This policy explains what HowToStartaVegetableGarden.com collects when you read it. The short version: no account, no email list, and analytics that do not identify you. The site does carry Google AdSense advertising, which sets its own cookies — that is set out in full in the advertising section below.
What we do not collect
- No cookies of our own. We set none. Google AdSense sets its own — see the advertising section, which explains what they do and how to turn personalised ads off.
- No accounts or sign-ups. There is nothing to register for.
- No email list. There is no newsletter and no form that captures an address.
- No contact forms. If you email us, we have your address because you sent it — nothing more.
- No social trackers. No Facebook pixel, no embedded social widgets.
What is collected
Aggregate analytics. We use Plausible Analytics, a privacy-focused, cookieless analytics service, to see which pages get read and roughly where readers come from. Plausible does not use cookies, does not collect or store personal data, and does not track you across websites or over time. It records aggregate counts only: page URL, referrer, browser and operating system, device type, and country — all derived without a persistent identifier.
Plausible processes and stores its data on servers in the European Union. You can read the details in the Plausible data policy.
Server logs. The site is hosted on Cloudflare Pages. Like any web host, Cloudflare processes technical request data — including IP address — to serve pages and protect against abuse. This is standard infrastructure logging, retained by Cloudflare under its own policies, and it is not used by us for analytics or profiling. See the Cloudflare privacy policy.
Email you send us. If you write to hello@howtostartavegetablegarden.com, we keep the message and your address for as long as needed to reply and to track corrections. We do not add you to any list, and we do not use your address for anything else.
Local storage
If you choose a USDA zone in the planting calendar tool, that choice is saved in your browser’s local storage so the tool remembers it next time. It never leaves your device, it is not a cookie, and it is not sent to us or to anyone else. Clearing your browser data removes it.
Links to other sites
Guides link to external sources such as the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map and cooperative extension services. Those sites have their own privacy practices, and we are not responsible for them.
Advertising and affiliate links
This site may carry advertising and affiliate links to cover the cost of running it. Where it does, that is disclosed on the page where it appears.
Affiliate links are ordinary links. If you follow one and buy something, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. They set no cookies of ours and send us no information about you — the retailer at the other end handles the purchase under its own privacy policy, so read theirs if that matters to you.
Advertising is served by Google AdSense (publisher ID ca-pub-3174922327325961), added on 12 September 2026. Google is a third-party vendor and it, along with its advertising partners, sets cookies and uses similar technologies on this site.
What that means in practice:
- Google uses cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this site and to other sites, and to measure how ads perform.
- Third-party vendors and ad networks working with Google may also serve ads here and set their own cookies.
- We do not receive, see or store any of this data. It is handled by Google under the Google Privacy Policy and the Google advertising terms.
How to control it:
- You can opt out of personalised advertising at Google Ads Settings.
- You can opt out of third-party vendors’ use of cookies for personalised advertising at aboutads.info/choices or youronlinechoices.eu in Europe.
- Your browser’s own cookie controls will block them too, and the site works perfectly well without them.
If you are in the EU, UK or Switzerland, you will be asked for consent before personalised advertising cookies are set, and you can change or withdraw that choice at any time through the same prompt.
Your rights
Because we do not build profiles or store personal data beyond email you choose to send, there is very little held about you. You can still email hello@howtostartavegetablegarden.com to ask what we hold about you, to request a copy, or to ask us to delete it — including any correspondence.
Advertising data is the exception: Google holds it, not us, so requests about it go to Google through the links in the advertising section.
If you are in the EU or UK, you have rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection and portability under the GDPR. If you are in California, you have the right to know what personal information is collected and to request its deletion under the CCPA. We do not sell personal information, and we never have.
Children
This site is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect information from them.
Changes
Material changes to this policy will be reflected in the “last updated” date at the top of this page.
Contact
Questions about this policy: hello@howtostartavegetablegarden.com