Contribution guide

Add one plant well.

This page walks you from copying a prompt into ChatGPT to sending a complete Windowsill research pack. The goal is not fast volume. The goal is one useful, checkable plant entry.

Copy the prompt Read the steps Email the pack

ChatGPT is allowed as a helper, not as the source. A good contribution says where the facts came from and what is still uncertain.

Step by step

From prompt to finished pack.

Pick one plant

Choose one useful edible plant Windowsill may be missing. Do not start with ten plants.

Good: one herb, vegetable, edible flower, small fruit or local crop.
Bad: a giant unsorted list from memory.

Copy the prompt

Use the full starter prompt below. Replace the bracketed fields before sending it to ChatGPT.

Replace common name.
Add country or region.
Add Latin name only if you know it.

Ask ChatGPT for the pack

ChatGPT should return six files: plant JSON, source registry, field rationale, uncertainty notes, expert review status and PR or email text.

If sources are vague, ask it to improve them.
If it guesses, ask it to mark uncertainty.

Check before sending

Read the result before sending it. You do not need to be perfect, but you should catch obvious weak claims.

Botanical name makes sense.
Edible part and safety are clear.
Container context is realistic.

Send the pack

Email the result to api@windowsill.dk or open a GitHub issue or pull request.

Subject: Windowsill plant suggestion: [plant name]
Include sources and uncertainty notes.

Expect review

Windowsill may edit, reject or hold the suggestion. That is normal. The library is allowed to stay cautious.

Unsafe or unclear plants may stay out.
Regional uncertainty may need a note.

Copy prompt

Paste this into ChatGPT.

You are helping me prepare one plant contribution for the Windowsill API plant library.

Windowsill is a geo-climate edible plant recommendation API. It recommends plants for windowsill, balcony and garden contexts using location, orientation, season, plant habit, temperature, sun and uncertainty.

Important rules:
- Do not invent facts.
- Do not treat ChatGPT as the source.
- Use sources and say what each source supports.
- Mark weak or uncertain values clearly.
- Do not casually say a plant is edible if preparation, dosage, plant part or safety matters.
- Only include contexts where the plant can realistically work: windowsill, balcony, garden.
- If the plant is risky, invasive, toxic, medicinal, phototoxic or only conditionally edible, say so clearly.
- Do not add new schema fields. Do not add maturity_weeks.
- Use grow_time_weeks for estimated weeks from seed/sowing to first realistic edible harvest.
- Use weeks_from_transplant for estimated weeks from a young plant/transplant to first realistic edible harvest.
- Use hardiness_temp for approximate survival threshold, not active growth temperature.
- Use min_temp for practical lower threshold for active growth or realistic recommendation.
- Use optimal_temp for the practical growth sweet spot.
- Use max_temp for practical upper threshold before heat stress or quality problems become likely.

Plant I want to add:
[COMMON NAME]

Local name or language, if relevant:
[LOCAL NAME]

Country or region context:
[COUNTRY / REGION]

Known Latin name, if I know it:
[LATIN NAME OR "unknown"]

My personal observation, if any:
[HAVE YOU GROWN IT? WHERE? WHAT HAPPENED?]

Task:
Prepare a Windowsill research pack in this exact folder shape:

research-packs/WSL-XXXX-[plant-slug]/
  plant.json
  source_registry.md
  field_rationale.md
  uncertainty_notes.md
  expert_review.md
  pr_description.md

Return each file separately, with the filename as a heading.

1. plant.json
- Draft a candidate Windowsill plant JSON.
- Use WSL-XXXX as placeholder ID unless I provide the next ID.
- Include contributor_note with source and uncertainty summary.
- Include expert_review with this default state:
  - status: not_reviewed
  - model: three_independent_reviewers_per_plant
  - reviewers_required: 3
  - reviews: []
  - agreement_summary fields for botanical_name, edibility, container_fit, climate_fit and safety
  - decision: pending
- Include realistic values for:
  - min_temp
  - max_temp
  - optimal_temp
  - sun_hours
  - sun_direct
  - context
  - grow_time_weeks
  - weeks_from_transplant
  - hardiness_temp
  - hardiness_zone_min
  - habit
  - notes

2. source_registry.md
- List sources used.
- For each source, say exactly what it supports.
- Prefer botanical and horticultural sources over blogs.
- Separate personal observation from published sources.

3. field_rationale.md
- Explain why each modelling value was chosen.
- Explain timing fields using first realistic edible harvest, not biological maturity.
- If harvest is ongoing or cut-and-come-again, explain that in prose. Do not add a new field.
- Explain whether the plant fits:
  - windowsill
  - balcony
  - garden
- If a context is excluded, explain why.

4. uncertainty_notes.md
- List values that are estimates.
- List source disagreements.
- List safety, naming or regional uncertainty.

5. expert_review.md
- Mark status as not reviewed unless I provide real independent expert notes.
- Explain that Windowsill uses three independent reviewers per plant, not one authority score.
- Do not invent reviewer names or expert opinions.
- Include empty sections for Reviewer 1, Reviewer 2 and Reviewer 3.

6. pr_description.md
- Write a short pull-request or email description.
- Include sources.
- Include uncertainty.
- Include what still needs human review.

Before finalising:
- Check whether the accepted botanical name may differ from the common name.
- Check food safety and edible part carefully.
- Check whether the plant realistically fits a small container.
- If you are unsure, say "uncertain" instead of guessing.

Check

Before you send it.

The plant has a plausible accepted botanical name, or the name is marked uncertain.
The edible part is clear. Leaf, root, flower, fruit, seed or another specific part.
Food safety is not hand-waved. Toxic, medicinal, invasive, phototoxic or preparation-dependent plants are marked clearly.
The suggested context is realistic. Not every plant belongs on a windowsill.
Temperature and sun values are explained as estimates when sources disagree.
ChatGPT is not listed as a source. It is only the drafting assistant.

Send

Use this email shape.

To: api@windowsill.dk
Subject: Windowsill plant suggestion: [plant name]

Hi,

I prepared a Windowsill plant research pack for [plant name].

Included:
- plant.json
- source_registry.md
- field_rationale.md
- uncertainty_notes.md
- expert_review.md
- pr_description.md

Main uncertainty:
[short note]

Sources used:
[short list]

Personal observation, if any:
[short note]

Thanks.

Open email Open GitHub