Founding Membership · Open now

The first thousand who help us build the Guild.

A one-time, lifetime membership in The Planters' Guild — capped at the first 1,000 people who help fund the work. Your name lives on the founding members wall. The price never goes up. It never expires.

How Founding Membership works

1,000 lifetime spots. Then the tier closes for good.

What it is

A guild needs founders before it can have members.

The Planters' Guild is an editorial publication — The Plant Library, The Substrate Library entries, Field Manual dossiers, Planting Tools, Field Notes, and the eventual physical destination where members can come learn, grow, and gather. The work is just beginning. The first thousand people who decide to help fund it become Founding Members.

Founding Membership is open from Guild launch (May 2026) until either the first 1,000 spots are taken or June 2027 — whichever comes first. After that, the tier closes permanently. No new Founding Members will be accepted at any price.

What's included

Six things every Founding Member gets, for life.

An ornate brass skeleton key with a filigree bow lying on aged kraft paper

Lifetime access

To every Member benefit, forever. No recurring charge. No expiration date.

An antique cloth-bound ledger with walnut leather corners, a vintage fountain pen resting on top, and round brass-rimmed reading glasses beside it on aged kraft paper

Free for everyone, funded by you

Your $200 keeps every Plant Profile, The Substrate Library entry, Field Manual, and Grow Guide freely readable. No paywalls, no ads.

A thick stack of cream cotton paper cards with deckled edges, with a dark-red wax seal bearing a botanical leaf motif and a brass paper-knife in front

Printable bench-notes

Member-only PDFs stamped with the Guild seal — workshop-formatted versions of the publication's most useful guides.

A blank polished brass nameplate on aged kraft paper, with engraving tools beside it: chamois polishing cloth, a brass-handled steel graver, and a brass-rimmed loupe

Your name on the wall

On the founding members wall — digital today, brass at the future physical Guild. Choose your display name, or stay anonymous. See the founders →

A small ornate brass hand bell with a worn walnut wood handle and jute twine tied at the neck, lying on aged kraft paper

Founding privileges

Early entry at the future physical Guild, founding event invitation, and moments held only for the original 1,000.

A cream paper envelope with a dark-red wax seal featuring a botanical motif, beside a vintage fountain pen with walnut barrel and brass nib

The Founder's monthly note

Direct correspondence from Christopher about what the Guild is building — before it goes public.

How membership works

Free to read. Three ways to fund.

The Planters' Guild stays free to read for everyone because Members, Founding Members, and one-time pledgers fund the work. Most people will just read — that's the point. The smaller group who choose to support have three paths.

Founding Member

$200 once · Capped at 1,000

Everything Members get, for life. No recurring charge, no expiration
Your name on the founding members wall — digital today, brass at the future physical Guild
Founding privileges at the physical Guild: early entry, founding event, moments held only for the original 1,000
A one-time act that funds the publication's first year

Claim your spot · $200

1,000 lifetime spots. Then the tier closes for good.

Member

$5 / month or $50 / year

Everything published, same as any reader gets — free, no paywall
Printable bench-notes PDFs with the Guild seal, workshop-formatted versions of the most-used guides
The Founder's monthly note, direct correspondence about what's being built
Your support keeps the publication free for everyone

Subscribe · $5 / month

Or pay annually: $50 / year (save $10). Cancel anytime.

One-time Pledge

Any amount from $5 · No commitment

Choose any amount; send it once
No recurring charge, no perks owed in return
Funds the publication's first year directly
For when you want to support the work without joining as a member

Support the Work

Not tax-deductible. The Planters' Guild LLC is a for-profit publication.

Most visitors will read for free, and the publication is built for them. Members, Founding Members, and one-time pledgers are how the smaller group who can support the work helps build the Guild faster.

A note from the founder

Why I'm asking before there's much to show.

The Planters' Guild is what I want plant content to be — patient, honest, written by someone who actually grows the things they write about. The site you're on today is the very beginning of it. There are a handful of articles, and more on the way.

The Founding Member tier exists because I'd rather build this with a thousand people who chose to fund it than with venture capital that would change what it has to be. The $200 you give today helps me publish, helps fund the eventual physical Guild, and locks you in as one of the original supporters when this becomes whatever it's going to become.

If you've gardened with me for years through Petruscio Farms or Downtown Mister Gardener, you've already been part of the work. This is the next chapter, and the door is open.

— Christopher Gunnuscio
Founder, The Planters' Guild

The offer

Help build the Guild from day one.

$200 one-time. Lifetime membership in the publication. Capped at 1,000 lifetime spots, then closed for good. Secure checkout via Stripe.

Claim your Founding spot →

Tax calculated at checkout based on your billing address. Full refund within 14 days, no questions asked. After 14 days the lifetime membership is final.

Not ready to commit yet? Read more about the Guild or browse the Grow Guides. The Founding tier stays open until the cap or June 2027.

Common questions

Before you decide.

What happens to my Founding Membership if the physical Guild never gets built?

Your lifetime membership in the publication continues regardless. The physical Guild is a long-term goal, not a precondition for membership benefits. If the physical site doesn't happen, the editorial benefits, member-only PDFs, the digital wall, and Founder's note continue forever as promised.

Can I cancel? Get a refund?

Full refund within 14 days of purchase, no questions asked. After 14 days the lifetime membership is final.

What if I want to support but $200 is more than I can do right now?

See the tiers above. The Member tier at $5/month or $50/year is the ongoing way to support the publication and unlock printable bench-notes plus the Founder's note. The One-time Pledge tier is a no-strings way to chip in any amount. And the publication itself stays free to read regardless — no payment required to access the editorial work.

How will my name appear on the founding members wall?

At checkout you choose how your name appears: your full name, a business name, a pseudonym, or anonymous. You can also opt out of the wall entirely while still being a Founding Member. Your name appears on the digital wall within a few minutes of payment, and on the brass plaque at the future physical Guild when it's built.

Where does my $200 actually go?

Hosting, content help to keep publishing consistent, photography commissioning, the eventual Astro site rebuild, and the working capital reserve for the e-commerce launch and physical buildout phases. None of it covers the founder's salary; Christopher's day-job continues during the build phase.

Is this tax-deductible?

No. The Planters' Guild LLC is a for-profit publication and the Guild is a paid membership product. If you'd like to support garden access and horticulture education in your area, look up local nonprofits doing that work — most counties have one.