. No need to duplicate that information on every plant article. If the plant does not have a predisposition for any problems, you can state as much.

	===Varieties===		===Varieties/Species/Etc===
			This section is named Varieties by default, however depending on what type of plant article it is, the name may be better off being changed. For example, if it is an article for a genus, calling it "Species" might be more precise. Or, if it is for a species, then you might want to name this section Cultivars or even Subspecies. There are some plant articles which may not need this section at all, and it can be removed. If a species has no cultivars or subspecies, it may not need this section. If the article is for a cultivar or subspecies, it might likewise not need this section. This is a good time to remind you that this is a wiki, and any change you make can easily be undone or changed again. In other words, don't stress about these decisions! If you take it out and it's needed later, it can be added, and if you leave it when it's not necessary, someone else can take it out.

	===Gallery===		===Gallery===
			Oftentimes when people look up a plant, they want to know most of all what it looks like, so the gallery is very important. To add photos to the gallery, the photos need to already be uploaded, or you can use photos from certain other sources. For more information on where you can get free photos, see [[Help:Photo sources]]. Once they're on the site, you can add them to the articles within the text, or in the photo gallery. It's nice for the photo gallery to have various views of the plant, including what it looks like at different stages, or maybe in different seasons, in bloom, in fruit, the bark, the leaves, etc.

	===References===		===References===
			This section is for references that were used to get information for the article. It is '''very important to use references''' whenever possible, because it gives the information a great deal more credibility. If you want to add a reference footnote somewhere in the text of the article, you add a <nowiki><ref></nowiki> tag right where you want it to go, type the name of the reference, or paste the URL if it's online, and then put a <nowiki></ref></nowiki> at the end of it. That's all. When you save the article a linked superscript number will show up right where you inserted it, and your footnote will appear at the bottom of the text. You can also just list a reference you used in multiple places under the reference section manually, by adding an asterisk followed by the name of the reference or link. Including the references inline is always the optimal solution. If you used creative commons text or other text with permission in the article, this is also where you would give the proper attribution and credit for that.

	===External links===		===External links===
			This site gives the gardening aspect of the plant. Each article should by default have a link to Wikipedia here as well, which will give readers easy access to further non-gardening information about the plant. In general there is not often a good reason to include additional links, unless there is a great source of gardening information on a plant that expands upon the Gardenology.org article.

			==Sources==
			There are many great plant encyclopedias out there with ideal information for this site. The text must be reworded if it is copyright, but other than that the information in it is perfect for use here. They usually have all kinds of information on the cultivation and propagation, among other things. There is also the Sunset National Garden Book I use for the Sunset Zones, many plants are missing this information that gardeners often prefer to the USDA zones. There are other garden books, including information on gardening techniques such as pruning, composting, worm farming, etc which can be used as sources. You can use any material you like without restriction from sites with a Creative Commons license such as Wikipedia.org, just make sure there is a link back to the page you got the information from. If you can get permission from other sites to use their copyright materials, that's also ideal. Photographs of many plants can be found on Flickr.com - but you should do an advanced search for Free License Photos first, and if that doesn't come up with good stuff, look at some of the copyright stuff and ask for permission. Any photo in the Wikimedia commons can be used here, and in fact you don't even need to upload it here, just use the photo filename as you would with any other photo on this site.

			==Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture==
	==~~=Sources=~~==		Virtually the entire text of the [[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]] has been incorporated into this site. The Cyclopedia was once the definitive guide to garden plants in the United States, and possibly the world. Much of it is now dated, but a good plant description never changes. If the text can be incorporated into the article smoothly, great. If not it can stay in a separate box dedicated to the Cyclopedia content, which can go below the plant description, or in a separate section below the photo gallery. Outdated information or information not relevant to the home gardener should be removed completely and without mercy!
	~~There are many great plant encyclopedias out there with ideal information for~~ this site. The ~~text must be reworded if it is copyright, but other than that~~ the ~~information~~ in ~~it is perfect for use here. They usually have all kinds of information on~~ the ~~cultivation~~ and ~~propagation, among other things~~. ~~There~~ is ~~also the Sunset National Garden Book I use for the Sunset Zones~~, ~~many plants are missing this information that gardeners often prefer to the USDA zones~~. ~~There are other garden books, including information on gardening techniques such as pruning, composting, worm farming, etc which~~ can be ~~used as sources~~. ~~You~~ can ~~use any material you like without restriction from sites with a Creative Commons license such as Wikipedia.org, just make sure there is~~ a ~~link back~~ to the ~~page you got the information from. If you can get permission from other sites to use their copyright materials~~, ~~that's also ideal. Photographs of many plants~~ can ~~be found on Flickr.com - but you should do an advanced search for Free License Photos first~~, ~~and if that doesn't come up with good stuff, look at some of~~ the ~~copyright stuff and ask for permission~~. ~~Any photo in~~ the ~~Wikimedia commons can~~ be ~~used here,~~ and ~~in fact you don't even need to upload it here, just use the photo filename as you would with any other photo on this site.~~

WikiWorks at 19:10, 3 February 2010

2010-02-03T19:10:00Z

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-The vast majority of the articles on Gardenology.org are plant articles, since the free plant encyclopedia we are building is one of the main goals of this site, and there are tens of thousands of plants out there.  Our focus of course is to cover all of the garden plants in the world, with instructions on how to grow them.  This article will go into detail about how to edit each article, and what the goal is of each article.
+The vast majority of the articles on Gardenology.org are plant articles, since the free plant encyclopedia we are building is one of the main goals of this site, and there are tens of thousands of plants out there.  Our focus of course is to cover all of the garden plants in the world, with instructions on how to grow them.  This article will go into great detail about how to edit each article, and what the goal is of a plant article.
 ==How to edit==
@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ===Plant box===
 ===Plant description===
 ===Cultivation===

WikiWorks: Created page with 'The vast majority of the articles on Gardenology.org are plant articles, since the free plant encyclopedia we are building is one of the main goals of this site, and there are te…'

2010-02-03T17:40:27Z

Created page with 'The vast majority of the articles on Gardenology.org are plant articles, since the free plant encyclopedia we are building is one of the main goals of this site, and there are te…'

New page

The vast majority of the articles on Gardenology.org are plant articles, since the free plant encyclopedia we are building is one of the main goals of this site, and there are tens of thousands of plants out there. Our focus of course is to cover all of the garden plants in the world, with instructions on how to grow them. This article will go into detail about how to edit each article, and what the goal is of each article.

==How to edit==
First, you can visit [[Help:Editing]] to see how much of the formatting on the pages is accomplished. Basically, you click on the "edit" tab at the top of the page and just start typing away. It's pretty basic. The help page though will give you a little detail on bold, italics, links, etc. The rest of this page will explain a lot of additional tips on what to include in terms of content, how to include it, and what a good article will ideally be.

==Basic structure of a plant article==
Each plant article should have a plant information box at the top. Directly below that comes a description of the plant, followed by subsections about cultivation, propagation, pests and diseases, varieties of the plant, a photo gallery, references and external links. ''Remember that throughout the text, the main goal is to have a focused article on growing a plant, in language that can be pretty easily understood.''

===Plant box===

===Plant description===

===Cultivation===

===Propagation===

===Pests and Diseases===

===Varieties===

===Gallery===

===References===

===External links===

===Sources===
There are many great plant encyclopedias out there with ideal information for this site. The text must be reworded if it is copyright, but other than that the information in it is perfect for use here. They usually have all kinds of information on the cultivation and propagation, among other things. There is also the Sunset National Garden Book I use for the Sunset Zones, many plants are missing this information that gardeners often prefer to the USDA zones. There are other garden books, including information on gardening techniques such as pruning, composting, worm farming, etc which can be used as sources. You can use any material you like without restriction from sites with a Creative Commons license such as Wikipedia.org, just make sure there is a link back to the page you got the information from. If you can get permission from other sites to use their copyright materials, that's also ideal. Photographs of many plants can be found on Flickr.com - but you should do an advanced search for Free License Photos first, and if that doesn't come up with good stuff, look at some of the copyright stuff and ask for permission. Any photo in the Wikimedia commons can be used here, and in fact you don't even need to upload it here, just use the photo filename as you would with any other photo on this site.