Farmers Bounty – User Guide
Farmers Bounty – User Guide
Complete documentation for using the Farmers Bounty WordPress plugin.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Getting Started
- Features Overview
- Configuration
- Using the Plugin
- Advanced Topics
- FAQ
- Support
Introduction
Farmers Bounty is a comprehensive WordPress plugin designed to help gardeners plan, maintain, and optimize their gardens according to local climate conditions and USDA hardiness zones.
Who Is This For?
- Home gardeners in Georgia
- Landscape professionals
- Community gardens
- Garden clubs and organizations
- Anyone interested in Georgia native plants
What You’ll Learn
This guide will teach you how to:
- Configure the plugin for your location
- Access zone-specific planting information
- Use garden planning tools
- Get seasonal gardening tips
- Identify and manage common pests
Getting Started
Requirements
- WordPress: Version 5.0 or higher
- PHP: Version 7.2 or higher
- MySQL: Version 5.6 or higher
- User Role: Administrator (for configuration)
Installation
See the Quick Start Guide for detailed installation instructions.
Features Overview
Current Features (v1.0.0)
1. Hardiness Zone Configuration
Set your specific Georgia hardiness zone (6a-9a) to receive customized recommendations.
2. Admin Dashboard
Centralized control panel with:
- Quick access to all features
- Overview of available tools
- Links to settings and documentation
3. Settings Management
Configure:
- Your hardiness zone
- Notification preferences
- Plugin behavior options
Coming Soon
- Planting Calendar: Month-by-month planting schedules
- Native Plant Database: Searchable database of Georgia natives
- Seasonal Tips: Automated reminders and advice
- Pest Guide: Identification and management strategies
- Garden Planner: Visual garden layout tools
Configuration
Accessing Settings
- Log in to WordPress admin
- Click Farmers Bounty in the left menu
- Select Settings from the submenu
Hardiness Zone Settings
Understanding Georgia Zones
Zone 6a (-10°F to -5°F)
- Location: Highest elevations in North Georgia mountains
- Examples: Blairsville, Young Harris
- Growing Season: ~180 days
Zone 6b (-5°F to 0°F)
- Location: North Georgia mountains
- Examples: Blue Ridge, Ellijay
- Growing Season: ~190 days
Zone 7a (0°F to 5°F)
- Location: North Georgia foothills
- Examples: Dahlonega, Jasper
- Growing Season: ~200 days
Zone 7b (5°F to 10°F)
- Location: North Georgia / Northern Metro Atlanta
- Examples: Marietta, Roswell, Canton
- Growing Season: ~210 days
Zone 8a (10°F to 15°F)
- Location: Central Georgia / Most of Metro Atlanta
- Examples: Atlanta, Athens, Augusta
- Growing Season: ~220-240 days
Zone 8b (15°F to 20°F)
- Location: Central to South Georgia
- Examples: Macon, Columbus, Milledgeville
- Growing Season: ~240-260 days
Zone 9a (20°F to 25°F)
- Location: South Georgia / Coastal areas
- Examples: Savannah, Brunswick, Valdosta
- Growing Season: ~270+ days
Selecting Your Zone
- In the Settings page, find the “Georgia Hardiness Zone” dropdown
- Select the zone that matches your location
- Click Save Changes
Tip: If you’re on a zone boundary, choose the colder zone to be safe with plant selections.
Notification Settings
Enable or disable seasonal gardening reminders:
- Enabled: Receive notifications about:
- Optimal planting times
- Seasonal maintenance tasks
- Weather-related alerts
- Pest prevention tips
- Disabled: No notifications will be sent
Using the Plugin
Dashboard Overview
The main Farmers Bounty dashboard provides:
- Welcome Section
- Quick overview of plugin capabilities
- Feature highlights
- Feature List
- Current available features
- Links to upcoming features
- Quick Links
- Direct access to settings
- Documentation links
- Support resources
- Getting Started Guide
- Step-by-step checklist
- Configuration tips
Zone-Specific Information
Once you’ve set your hardiness zone, the plugin customizes all recommendations for your area, including:
- Planting dates
- Plant varieties
- Maintenance schedules
- Pest alerts
Advanced Topics
Customization
The plugin is built with extensibility in mind. Developers can:
Hooks and Filters
// Example: Modify zone data
add_filter('georgia_gardener_zone_data', function($zone_data, $zone) {
// Customize zone data
return $zone_data;
}, 10, 2);
Custom Templates
Override plugin templates by copying them to your theme:
your-theme/
└── farmers-bounty/
└── templates/
└── your-template.php
Integration with Other Plugins
Farmers Bounty is designed to work alongside:
- SEO plugins
- Page builders
- Form plugins
- E-commerce plugins (for selling plants/supplies)
Performance Optimization
The plugin is optimized for performance:
- Minimal database queries
- Efficient asset loading
- Caching support
- Lazy loading where appropriate
FAQ
General Questions
Q: Can I use this plugin outside of Georgia? A: While optimized for Georgia, the plugin works in any location with similar USDA hardiness zones (6a-9a).
Q: Is the plugin free? A: Yes, Farmers Bounty is released under GPL v2 or later license.
Q: Will this work with my theme? A: Yes, the plugin is theme-agnostic and works with any properly coded WordPress theme.
Technical Questions
Q: What data does the plugin collect? A: The plugin only stores your zone preference and settings locally in your WordPress database.
Q: Is the plugin translation-ready? A: Yes, all text is internationalized and ready for translation.
Q: Can I contribute to the plugin? A: Yes! Contact the plugin author about contribution guidelines.
Troubleshooting
Q: Settings won’t save A: Check file permissions on your wp-content directory. Ensure they’re set to 755.
Q: Plugin menu doesn’t appear A: Verify you’re logged in with Administrator privileges.
Q: Conflicts with other plugins A: Try deactivating other plugins one by one to identify the conflict.
Support
Getting Help
- Documentation: Review this guide and other documentation files
- Quick Start: Check the Quick Start Guide
- Troubleshooting: See the Troubleshooting Guide
- Contact Support: Reach out to the plugin author
Reporting Bugs
When reporting bugs, include:
- WordPress version
- PHP version
- Active plugins
- Theme name and version
- Steps to reproduce
- Error messages (if any)
Feature Requests
We welcome feature suggestions! Please include:
- Description of the feature
- Use case / benefit
- Priority (nice to have / must have)
Botanical Garden AI Skills (v8.3.0+)
Farmers Bounty includes 30 specialist AI skills covering botanical garden roles in horticulture (11 skills), science & conservation (8 skills), education (7 skills), and outreach (4 skills). These provide domain expertise, professional workflows, terminology, and output templates. See CLAUDE.md or the v3.0.0 User Guide for the full inventory.
