The library
Practical and editorial growing guides organized by pillar. Field-guide rigor for Apprentices, Growers, Educators, and Stewards alike. New guides ship weekly.
Pillar 01
Reference entries on growing media. Field-guide style: each entry self-contained, citable, with mix recipes for common plant types. Updated weekly.
FoundationFoundation
What plants are actually asking for from substrate, and the three-ingredient recipe that fixes most struggling houseplants.
Going deeperGoing deeper
Air-filled porosity, capillary water, perched water tables, CEC, pH, and the oxygen variable nobody measures. The physics underneath every potting decision.
ReferenceReference
Pumice, perlite, zeolite, charcoal, coir, sphagnum, castings — every ingredient that goes in a chunky aroid mix, with the Guild's verdict on each. Including the ones we avoid.
PracticePractice
The framework behind every substrate recipe. How to work backward from what the plant needs and adapt any published mix for your own humidity, temperature, pot, and feeding style.
Pillar 02
Long-form portraits of single specimens, treated as botanical subjects — substrate, light, water, humidity, propagation, common failure modes. Editorial register, not whimsical.
ProfileProfile · Aroid
A field guide to Alocasia micholitziana 'Frydek' — light, water, humidity, substrate, and how to read its many moods.
ProfileProfile · Begonia
A field guide to Begonia maculata — light, water, humidity, substrate, and what those polka dots are actually for.
ProfileProfile · Aroid
The velvet-leaved anthurium with silver veining — its decade-long journey from obscure to famous, plus what it actually wants to thrive indoors.
Pillar 03
Tools, calendars, and timing references for growers planting now. Tony Petronio's regional weather column joins this section in the coming weeks.
ToolTool
Live planting calendar for Santa Clara County. What to plant this week, what's coming, and what's harvest-ready — by season, climate zone, and audience tier.
ReferenceReference
An interactive month-by-month planting calendar for the South Bay. Filter by what works in containers, on a balcony, or in the ground — with cool-season and warm-season distinctions called out clearly.
Pillar 04
Scrappy balcony, condo, and small-space gardening — the urban edge of the Guild. Honest about what works and what doesn't when "yard" isn't on the table. Folded in from Downtown Mister Gardener.
FoundationFoundation
The friendly intro to substrate for first-plant Apprentices. What roots actually want, why most bagged mix is bad at it, and the ten-minute fix using stuff at any garden center.
FoundationFoundation
The best first plant an Apprentice can own. Eight varieties worth knowing, light and water that actually works in apartments, propagation in a jar of water, and a note on pets.
Container vegetablesContainer vegetables
Container choice, variety selection, the sun math, and the watering reality. Everything an Apprentice needs to actually get fruit on a high-rise balcony.
Quick TipsQuick Tips
Basil, scallions, and mint — three soft-stemmed herbs that root reliably in a glass of water. Free plants from a $3 grocery bunch and a sunny windowsill.
Member-exclusive
Members get printable, designed-for-the-bench PDF versions of the Guild's foundational guides — plus deeper, longer Member-only Grow Guides on subjects we don't publish on the open site.
Each carries the Guild seal, your member name, and is sized to print on standard paper or take to the garden center on your phone.
Become a memberMember PDF · 24 pp
The Guild's bench notes — one printable page per plant, with substrate ratio, watering cadence, and red-flag failure modes.
Member PDF · 16 pp
Step-by-step protocol for moving tissue-culture plantlets from agar to soil — including the Guild's iodine-based deflasking method.
Member PDF · 32 pp
Forty native species that actually thrive in containers, with a county-by-county compatibility matrix and water-budget notes.
Member PDF · 12 pp
Month-by-month windows for repotting, broken out by plant family — the working calendar the Guild uses for its own collection.
