Editorial Policy

Verdant Hearth is an independent publication. Our editorial process is designed to produce content that is accurate, useful, and free from undisclosed commercial influence.

Who writes our content

Every article is written or reviewed by a credentialed horticulturist on our editorial team. Each piece carries a visible author byline and a link to the author's full profile and credentials.

How we research

• Claims about plant biology, lighting science, or pesticides are based on peer-reviewed research, university extension publications, or established horticultural references.
• Product recommendations are based on hands-on testing by our editorial team, with measurements where applicable (e.g. PPFD for grow lights).
• When evidence is mixed or evolving, we say so.

Independence

Advertisers, affiliate networks, and PR agencies have no input on editorial content, ratings, or rankings. We do not accept payment in exchange for positive coverage. Sponsored content, when published, is clearly labelled.

Corrections

If you spot an error, please email corrections@verdanthearth.com. Verified errors are corrected promptly, with a dated correction note added to the article.

Updates

We review every published article at least once per year, and major guides more often. The "Updated" date on each article reflects the most recent substantive review.

AI use and content transparency

Some drafts on this site are produced with the help of AI writing tools. AI is never the final word: every draft is reviewed, fact-checked, and edited by a member of our horticultural editorial team before it is published, and the reviewing editor is credited in the byline. We do not publish unreviewed machine output, and we do not use AI to fabricate testing results, measurements, or personal experience.

Advertising and Google AdSense

This site is supported by advertising served through Google AdSense. Ads are clearly distinguishable from editorial content, are never disguised as navigation or article links, and we never encourage or incentivise clicks on ads. We do not place ads on pages without meaningful content, and we comply with the Google Publisher Policies, the Google Publisher Restrictions, and the EU user consent policy — including the consent banner shown to visitors in the EEA and UK. Advertising revenue has no influence on our editorial judgement.