Hydroponics (from the Greek words hydro water and ponos labour) is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, without soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel, or mineral wool.
Plant physiology researchers discovered in the 19th century that plants absorb essential mineral nutrients as inorganic ions in water. In natural conditions, soil acts as a mineral nutrient reservoir but the soil itself is not essential to plant growth. When the mineral nutrients in the soil dissolve in water, plant roots are able to absorb them. When the required mineral nutrients are introduced into a plant's water supply artificially, soil is no longer required for the plant to thrive. Almost any terrestrial plant will grow with hydroponics. Hydroponics is also a standard technique in biology research and teaching.
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History
The study of crop nutrition began thousands of years ago. Ancient history tells us that various experiments were undertaken by Theophrastus (372-287 B.C.), while several writings of Dioscorides on botany dating from the first century A.D., are still in existence.
The earliest published work on growing terrestrial plants without soil was the 1627 book, Sylva Sylvarum by Sir Francis Bacon, printed a year after his death. Water culture became a popular research technique after that. In 1699, John Woodward published his water culture experiments with spearmint. He found that plants in less pure water sources grew better than plants in distilled water. By 1842 a list of nine elements believed to be essential to plant growth had been made out, and the discoveries of the German botanists, Julius von Sachs and Wilhelm Knop, in the years 1859-65, resulted in a development of the technique of soilless cultivation[2]. Growth of terrestrial plants without soil in mineral nutrient solutions was called solution culture. It quickly became a standard research and teaching technique and is still widely used today. Solution culture is now considered a type of hydroponics where there is no inert medium.
In 1929, Professor William Frederick Gericke of the University of California at Berkeley began publicly promoting that solution culture be used for agricultural crop production. He first termed it aquaculture but later found that aquaculture was already applied to culture of aquatic organisms. Gericke created a sensation by growing tomato vines twenty-five feet high in his back yard in mineral nutrient solutions rather than soil. By analogy with the ancient Greek term for agriculture, geoponics, the science of cultivating the earth, Gericke introduced the term hydroponics in 1937 (although he asserts that the term was suggested by Dr. W. A. Setchell, of the University of California) for the culture of plants in water (from the Greek hydros, "water", and ponos, "labor").
Reports of Gericke's work and his claims that hydroponics would revolutionize plant agriculture prompted a huge number of requests for further information. Gericke refused to reveal his secrets claiming he had done the work at home on his own time. This refusal eventually resulted in his leaving the University of California. In 1940, he wrote the book, Complete Guide to Soilless Gardening.
Two other plant nutritionists at the University of California were asked to research Gericke's claims. Dennis R. Hoagland and Daniel I. Arnon wrote a classic 1938 agricultural bulletin, The Water Culture Method for Growing Plants Without Soil, debunking the exaggerated claims made about hydroponics. Hoagland and Arnon found that hydroponic crop yields were no better than crop yields with good quality soils. Crop yields were ultimately limited by factors other than mineral nutrients, especially light. This research, however, overlooked the fact that hydroponics has other advantages including the fact that the roots of the plant have constant access to oxygen and that the plants have access to as much or as little water as they need. This is important as one of the most common errors when growing is over- and under- watering; and hydroponics prevents this from occurring as large amounts of water can be made available to the plant and any water not used, drained away, recirculated, or actively aerated, eliminating anoxic conditions which drown root systems in soil. In soil, a grower needs to be very experienced to know exactly how much water to feed the plant. Too much and the plant will not be able to access oxygen; too little and the plant will lose the ability to transport nutrients, which are typically moved into the roots while in solution.
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These two researchers developed several formulas for mineral nutrient solutions, known as Hoagland solutions. Modified Hoagland solutions are still used today.
One of the early successes of hydroponics occurred on Wake Island, a rocky atoll in the Pacific Ocean used as a refueling stop for Pan American Airlines. Hydroponics was used there in the 1930s to grow vegetables for the passengers. Hydroponics was a necessity on Wake Island because there was no soil, and it was prohibitively expensive to airlift in fresh vegetables.
In the 1960s, Allen Cooper of England developed the Nutrient Film Technique. The Land Pavilion at Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center opened in 1982 and prominently features a variety of hydroponic techniques. In recent decades, NASA has done extensive hydroponic research for their Controlled Ecological Life Support System or CELSS. Hydroponics intended to take place on Mars are using LED lighting to grow in different color spectrum with much less heat.
Origin
Soilless culture
Gericke originally defined hydroponics as crop growth in mineral nutrient solutions, with no solid medium for the roots. He objected in print to people who applied the term hydroponics to other types of soilless culture such as sand culture and gravel culture. The distinction between hydroponics and soilless culture of plants has often been blurred. Soilless culture is a broader term than hydroponics; it only requires that no soils with clay or silt are used. Note that sand is a type of soil yet sand culture is considered a type of soilless culture. Hydroponics is a subset of soilless culture. Many types of soilless culture do not use the mineral nutrient solutions required for hydroponics.
Billions of container plants are produced annually, including fruit, shade and ornamental trees, shrubs, forest seedlings, vegetable seedlings, bedding plants, herbaceous perennials and vines. Most container plants are produced in soilless media, representing soilless culture. However, most are not hydroponics because the soilless medium often provides some of the mineral nutrients via slow release fertilizers, cation exchange and decomposition of the organic medium itself. Most soilless media for container plants also contain organic materials such as peat or composted bark, which provide some nitrogen to the plant. Greenhouse growth of plants in peat bags is often termed hydroponics, but technically it is not because the medium provides some of the mineral nutrients. Peat has a high cation exchange capacity and must be amended with limestone to raise the pH value.
Advantages
Today, hydroponics is an established branch of agronomical science. Progress has been rapid, and results obtained in various countries have proved it to be thoroughly practical and to have very definite advantages over conventional methods of horticulture. The two chief merits of the soilless cultivation of plants are, first, much higher crop yields, and secondly, the fact that hydroponics can be used in places where ordinary agriculture or gardening is impossible. Thus not only is it a profitable undertaking, but one which has proved of great benefit to humanity. People living in crowded city streets, without gardens, can grow fresh vegetables and fruits in window-boxes or on house tops. By means of hydroponics all such places can be made to yield a regular and abundant supply of clean, health-giving greenstuff. Not only town dwellers, but also country residents have cause to be thankful to soiless culture. Deserts, rocky and stony land in mountainous districs or barren and sterile areas can be made productive at relatively low cost. It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of hydroponics for it has given a new lease of life to the landless worker.
Other advantages include faster growth combined with relative freedom from soil diseases, and very consistent crops, the quality of produce being excellent. There is also a considerable reduction in growing area, weeds are practically non-existant, while standard methods and automatic operations mean less labor, less cost, and no hard manual work. Some plants can be raised, out of season, better control of crops naturally results in addition to no dirt and no smells. Waterlogging never occurs now. Chemically grown plants are not inferior to naturally reared ones in point of flavor, nor have analyses shown any deficiency in vitamin content. In fact, hydroponic fruits and vegetables are sweeter and more luscious than those grown in ordinary soil.
Techniques
The two main types of hydroponics are solution culture and medium culture. Solution culture does not use a solid medium for the roots, just the nutrient solution. The three main types of solution culture are static solution culture, continuous flow solution culture and aeroponics. The medium culture method has a solid medium for the roots and is named for the type of medium, e.g. sand culture, gravel culture or rockwool culture. There are two main variations for each medium, subirrigation and top irrigation. For all techniques, most hydroponic reservoirs are now built of plastic but other materials have been used including concrete, glass, metal, vegetable solids and wood. The containers should exclude light to prevent algae growth in the nutrient solution.
Static solution culture
In static solution culture, plants are grown in containers of nutrient solution, such as glass Mason jars (typically in-home applications), plastic buckets, tubs or tanks. The solution is usually gently aerated but may be unaerated. If unaerated, the solution level is kept low enough that enough roots are above the solution so they get adequate oxygen. A hole is cut in the lid of the reservoir for each plant. There can be one to many plants per reservoir. Reservoir size can be increased as plant size increases. A homemade system can be constructed from plastic food containers or glass canning jars with aeration provided by an aquarium pump, aquarium airline tubing and aquarium valves. Clear containers are covered with aluminium foil, butcher paper, black plastic or other material to exclude light, thus helping to eliminate the formation of algae. The nutrient solution is either changed on a schedule, such as once per week, or when the concentration drops below a certain level as determined with an electrical conductivity meter. Whenever the solution is depleted below a certain level, either water or fresh nutrient solution is added. A Mariotte's bottle can be used to automatically maintain the solution level. In raft solution culture, plants are placed in a sheet of buoyant plastic that is floated on the surface of the nutrient solution. That way, the solution level never drops below the roots.
Continuous flow solution culture
In continuous flow solution culture the nutrient solution constantly flows past the roots. It is much easier to automate than the static solution culture because sampling and adjustments to the temperature and nutrient concentrations can be made in a large storage tank that serves potentially thousands of plants. A popular variation is the nutrient film technique or NFT whereby a very shallow stream of water containing all the dissolved nutrients required for plant growth is recirculated past the bare roots of plants in a watertight gully, also known as channels. Ideally, the depth of the recirculating stream should be very shallow, little more than a film of water, hence the name 'nutrient film'. This ensures that the thick root mat, which develops in the bottom of the channel, has an upper surface which, although moist, is in the air. Subsequently, there is an abundant supply of oxygen to the roots of the plants. A properly designed NFT system is based on using the right channel slope, the right flow rate and the right channel length. The main advantage of the NFT system over other forms of hydroponics is that the plant roots are exposed to adequate supplies of water, oxygen and nutrients. In all other forms of production there is a conflict between the supply of these requirements, since excessive or deficient amounts of one results in an imbalance of one or both of the others. NFT, because of its design, provides a system where all three requirements for healthy plant growth can be met at the same time, providing the simple concept of NFT is always remembered and practised. The result of these advantages is that higher yields of high quality produce are obtained over an extended period of cropping. A downside of NFT is that it has very little buffering against interruptions in the flow e.g. power outages, but overall, it is probably one of the more productive techniques.
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The same design characteristics apply to all conventional NFT systems. While slopes along channels of 1:100 have been recommended, in practice it is difficult to build a base for channels that is sufficiently true to enable nutrient films to flow without ponding in locally depressed areas. Consequently, it is recommended that slopes of 1:30 to 1:40 are used. This allows for minor irregularities in the surface but, even with these slopes, ponding and waterlogging may occur. The slope may be provided by the floor, or benches or racks may hold the channels and provide the required slope. Both methods are used and depend on local requirements, often determined by the site and crop requirements.
As a general guide, flow rates for each gully should be 1 liter per minute. At planting, rates may be half this and the upper limit of 2L/min appears about the maximum. Flow rates beyond these extremes are often associated with nutritional problems. Depressed growth rates of many crops have been observed when channels exceed 12 metres in length. On rapidly growing crops, tests have indicated that, while oxygen levels remain adequate, nitrogen may be depleted over the length of the gully. Consequently, channel length should not exceed 10-15 metres. In situations where this is not possible, the reductions in growth can be eliminated by placing another nutrient feed half way along the gully and reducing flow rates to 1L/min through each outlet.
Aeroponics
Main article: Aeroponics
Aeroponics is a system where roots are continuously or discontinuously in an environment saturated with fine drops (a mist or aerosol) of nutrient solution. The method requires no substrate and entails growing plants with their roots suspended in a deep air or growth chamber with the roots periodically wetted with a fine mist of atomized nutrients. Excellent aeration is the main advantage of aeroponics.
Aeroponic techniques have proved very successful for propagation, but have yet to prove themselves on a commercial scale. Aeroponics is also widely used in laboratory studies of plant physiology. Aeroponic techniques have been given special attention from NASA since a mist is easier to handle than a liquid in a zero gravity environment.
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Passive subirrigation
Main article: Passive hydroponics
Passive subirrigation, also known as passive hydroponics or semi-hydroponics, is a method where plants are grown in an inert porous medium that transports water and fertilizer to the roots by capillary action from a separate reservoir as necessary, reducing labor and providing a constant supply of water to the roots. In the simplest method, the pot sits in a shallow solution of fertilizer and water or on a capillary mat saturated with nutrient solution. The various hydroponic media available, such as expanded clay and coconut husk, contain more air space than more traditional potting mixes, delivering increased oxygen to the roots, which is important in epiphytic plants such as orchids and bromeliads, whose roots are exposed to the air in nature. Additional advantages of passive hydroponics are the reduction of root rot and the additional ambient humidity provided through evaporation.
Ebb and flow / Flood and drain subirrigation
Main article: Ebb and flow
In its simplest form, there is a tray above a reservoir of nutrient solution. The tray is either filled with growing medium (clay granules being the most common) and planted directly, or pots of medium stand in the tray. At regular intervals, a simple timer causes a pump to fill the upper tray with nutrient solution, after which the solution drains back down into the reservoir. This keeps the medium regularly flushed with nutrients and air.
Top irrigation
In Top irrigation, nutrient solution is periodically applied to the medium surface. This may be done manually once per day in large containers of some media, such as sand. Usually, it is automated with a pump, timer and drip irrigation tubing to deliver nutrient solution as frequently as 5 to 10 minutes every hour.
Deep water culture
Main article: Deep water culture
The hydroponic method of plant production by means of suspending the plant roots in a solution of nutrient rich, oxygenated water. Traditional methods favor the use of plastic buckets and large containers with the plant contained in a net pot suspended from the centre of the lid and the roots suspended in the nutrient solution.
Media
One of the most obvious decisions hydroponic farmer's have to make is which medium they should use. Different media are appropriate for different growing techniques.
Diahydro
Diahydro is a natural sedimentary rock medium that consists of the fossilized remains of diatoms. Diahydro is extremely high in Silica (87-94%), an essential component for the growth of plants and strengthening of cell walls.
Expanded clay
Hydroton brand expanded clay pebbles.Baked clay pellets, also known under the trademarks 'Hydroton' or LECA (light expanded clay aggregate), are suitable for hydroponic systems in which all nutrients are carefully controlled in water solution. The clay pellets are inert, pH neutral and do not contain any nutrient value.
The clay is formed into round pellets and fired in rotary kilns at 1200°C. This causes the clay to expand, like popcorn, and become porous. It is light in weight, and does not compact over time. Shape of individual pellet can be irregular or uniform depending on brand and manufacturing process. The manufacturers consider expanded clay to be an ecologically sustainable and re-usable growing medium because of its ability to be cleaned and sterilized, typically by washing in solutions of white vinegar, chlorine bleach or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and rinsing completely.
A less popular view is that clay pebbles are best not re-used even when they are cleaned, due to root growth which may enter the medium. Breaking open a clay pebble after a crop has been grown will reveal this growth.
Rock wool
Rock wool (mineral wool) is probably the most widely used medium in hydroponics. Rockwool is an inert substrate for both 'free drainage' and recirculating systems.
Coir
Coco Peat, also known as coir or coco, is the leftover material after the fibres have been removed from the outermost shell (bolster) of the coconut. Coir is a 100% natural grow and flowering medium.
Perlite
Perlite is a volcanic rock that has been superheated into very lightweight expanded glass pebbles. It is used loose or in plastic sleeves immersed in the water. It is also used in potting soil mixes to decrease soil density. Perlite has similar properties and uses to vermiculite but generally holds more air and less water. If not contained, it can float if flood and drain feeding is used.
Vermiculite
Like perlite, vermiculite is another mineral that has been superheated until it has expanded into light pebbles. Vermiculite holds more water than perlite and has a natural "wicking" property that can draw water and nutrients in a passive hydroponic system. If too much water and not enough air surrounds the plants roots, it's possible to gradually lower the medium's water-retention capability by mixing in increasing quantities of perlite.
Sand
Sand is cheap and easily available. However, it is heavy, it does not always drain well, and it must be sterilized between use.
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Gravel
The same type that is used in aquariums, though any small gravel can be used, provided it is washed first. Indeed, plants growing in a typical traditional gravel filter bed, with water circulated using electric powerhead pumps, are in effect being grown using gravel hydroponics. Gravel is inexpensive, easy to keep clean, drains well and won't become waterlogged. However, it is also heavy, and if the system doesn't provide continuous water, the plant roots may dry out.
Brick shards
Brick shards have similar properties to gravel. They have the added disadvantages of possibly altering the pH and requiring extra cleaning before reuse.
Polystyrene packing peanuts
Polystyrene packing peanuts are inexpensive, readily available, and have excellent drainage. However, they can be too lightweight for some uses. They are mainly used in closed tube systems. Note that polystyrene peanuts must be used; biodegradable packing peanuts will decompose into a sludge. Plants may absorb styrene and pass it to their consumers; this is a possible health risk.
Nutrient solutions
Plant nutrients are dissolved in the water used in hydroponics and are mostly in inorganic and ionic form. Primary among the dissolved cations (positively-charged ions) are Ca2+ (calcium), Mg2+ (magnesium), and K+ (potassium); the major nutrient anions in nutrient solutions are NO3− (nitrate), SO42− (sulfate), and H2PO4− (dihydrogen phosphate).
Numerous 'recipes' for hydroponic solutions are available. Many use different combinations of chemicals to reach similar total final compositions. Commonly-used chemicals for the macronutrients include potassium nitrate, calcium nitrate, potassium phosphate, and magnesium sulfate. Various micronutrients are typically added to hydroponic solutions to supply essential elements; among them are Fe (iron), Mn (manganese), Cu (copper), Zn (zinc), B (boron), Cl (chlorine), and Ni (nickel). Chelating agents are sometimes used to keep Fe soluble. Many variations of the nutrient solutions used by Arnon and Hoagland (see above) have been styled 'modified Hoagland solutions' and are widely used.
Plants will change the composition of the nutrient solutions upon contact by depleting specific nutrients more rapidly than others, removing water from the solution, and altering the pH by excretion of either acidity or alkalinity. Care is required not to allow salt concentrations to become too high, nutrients to become too depleted, or pH to wander far from the desired value.
Commercial
A miniature garden using hydroponics and aeroponics.Due to its arid climate, Israel has developed advanced hydroponic technology. They have marketed their system to Nicaragua, which uses it to produce more than one million pounds of peppers annually for sale abroad, including the United States.
The largest commercial hydroponics facility in the world is Eurofresh Farms in Willcox, Arizona, which sold 125 million pounds of tomatoes in 2005.[3] Eurofresh has 256 acres under glass and represents about a third of the commercial hydroponic greenhouse area in the U.S. [4] Eurofresh does not consider their tomatoes organic, but they are pesticide-free. They are grown in rockwool with top irrigation.
Some commercial installations use no pesticides or herbicides, preferring integrated pest management techniques. There is often a price premium willingly paid by consumers for produce which is labeled "organic". Some states in the USA require soil as an essential to obtain organic certification. There are also overlapping and somewhat contradictory rules established by the US Federal Government, so some food grown with hydroponics can be certified organic.
Hydroponics also saves an incredible amount of water; it uses as little as 1/20 the amount as a regular farm to produce the same amount of food. The water table can be impacted by the water use and run-off of chemicals from farms, but hydroponics may minimize impact as well as having the advantage that water use and water returns are easier to measure. This can save the farmer money by allowing reduced water use and the ability to measure consequences to the land around a farm.
To increase plant growth, lighting systems such as metal halide or high pressure sodium are used to lengthen the day or to supplement natural sunshine if it is scarce. Metal halide emits more light in the blue spectrum, making it ideal for plant growth. High pressure sodium emits more light in the red spectrum, meaning that it is best suited for supplementing natural sunshine. However, these lighting systems require large amounts of electricity (and hence high electrical expenses) to operate.
The environment in a hydroponics greenhouse is tightly controlled for maximum efficiency and this new mindset is called Soil-less/Controlled Environment Agriculture (S/CEA). With this growers can make ultra-premium foods anywhere in the world, regardless of temperature and growing seasons. Growers monitor the temperature, humidity, and pH level constantly.
Hydroponics have been used to enhance vegetables to provide more nutritional value. A hydroponic farmer in Virginia has developed a calcium and potassium enriched head of lettuce, scheduled to be widely available in April 2007. Grocers in test markets have said that the lettuce sells "very well", and the farmers claim that their hydroponic lettuce uses 90% less water than traditional soil farming.
Advancements
With pest problems reduced, and nutrients constantly fed to the roots, productivity in hydroponics is high, plant growth being limited by the low levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, or limited light. To increase yield further, some sealed greenhouses inject carbon dioxide into their environment to help growth (CO2 enrichment), or add lights to lengthen the day, control vegetative growth etc.
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Sunday, 30 November 2008
Insecticides
An insecticide is a pesticide used against insects in all developmental forms. They include ovicides and larvicides used against the eggs and larvae of insects respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and the household. The use of insecticides is believed to be one of the major factors behind the increase in agricultural productivity in the 20th century. Nearly all insecticides have the potential to significantly alter ecosystems; many are toxic to humans; and others are concentrated in the food chain. It is necessary to balance agricultural needs with environmental and health issues when using insecticides.
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Classes of agricultural insecticides
The classification of insecticides is done in several different ways:
Systemic insecticides are incorporated by treated plants. Insects ingest the insecticide while feeding on the plants.
Contact insecticides are toxic to insects brought into direct contact. Efficacy is often related to the quality of pesticide application, with small droplets (such as aerosols) often improving performance.
Natural insecticides, such as nicotine and pyrethrum, are made by plants as defences against insects. Nicotine based insecticides have been barred in the U.S. since 2001 to prevent residues from contaminating foods.
Inorganic insecticides are manufactured with metals and include arsenates copper- and fluorine compounds, which are now seldom used, and sulfur, which is commonly used.
Organic insecticides are synthetic chemicals which comprise the largest numbers of pesticides available for use today.
Mode of action – how the pesticide kills or inactivates a pest – is another way of classifying insecticides. Mode of action is important in predicting whether an insecticide will be toxic to unrelated species such as fish, birds and mammals.
Heavy metals, e.g. lead, mercury, arsenic, as well as plant toxins such as nicotine have been used for many years. Various plants have been used as folk insecticides for centuries, including tobacco and pyrethrum. Some farmers are reporting successfully using spray of crudely fermented alcohol as an effective insecticide.
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Organochlorine compounds
The insectcidal properties of the best known representative of this class of insecticides, DDT, was made by the Swiss Scientist Paul Műller. For this discovery, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1948. DDT was introduced on the market in 1944. With the rise of the modern chemical industry it was possible to make chlorinated hydrocarbons. DDT works by opening the sodium channels in the nerve cells of the insect.
Organophosphates
The next large class developed was the organophosphates, which bind to acetylcholinesterase and other cholinesterases. This results in disruption of nervous impulses, killing the insect or interfering with its ability to carry on normal functions. Organophosphate insecticides and chemical warfare nerve agents (such as sarin, tabun, soman and VX) work in the same way. Organophosphates have an additive toxic effect to wildlife, so multiple exposures to the chemicals amplifies the toxicity.
Carbamate insecticides have similar toxic mechanisms but have a much shorter duration of action and are thus somewhat less toxic.
Pyrethroids
To mimic the insecticidal activity of the natural compound pyrethrum another class of pesticides, pyrethroid pesticides, have been developed. These are nonpersistent and much less acutely toxic than organophosphates and carbamates.
Neonicotinoids
Neonicotinoids are synthetic analogues of the natural insecticide nicotine (with a much lower acute mammalian toxicity and greater field persistence). Broad-spectrum – systemic insecticides with a rapid action (minutes-hours). They are applied as sprays, drenches, seed and soil treatments - often as substitutes for organophosphates and carbamates. Treated insects exhibit leg tremors, rapid wing motion, stylet withdrawal (aphids), disorientated movement, paralysis and death.
Biological insecticides
Recent efforts to reduce broad spectrum toxins added to the environment have brought biological insecticides back into vogue. An example is the development and increase in use of Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacterial disease of Lepidopterans and some other insects. It is used as a larvicide against a wide variety of caterpillars. Because it has little effect on other organisms, it is considered more environmentally friendly than synthetic pesticides. The toxin from B. thuringiensis (Bt toxin) has been incorporated directly into plants through the use of genetic engineering. Other biological insecticides include products based on entomopathogenic fungi (e.g. Metarhizium anisopliae), nematodes (e.g. Steinernema feltiae) and viruses (e.g. Cydia pomonella granulovirus).
Environmental effects
Effects on nontarget species
Some insecticides kill or harm other creatures in addition to those they are intended to kill. For example, birds may be poisoned when they eat food that was recently sprayed with insecticides or when they mistake insecticide granules on the ground for food and eat it.
Sprayed insecticides may drift from the area to which it is applied and into wildlife areas, especially when it is sprayed aerially.
DDT
Main article: DDT
One of the bigger drivers in the development of new insecticides has been the desire to replace toxic and irksome insecticides. DDT was introduced as a safer alternative to the lead and arsenic compounds. It is the case that when used under the correct conditions that almost any chemical substance is 'safe', but when used under the wrong conditions most insecticides can be a threat to health and/or the environment.
Some insecticides have been banned due to the fact that they are persistent toxins which have adverse effects on animals and/or humans. An oft-quoted case is that of DDT, an example of a widely used (and maybe misused) pesticide, which was brought to public attention by Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring. One of the better known impacts of DDT is to reduce the thickness of the egg shells on predatory birds. The shells sometimes become too thin to be viable, causing reductions in bird populations. This occurs with DDT and a number of related compounds due to the process of bioaccumulation, wherein the chemical, due to its stability and fat solubility, accumulates in organisms' fatty tissues. Also, DDT may biomagnify which causes progressively higher concentrations in the body fat of animals farther up the food chain. The near-worldwide ban on agricultural use of DDT and related chemicals has allowed some of these birds—such as the peregrine falcon--to recover in recent years. A number of the organochlorine pesticides have been banned from most uses worldwide and globally they are controlled via the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants. These include: aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, mirex and toxaphene.
Pollinator decline
Insecticides can kill bees and may be a cause of pollinator decline, the loss of species that pollinate plants, including through the mechanism of Colony Collapse Disorder, in which worker bees from a beehive or Western honey bee colony abruptly disappear. Loss of pollinators will mean a reduction in crop yields.
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Application methods for household insecticides
Integrated pest management or IPM in the home begins with restricting the availability to insects of three vital commodities: shelter, water and food. If insects become a problem despite such measures, IPM seeks to control them using the safest possible methods, targeting the approach to the particular pest.
Insect repellent, referred to as "bug spray", comes in a plastic bottle or aerosol can. Applied to clothing, arms, legs, and other extremities, the use of these products will tend to ward off nearby insects. This is not an insecticide.
Insecticide used for killing pests—most often insects, and arachnids—primarily comes in an aerosol can, and is sprayed into the air or a nest as a means of killing the animal. Fly sprays will kill house flies, blowflies, ants, cockroaches and other insects and also spiders. Other preparations are granules or liquids that are formulated with bait that is eaten by insects. For many household pests bait traps are available that contain the pesticide and either pheromone or food baits. Crack and crevice sprays are applied into and around openings in houses such as baseboards and plumbing. Pesticides to control termites are often injected into and around the foundations of homes.
Active ingredients of many household insecticides include permethrin and tetramethrin, which act on the nervous system of insects and arachnids.
Bug sprays should be used in well ventilated areas only, as the chemicals contained in the aerosol and most insecticides can be harmful or deadly to humans and pets. All insecticide products including solids, baits and bait traps should be applied such that they are out of reach of wildlife, pets and children.
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Individual insecticides
Chlorinated hydrocarbons
See also: Category:Organochloride insecticides
Aldrin
Chlordane
Chlordecone
DDT
Dieldrin
Endosulfan
Endrin
Heptachlor
Hexachlorobenzene
Lindane (gamma-Hexachlorocyclohexane)
Methoxychlor
Mirex
Pentachlorophenol
TDE
Organophosphates
Acephate
Azinphos-methyl
Bensulide
Chlorethoxyfos
Chlorpyrifos
Chlorpyriphos-methyl
Diazinon
Dichlorvos (DDVP)
Dicrotophos
Dimethoate
Disulfoton
Ethoprop
Fenamiphos
Fenitrothion
Fenthion
Fosthiazate
Malathion
Methamidophos
Methidathion
Mevinphos
Naled
Omethoate
Oxydemeton-methyl
Parathion
Parathion-methyl
Phorate
Phosalone
Phosmet
Phostebupirim
Phoxim
Pirimiphos-methyl
Profenofos
Philayosfon
Terbufos
Tetrachlorvinphos
Tribufos
Trichlorfon
Carbamates
Aldicarb
Carbofuran
Carbaryl
Methomyl
2-(1-Methylpropyl)phenyl methylcarbamate
Phenothiazine
Pyrethroids
Allethrin
Bifenthrin
Cypermethrin
Deltamethrin
Lambda-cyhalothrin
Permethrin
Resmethrin
Tetramethrin
Tralomethrin
Transfluthrin
Neonicotinoids
Acetamiprid
Clothianidin
Imidacloprid
Nitenpyram
Nithiazine
Thiacloprid
Thiamethoxam
Plant derived
Caffeine
Derris (rotenone)
Anabasine
Anethole (mosquito larvae)
Annonin
Asimina (Pawpaw tree seeds) for lice
Azadirachtin
Carapa
Cinnamon leaf oil (very effective for killing mosquito larvae)
Cinnamaldehyde (very effective for killing mosquito larvae)
Cinnamyl acetate (kills mosquito larvae)
Deguelin
Derris
Desmodium caudatum (leaves and roots)
Eugenol (mosquito larvae)
Linalool
Myristicin
Neem (Azadirachtin)
Nicotiana rustica (Nicotine)
Peganum harmala, seeds (smoke from), root
Oregano oil kills beetles Rhizoppertha dominica (bug found in stored cereal)
Polyketide
Pyrethrum
Quassia (South American plant genus)
Tetranortriterpenoid
Thymol (controls varroa mites in bee colonies)
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Classes of agricultural insecticides
The classification of insecticides is done in several different ways:
Systemic insecticides are incorporated by treated plants. Insects ingest the insecticide while feeding on the plants.
Contact insecticides are toxic to insects brought into direct contact. Efficacy is often related to the quality of pesticide application, with small droplets (such as aerosols) often improving performance.
Natural insecticides, such as nicotine and pyrethrum, are made by plants as defences against insects. Nicotine based insecticides have been barred in the U.S. since 2001 to prevent residues from contaminating foods.
Inorganic insecticides are manufactured with metals and include arsenates copper- and fluorine compounds, which are now seldom used, and sulfur, which is commonly used.
Organic insecticides are synthetic chemicals which comprise the largest numbers of pesticides available for use today.
Mode of action – how the pesticide kills or inactivates a pest – is another way of classifying insecticides. Mode of action is important in predicting whether an insecticide will be toxic to unrelated species such as fish, birds and mammals.
Heavy metals, e.g. lead, mercury, arsenic, as well as plant toxins such as nicotine have been used for many years. Various plants have been used as folk insecticides for centuries, including tobacco and pyrethrum. Some farmers are reporting successfully using spray of crudely fermented alcohol as an effective insecticide.
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Organochlorine compounds
The insectcidal properties of the best known representative of this class of insecticides, DDT, was made by the Swiss Scientist Paul Műller. For this discovery, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1948. DDT was introduced on the market in 1944. With the rise of the modern chemical industry it was possible to make chlorinated hydrocarbons. DDT works by opening the sodium channels in the nerve cells of the insect.
Organophosphates
The next large class developed was the organophosphates, which bind to acetylcholinesterase and other cholinesterases. This results in disruption of nervous impulses, killing the insect or interfering with its ability to carry on normal functions. Organophosphate insecticides and chemical warfare nerve agents (such as sarin, tabun, soman and VX) work in the same way. Organophosphates have an additive toxic effect to wildlife, so multiple exposures to the chemicals amplifies the toxicity.
Carbamate insecticides have similar toxic mechanisms but have a much shorter duration of action and are thus somewhat less toxic.
Pyrethroids
To mimic the insecticidal activity of the natural compound pyrethrum another class of pesticides, pyrethroid pesticides, have been developed. These are nonpersistent and much less acutely toxic than organophosphates and carbamates.
Neonicotinoids
Neonicotinoids are synthetic analogues of the natural insecticide nicotine (with a much lower acute mammalian toxicity and greater field persistence). Broad-spectrum – systemic insecticides with a rapid action (minutes-hours). They are applied as sprays, drenches, seed and soil treatments - often as substitutes for organophosphates and carbamates. Treated insects exhibit leg tremors, rapid wing motion, stylet withdrawal (aphids), disorientated movement, paralysis and death.
Biological insecticides
Recent efforts to reduce broad spectrum toxins added to the environment have brought biological insecticides back into vogue. An example is the development and increase in use of Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacterial disease of Lepidopterans and some other insects. It is used as a larvicide against a wide variety of caterpillars. Because it has little effect on other organisms, it is considered more environmentally friendly than synthetic pesticides. The toxin from B. thuringiensis (Bt toxin) has been incorporated directly into plants through the use of genetic engineering. Other biological insecticides include products based on entomopathogenic fungi (e.g. Metarhizium anisopliae), nematodes (e.g. Steinernema feltiae) and viruses (e.g. Cydia pomonella granulovirus).
Environmental effects
Effects on nontarget species
Some insecticides kill or harm other creatures in addition to those they are intended to kill. For example, birds may be poisoned when they eat food that was recently sprayed with insecticides or when they mistake insecticide granules on the ground for food and eat it.
Sprayed insecticides may drift from the area to which it is applied and into wildlife areas, especially when it is sprayed aerially.
DDT
Main article: DDT
One of the bigger drivers in the development of new insecticides has been the desire to replace toxic and irksome insecticides. DDT was introduced as a safer alternative to the lead and arsenic compounds. It is the case that when used under the correct conditions that almost any chemical substance is 'safe', but when used under the wrong conditions most insecticides can be a threat to health and/or the environment.
Some insecticides have been banned due to the fact that they are persistent toxins which have adverse effects on animals and/or humans. An oft-quoted case is that of DDT, an example of a widely used (and maybe misused) pesticide, which was brought to public attention by Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring. One of the better known impacts of DDT is to reduce the thickness of the egg shells on predatory birds. The shells sometimes become too thin to be viable, causing reductions in bird populations. This occurs with DDT and a number of related compounds due to the process of bioaccumulation, wherein the chemical, due to its stability and fat solubility, accumulates in organisms' fatty tissues. Also, DDT may biomagnify which causes progressively higher concentrations in the body fat of animals farther up the food chain. The near-worldwide ban on agricultural use of DDT and related chemicals has allowed some of these birds—such as the peregrine falcon--to recover in recent years. A number of the organochlorine pesticides have been banned from most uses worldwide and globally they are controlled via the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants. These include: aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, mirex and toxaphene.
Pollinator decline
Insecticides can kill bees and may be a cause of pollinator decline, the loss of species that pollinate plants, including through the mechanism of Colony Collapse Disorder, in which worker bees from a beehive or Western honey bee colony abruptly disappear. Loss of pollinators will mean a reduction in crop yields.
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Application methods for household insecticides
Integrated pest management or IPM in the home begins with restricting the availability to insects of three vital commodities: shelter, water and food. If insects become a problem despite such measures, IPM seeks to control them using the safest possible methods, targeting the approach to the particular pest.
Insect repellent, referred to as "bug spray", comes in a plastic bottle or aerosol can. Applied to clothing, arms, legs, and other extremities, the use of these products will tend to ward off nearby insects. This is not an insecticide.
Insecticide used for killing pests—most often insects, and arachnids—primarily comes in an aerosol can, and is sprayed into the air or a nest as a means of killing the animal. Fly sprays will kill house flies, blowflies, ants, cockroaches and other insects and also spiders. Other preparations are granules or liquids that are formulated with bait that is eaten by insects. For many household pests bait traps are available that contain the pesticide and either pheromone or food baits. Crack and crevice sprays are applied into and around openings in houses such as baseboards and plumbing. Pesticides to control termites are often injected into and around the foundations of homes.
Active ingredients of many household insecticides include permethrin and tetramethrin, which act on the nervous system of insects and arachnids.
Bug sprays should be used in well ventilated areas only, as the chemicals contained in the aerosol and most insecticides can be harmful or deadly to humans and pets. All insecticide products including solids, baits and bait traps should be applied such that they are out of reach of wildlife, pets and children.
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Individual insecticides
Chlorinated hydrocarbons
See also: Category:Organochloride insecticides
Aldrin
Chlordane
Chlordecone
DDT
Dieldrin
Endosulfan
Endrin
Heptachlor
Hexachlorobenzene
Lindane (gamma-Hexachlorocyclohexane)
Methoxychlor
Mirex
Pentachlorophenol
TDE
Organophosphates
Acephate
Azinphos-methyl
Bensulide
Chlorethoxyfos
Chlorpyrifos
Chlorpyriphos-methyl
Diazinon
Dichlorvos (DDVP)
Dicrotophos
Dimethoate
Disulfoton
Ethoprop
Fenamiphos
Fenitrothion
Fenthion
Fosthiazate
Malathion
Methamidophos
Methidathion
Mevinphos
Naled
Omethoate
Oxydemeton-methyl
Parathion
Parathion-methyl
Phorate
Phosalone
Phosmet
Phostebupirim
Phoxim
Pirimiphos-methyl
Profenofos
Philayosfon
Terbufos
Tetrachlorvinphos
Tribufos
Trichlorfon
Carbamates
Aldicarb
Carbofuran
Carbaryl
Methomyl
2-(1-Methylpropyl)phenyl methylcarbamate
Phenothiazine
Pyrethroids
Allethrin
Bifenthrin
Cypermethrin
Deltamethrin
Lambda-cyhalothrin
Permethrin
Resmethrin
Tetramethrin
Tralomethrin
Transfluthrin
Neonicotinoids
Acetamiprid
Clothianidin
Imidacloprid
Nitenpyram
Nithiazine
Thiacloprid
Thiamethoxam
Plant derived
Caffeine
Derris (rotenone)
Anabasine
Anethole (mosquito larvae)
Annonin
Asimina (Pawpaw tree seeds) for lice
Azadirachtin
Carapa
Cinnamon leaf oil (very effective for killing mosquito larvae)
Cinnamaldehyde (very effective for killing mosquito larvae)
Cinnamyl acetate (kills mosquito larvae)
Deguelin
Derris
Desmodium caudatum (leaves and roots)
Eugenol (mosquito larvae)
Linalool
Myristicin
Neem (Azadirachtin)
Nicotiana rustica (Nicotine)
Peganum harmala, seeds (smoke from), root
Oregano oil kills beetles Rhizoppertha dominica (bug found in stored cereal)
Polyketide
Pyrethrum
Quassia (South American plant genus)
Tetranortriterpenoid
Thymol (controls varroa mites in bee colonies)
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Earth4Energy Review
Earth4Energy Review
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Is Earth4Energy really good for saving money? If so, how much?
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Organic food
Organic foods are made according to certain production standards, meaning they are grown without the use of conventional pesticides and artificial fertilizers, free from contamination by human or industrial waste, and processed without ionizing radiation or food additives. If livestock are involved, they must be reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones, and generally fed a healthy diet. In most countries, organic produce may not be genetically modified.
Organic food production is a heavily regulated industry, distinct from private gardening for instance. Currently, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification in order to market food as organic within their borders.
Historically, organic farms have been relatively small family-run farms — which is why organic food was once only available in small stores or farmers' markets. However, since the early 1990s organic food production has had growth rates of around 20% a year, far ahead of the rest of the food industry, in both developed and developing nations. As of April 2008, organic food accounts for 1-2% of food sales worldwide. Future growth is expected to range from 10-50% annually depending on the country
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Identifying organic food
Mixed organic bean sproutsSee also: Organic farming for information on the production of organic food.
Processed organic food usually contains only organic ingredients. If non-organic ingredients are present, at least a certain percentage of the food's total plant and animal ingredients must be organic (95% in the United States and Australia) and any non-organically produced ingredients are subject to various agricultural requirements. Foods claiming to be organic must be free of artificial food additives, and are often processed with fewer artificial methods, materials and conditions, such as chemical ripening, food irradiation, and genetically modified ingredients.
They may also be required to be produced using energy-saving technologies and packaged using recyclable or biodegradable materials when possible.
Early consumers interested in organic food would look for non-chemically treated, fresh or minimally processed food. They mostly had to buy directly from growers: "Know your farmer, know your food" was the motto. Personal definitions of what constituted "organic" were developed through firsthand experience: by talking to farmers, seeing farm conditions, and farming activities. Small farms grew vegetables (and raised livestock) using organic farming practices, with or without certification, and the individual consumer monitored. As demand for organic foods continues to increase, high volume sales through mass outlets such as supermarkets are rapidly replacing the direct farmer connection. However, for supermarket consumers, food production is not easily observable, and product labeling, like "certified organic", is relied on. Government regulations and third-party inspectors are looked to for assurance. A "certified organic" label is usually the only way for consumers to know that a processed product is "organic".
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Legal definition
The National Organic Program (run by the USDA) is in charge of the legal definition of organic in the United States and does organic certification.Main article: Organic certification
See also: List of countries with organic agriculture regulation
To be certified organic, products must be grown and manufactured in a manner that adheres to standards set by the country they are sold in:
Australia: NASAA Organic Standard
Canada: Canada Gazette, Government of Canada
European Union: EU-Eco-regulation
Sweden: KRAV
United Kingdom: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
India: NPOP, (National Program for Organic Production)
Japan: JAS Standards.
United States: National Organic Program (NOP) Standards
Environmental impact
Several surveys and studies have attempted to examine and compare conventional and organic systems of farming. The general consensus across these surveys is that, in the short term, organic farming is less damaging for the following reasons:
Organic farms do not consume or release synthetic pesticides into the environment — some of which have the potential to harm soil, water and local terrestrial and aquatic wildlife.
Organic farms are better than conventional farms at sustaining diverse ecosystems, i.e., populations of plants and insects, as well as animals.
When calculated either per unit area or per unit of yield, organic farms use less energy and produce less waste, e.g., waste such as packaging materials for chemicals.
However, critics of organic farming methods believe that the increased land needed to farm organic food could potentially destroy the rainforests and wipe out many ecosystems.
Yield
One study found a 20% smaller yield from organic farms using 50% less fertilizer and 97% less pesticide. Studies comparing yields have had mixed results. Supporters claim that organically managed soil has a higher quality and higher water retention. This may help increase yields for organic farms in drought years.
One study from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency found that, area-for-area, organic farms of potatoes, sugar beet and seed grass produce as little as half the output of conventional farming. Findings like these, and the dependence of organic food on manure from low-yield cattle, has prompted criticism from scientists that organic farming is environmentally unsound and incapable of feeding the world population. Among these critics are Norman Borlaug, father of the "green revolution," and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, who asserts that organic farming practices can at most feed 4 billion people, after expanding cropland dramatically and destroying ecosystems in the process. Michael Pollan responds to this by pointing out that average yield of world agriculture is substantially lower than modern sustainable farming yields. Bringing average world yields up to modern organic levels could increase the worlds food supply by 50 %
A 2007 study compiling research from 293 different comparisons into a single study to assess the overall efficiency of the two agricultural systems has concluded that
organic methods could produce enough food on a global per capita basis to sustain the current human population, and potentially an even larger population, without increasing the agricultural land base (from the abstract)
The researchers also found that while in developed countries, organic systems on average produce 92% of the yield produced by conventional agriculture, organic systems produce 80% more than conventional farms in developing countries, because the materials needed for organic farming are more accessible than synthetic farming materials to farmers in some poor countries. On the other hand, communities that lack sufficient manure to replenish soils would struggle with organic farming, and the soil would degrade rapidly .
Energy Efficiency
Some studies are also consistent in showing that organic farms are more energy efficient.
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Pesticides and farmers
There are studies detailing the effects and side effects of pesticides upon the health of farm workers. Even when pesticides are used correctly, they still end up in the air and bodies of farm workers. Through these studies, organophosphate pesticides have become associated with acute health problems such as abdominal pain, dizziness, headaches, nausea, vomiting, as well as skin and eye problems. In addition, there have been many other studies that have found pesticide exposure is associated with more severe health problems such as respiratory problems, memory disorders, dermatologic conditions, cancer, depression, neurologic deficits, miscarriages, and birth defects. Summaries of peer-reviewed research have examined the link between pesticide exposure and neurological outcomes and cancer in organophosphate-exposed workers.
Imported fruits and vegetables from South America are more likely to contain high level of pesticides, even pesticides banned for use in the United States.[29] Migratory birds, such as Swainson's hawks, have wintering grounds in Argentina where thousands of them were found dead from monocrotophos insecticide poisoning.
Pesticide residue
A study published in 2002 showed that "Organically grown foods consistently had about one-third as many residues as conventionally grown foods."
Monitoring of pesticide residues in the United States is carried out by the Pesticide Data Program (part of USDA, which was created in 1990. It has since tested over 60 different types of food for over 400 different types of pesticides - with samples collected close to the point of consumption. Their most recent results found in 2005 that:
“ These data indicate that 29.5 percent of all samples tested contained no detectable pesticides [parent compound and metabolite(s) combined], 30 percent contained 1 pesticide, and slightly over 40 percent contained more than 1 pesticide. ”
—USDA, Pesticide Data Program
Several studies corroborate this finding by having found that while 77 percent of conventional food carries synthetic pesticide residues, only about 25 percent of organic food does.
A study published by the National Research Council in 1993 determined that for infants and children, the major source of exposure to pesticides is through diet. A recent study in 2006 measured the levels of organophosphorus pesticide exposure in 23 schoolchildren before and after replacing their diet with organic food. In this study it was found that levels of organophosphorus pesticide exposure dropped dramatically and immediately when the children switched to an organic diet. Food residue limits established by law are set specifically with children in mind and consider a child's lifetime ingestion of each pesticide.
There are controversial data on the health implications of certain pesticides. For example, the herbicide Atrazine has been shown in some experiments to be a teratogen, causing demasculinization in male frogs exposed to small concentrations. Under the effects of Atrazine, male frogs were found to have greatly increased occurrencesof either malformed gonads, or testicular gonads which contain non-degenerate eggs Effects were however significantly reduced in high concentrations, as is consistent with other teratogens affecting the endocrine system, such as estradiol.
Organic farming standards do not allow the use of synthetic pesticides, but they do allow the use of specific pesticides derived from plants. The most common organic pesticides, accepted for restricted use by most organic standards, include Bt, pyrethrum, and rotenone. Some organic pesticides, such as rotenone, have high toxicity to fish and aquatic creatures with some toxicity to mammals. It causes Parkinson's disease if injected into rats.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency and state agencies periodically review the licensing of suspect pesticides, but the process of de-listing is slow. One example of this slow process is exemplified by the pesticide Dichlorvos, or DDVP, which as recently as the year 2006 the EPA proposed its continued sale. The EPA has almost banned this pesticide on several occasions since the 1970s, but it never did so despite considerable evidence that suggests DDVP is not only carcinogenic but dangerous to the human nervous system — especially in children. The EPA "has determined that risks do not exceed levels of concern", a study of longterm exposure to DDVP in rats showed no toxic effects.
These concerns over the particular impact of pesticides on children have not gone unheeded. Fio360, an eco early-care center in Atlanta, GA, has even gone so far as to prepare organic foods for its clients' children.
Taste and nutritional value
The biggest study ever of organic food was completed in 2007 and found that organic fruit and vegetables contain up to 40% more antioxidants than conventional equivalents, and that the figure was 60% for organic milk. The 4-year study was funded by the European Union and was the largest of its kind ever undertaken These results were simply announced to the popular press, and have not yet undergone the rigors of scientific peer review. However, antioxidants are not actually proven to be beneficial in such quantities. Only minute amounts of antioxidants are necessary and can be gained from any food.
Some studies have shown higher nutrient levels in organic fruit and vegetables compared with conventionally grown products.
A 2001 study by researchers at Washington State University concluded, under judgement by a panel of tasters, that organic apples were sweeter. Along with taste and sweetness, the texture as well as firmness of the apples were also rated higher than those grown conventionally. These differences are attributed to the greater soil quality resulting from organic farming techniques compared to those of conventional farming. Other research has found that there is no significant different between organic and normal food. Antibacterial and antifungal agents, as well as DNA modifications have never been known to be the cause of any problems, even after extensive testing.
A 2002 meta-analysis (a review of all past studies on the subject) found no proof that organic food offers greater nutritional values, more consumer safety or any distinguishable difference in taste.
Some people argue that organic food is just a scam to get more money as no extra value can be obtained from the food.
Organic Food Gardening Beginners Manual. 87 Page Step-by-step Gardening Manual For Beginners To Learn How To Grow Their Own Healthy, Organic Food - Saving Money And Eating Chemical Free! Great Bonuses With This E-manual. Revised Edition Just Released.
Click Here!
Cost
Organic products typically cost 10 to 40% more than similar conventionally produced products. Processed organic foods vary in price when compared to their conventional counterparts. An Australian study by Choice magazine in 2004 found processed organic foods in supermarkets to be 65% more expensive, but noted this was not consistent. Prices may be higher because organic produce is produced on a smaller scale, and may need to be milled or processed separately. Furthermore, there is an increase in shipping costs from more centralized production in otherwise regional markets. In the case of dairy and eggs, the animal's requirements such as the number of animals that can be raised per acre, or the breed of animal and its feed conversion ratio affects the cost.
Related movements
Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is an approach were members prepurchase "shares" in a season's harvest, and pick up their weekly portions from distribution sites. Thus, consumers provide direct financing for farms, participate in the risks and rewards of annual growing conditions, and distribute food directly from the farm.
Local food is buying food that was produced geographicly closer to the consumer. Local food is seen as a way to get fresher food and invest in one's own community.
The fair trade movement, based on the principle that social and environmental sustainability are inextricably interdependent, is often linked to organic food.
Biodynamic agriculture, a method of organic farming, is closely related to the organic food movement.
Facts and statistics
Organic Seals
International
United States
France
Australia
While organic food accounts for 1–2% of total food sales worldwide, the organic food market is growing rapidly, far ahead of the rest of the food industry, in both developed and developing nations.
World organic food sales jumped from US $23 billion in 2002[60] to $40 billion in 2006.
The world organic market has been growing by 20% a year since the early 1990s, with future growth estimates ranging from 10%-50% annually depending on the country.
Organic Food Gardening Beginners Manual. 87 Page Step-by-step Gardening Manual For Beginners To Learn How To Grow Their Own Healthy, Organic Food - Saving Money And Eating Chemical Free! Great Bonuses With This E-manual. Revised Edition Just Released.
Click Here!
North America
United States:
Organic food is the fastest growing sector of the American food marketplace.
Organic food sales have grown by 17 to 20 percent a year for the past few years while sales of conventional food have grown at only about 2 to 3 percent a year.
In 2003 organic products were available in nearly 20,000 natural food stores and 73% of conventional grocery stores.
Organic products account for 2.6% of total food sales in the year 2005.
Two thirds of organic milk and cream and half of organic cheese and yogurt are sold through conventional supermarkets.
Canada:
Organic food sales surpassed $1 billion in 2006, accounting for 0.9% of food sales in Canada.
Organic food sales by grocery stores were 28% higher in 2006 than in 2005.
British Columbians account for 13% of the Canadian population, but purchased 26% of the organic food sold in Canada in 2006.
Europe
In the European Union (EU25) 3.9% of the total utilized agricultural area is used for organic production. The countries with the highest proportion of organic land are Austria (11%) and Italy (8.4), followed by Czech Republic and Greece (both 7.2%). The lowest figures are shown for Malta (0.1%), Poland (0.6%) and Ireland (0.8%)
Austria:
11.6% of all farmers produced organically in 2007.The government has created incentives to increase the figure to 20% by 2010.
4.9% of all food products sold in Austrian supermarkets (including discount stores) in 2006 were organic. 8000 different organic products were available in the same year.
Italy:
Since 2005 all school lunches must be organic by law.
Poland:
In 2005 168,000 ha of land were under organic management. 7 percent of Polish consumers buy food that was produced according to the EU-Eco-regulation. The value of the organic market is estimated at 50 million Euros (2006).
UK:
Organic food sales increased from just over £100 million in 1993/94 to £1.21 billion in 2004 (an 11% increase on 2003).
Caribbean
Cuba:
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, agricultural inputs that had previously been purchased from Eastern bloc countries were no longer available in Cuba, and many Cuban farms converted to organic methods out of necessity. Consequently, organic agriculture is a mainstream practice in Cuba, while it remains an alternative practice in most other countries. Although some products called organic in Cuba would not satisfy certification requirements in other countries (crops may be genetically modified, for example, Cuba exports organic citrus and citrus juices to EU markets that meet EU organic standards. Cuba's forced conversion to organic methods may position the country to be a global supplier of organic products.
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Click Here!
Forceful Orchid Fertilizers: Homemade Recipes. Know How To Feed Your Orchids To Quickly Get Astonishing Results. Click Here!
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Organic food production is a heavily regulated industry, distinct from private gardening for instance. Currently, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification in order to market food as organic within their borders.
Historically, organic farms have been relatively small family-run farms — which is why organic food was once only available in small stores or farmers' markets. However, since the early 1990s organic food production has had growth rates of around 20% a year, far ahead of the rest of the food industry, in both developed and developing nations. As of April 2008, organic food accounts for 1-2% of food sales worldwide. Future growth is expected to range from 10-50% annually depending on the country
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Identifying organic food
Mixed organic bean sproutsSee also: Organic farming for information on the production of organic food.
Processed organic food usually contains only organic ingredients. If non-organic ingredients are present, at least a certain percentage of the food's total plant and animal ingredients must be organic (95% in the United States and Australia) and any non-organically produced ingredients are subject to various agricultural requirements. Foods claiming to be organic must be free of artificial food additives, and are often processed with fewer artificial methods, materials and conditions, such as chemical ripening, food irradiation, and genetically modified ingredients.
They may also be required to be produced using energy-saving technologies and packaged using recyclable or biodegradable materials when possible.
Early consumers interested in organic food would look for non-chemically treated, fresh or minimally processed food. They mostly had to buy directly from growers: "Know your farmer, know your food" was the motto. Personal definitions of what constituted "organic" were developed through firsthand experience: by talking to farmers, seeing farm conditions, and farming activities. Small farms grew vegetables (and raised livestock) using organic farming practices, with or without certification, and the individual consumer monitored. As demand for organic foods continues to increase, high volume sales through mass outlets such as supermarkets are rapidly replacing the direct farmer connection. However, for supermarket consumers, food production is not easily observable, and product labeling, like "certified organic", is relied on. Government regulations and third-party inspectors are looked to for assurance. A "certified organic" label is usually the only way for consumers to know that a processed product is "organic".
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Legal definition
The National Organic Program (run by the USDA) is in charge of the legal definition of organic in the United States and does organic certification.Main article: Organic certification
See also: List of countries with organic agriculture regulation
To be certified organic, products must be grown and manufactured in a manner that adheres to standards set by the country they are sold in:
Australia: NASAA Organic Standard
Canada: Canada Gazette, Government of Canada
European Union: EU-Eco-regulation
Sweden: KRAV
United Kingdom: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
India: NPOP, (National Program for Organic Production)
Japan: JAS Standards.
United States: National Organic Program (NOP) Standards
Environmental impact
Several surveys and studies have attempted to examine and compare conventional and organic systems of farming. The general consensus across these surveys is that, in the short term, organic farming is less damaging for the following reasons:
Organic farms do not consume or release synthetic pesticides into the environment — some of which have the potential to harm soil, water and local terrestrial and aquatic wildlife.
Organic farms are better than conventional farms at sustaining diverse ecosystems, i.e., populations of plants and insects, as well as animals.
When calculated either per unit area or per unit of yield, organic farms use less energy and produce less waste, e.g., waste such as packaging materials for chemicals.
However, critics of organic farming methods believe that the increased land needed to farm organic food could potentially destroy the rainforests and wipe out many ecosystems.
Yield
One study found a 20% smaller yield from organic farms using 50% less fertilizer and 97% less pesticide. Studies comparing yields have had mixed results. Supporters claim that organically managed soil has a higher quality and higher water retention. This may help increase yields for organic farms in drought years.
One study from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency found that, area-for-area, organic farms of potatoes, sugar beet and seed grass produce as little as half the output of conventional farming. Findings like these, and the dependence of organic food on manure from low-yield cattle, has prompted criticism from scientists that organic farming is environmentally unsound and incapable of feeding the world population. Among these critics are Norman Borlaug, father of the "green revolution," and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, who asserts that organic farming practices can at most feed 4 billion people, after expanding cropland dramatically and destroying ecosystems in the process. Michael Pollan responds to this by pointing out that average yield of world agriculture is substantially lower than modern sustainable farming yields. Bringing average world yields up to modern organic levels could increase the worlds food supply by 50 %
A 2007 study compiling research from 293 different comparisons into a single study to assess the overall efficiency of the two agricultural systems has concluded that
organic methods could produce enough food on a global per capita basis to sustain the current human population, and potentially an even larger population, without increasing the agricultural land base (from the abstract)
The researchers also found that while in developed countries, organic systems on average produce 92% of the yield produced by conventional agriculture, organic systems produce 80% more than conventional farms in developing countries, because the materials needed for organic farming are more accessible than synthetic farming materials to farmers in some poor countries. On the other hand, communities that lack sufficient manure to replenish soils would struggle with organic farming, and the soil would degrade rapidly .
Energy Efficiency
Some studies are also consistent in showing that organic farms are more energy efficient.
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Pesticides and farmers
There are studies detailing the effects and side effects of pesticides upon the health of farm workers. Even when pesticides are used correctly, they still end up in the air and bodies of farm workers. Through these studies, organophosphate pesticides have become associated with acute health problems such as abdominal pain, dizziness, headaches, nausea, vomiting, as well as skin and eye problems. In addition, there have been many other studies that have found pesticide exposure is associated with more severe health problems such as respiratory problems, memory disorders, dermatologic conditions, cancer, depression, neurologic deficits, miscarriages, and birth defects. Summaries of peer-reviewed research have examined the link between pesticide exposure and neurological outcomes and cancer in organophosphate-exposed workers.
Imported fruits and vegetables from South America are more likely to contain high level of pesticides, even pesticides banned for use in the United States.[29] Migratory birds, such as Swainson's hawks, have wintering grounds in Argentina where thousands of them were found dead from monocrotophos insecticide poisoning.
Pesticide residue
A study published in 2002 showed that "Organically grown foods consistently had about one-third as many residues as conventionally grown foods."
Monitoring of pesticide residues in the United States is carried out by the Pesticide Data Program (part of USDA, which was created in 1990. It has since tested over 60 different types of food for over 400 different types of pesticides - with samples collected close to the point of consumption. Their most recent results found in 2005 that:
“ These data indicate that 29.5 percent of all samples tested contained no detectable pesticides [parent compound and metabolite(s) combined], 30 percent contained 1 pesticide, and slightly over 40 percent contained more than 1 pesticide. ”
—USDA, Pesticide Data Program
Several studies corroborate this finding by having found that while 77 percent of conventional food carries synthetic pesticide residues, only about 25 percent of organic food does.
A study published by the National Research Council in 1993 determined that for infants and children, the major source of exposure to pesticides is through diet. A recent study in 2006 measured the levels of organophosphorus pesticide exposure in 23 schoolchildren before and after replacing their diet with organic food. In this study it was found that levels of organophosphorus pesticide exposure dropped dramatically and immediately when the children switched to an organic diet. Food residue limits established by law are set specifically with children in mind and consider a child's lifetime ingestion of each pesticide.
There are controversial data on the health implications of certain pesticides. For example, the herbicide Atrazine has been shown in some experiments to be a teratogen, causing demasculinization in male frogs exposed to small concentrations. Under the effects of Atrazine, male frogs were found to have greatly increased occurrencesof either malformed gonads, or testicular gonads which contain non-degenerate eggs Effects were however significantly reduced in high concentrations, as is consistent with other teratogens affecting the endocrine system, such as estradiol.
Organic farming standards do not allow the use of synthetic pesticides, but they do allow the use of specific pesticides derived from plants. The most common organic pesticides, accepted for restricted use by most organic standards, include Bt, pyrethrum, and rotenone. Some organic pesticides, such as rotenone, have high toxicity to fish and aquatic creatures with some toxicity to mammals. It causes Parkinson's disease if injected into rats.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency and state agencies periodically review the licensing of suspect pesticides, but the process of de-listing is slow. One example of this slow process is exemplified by the pesticide Dichlorvos, or DDVP, which as recently as the year 2006 the EPA proposed its continued sale. The EPA has almost banned this pesticide on several occasions since the 1970s, but it never did so despite considerable evidence that suggests DDVP is not only carcinogenic but dangerous to the human nervous system — especially in children. The EPA "has determined that risks do not exceed levels of concern", a study of longterm exposure to DDVP in rats showed no toxic effects.
These concerns over the particular impact of pesticides on children have not gone unheeded. Fio360, an eco early-care center in Atlanta, GA, has even gone so far as to prepare organic foods for its clients' children.
Taste and nutritional value
The biggest study ever of organic food was completed in 2007 and found that organic fruit and vegetables contain up to 40% more antioxidants than conventional equivalents, and that the figure was 60% for organic milk. The 4-year study was funded by the European Union and was the largest of its kind ever undertaken These results were simply announced to the popular press, and have not yet undergone the rigors of scientific peer review. However, antioxidants are not actually proven to be beneficial in such quantities. Only minute amounts of antioxidants are necessary and can be gained from any food.
Some studies have shown higher nutrient levels in organic fruit and vegetables compared with conventionally grown products.
A 2001 study by researchers at Washington State University concluded, under judgement by a panel of tasters, that organic apples were sweeter. Along with taste and sweetness, the texture as well as firmness of the apples were also rated higher than those grown conventionally. These differences are attributed to the greater soil quality resulting from organic farming techniques compared to those of conventional farming. Other research has found that there is no significant different between organic and normal food. Antibacterial and antifungal agents, as well as DNA modifications have never been known to be the cause of any problems, even after extensive testing.
A 2002 meta-analysis (a review of all past studies on the subject) found no proof that organic food offers greater nutritional values, more consumer safety or any distinguishable difference in taste.
Some people argue that organic food is just a scam to get more money as no extra value can be obtained from the food.
Organic Food Gardening Beginners Manual. 87 Page Step-by-step Gardening Manual For Beginners To Learn How To Grow Their Own Healthy, Organic Food - Saving Money And Eating Chemical Free! Great Bonuses With This E-manual. Revised Edition Just Released.
Click Here!
Cost
Organic products typically cost 10 to 40% more than similar conventionally produced products. Processed organic foods vary in price when compared to their conventional counterparts. An Australian study by Choice magazine in 2004 found processed organic foods in supermarkets to be 65% more expensive, but noted this was not consistent. Prices may be higher because organic produce is produced on a smaller scale, and may need to be milled or processed separately. Furthermore, there is an increase in shipping costs from more centralized production in otherwise regional markets. In the case of dairy and eggs, the animal's requirements such as the number of animals that can be raised per acre, or the breed of animal and its feed conversion ratio affects the cost.
Related movements
Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is an approach were members prepurchase "shares" in a season's harvest, and pick up their weekly portions from distribution sites. Thus, consumers provide direct financing for farms, participate in the risks and rewards of annual growing conditions, and distribute food directly from the farm.
Local food is buying food that was produced geographicly closer to the consumer. Local food is seen as a way to get fresher food and invest in one's own community.
The fair trade movement, based on the principle that social and environmental sustainability are inextricably interdependent, is often linked to organic food.
Biodynamic agriculture, a method of organic farming, is closely related to the organic food movement.
Facts and statistics
Organic Seals
International
United States
France
Australia
While organic food accounts for 1–2% of total food sales worldwide, the organic food market is growing rapidly, far ahead of the rest of the food industry, in both developed and developing nations.
World organic food sales jumped from US $23 billion in 2002[60] to $40 billion in 2006.
The world organic market has been growing by 20% a year since the early 1990s, with future growth estimates ranging from 10%-50% annually depending on the country.
Organic Food Gardening Beginners Manual. 87 Page Step-by-step Gardening Manual For Beginners To Learn How To Grow Their Own Healthy, Organic Food - Saving Money And Eating Chemical Free! Great Bonuses With This E-manual. Revised Edition Just Released.
Click Here!
North America
United States:
Organic food is the fastest growing sector of the American food marketplace.
Organic food sales have grown by 17 to 20 percent a year for the past few years while sales of conventional food have grown at only about 2 to 3 percent a year.
In 2003 organic products were available in nearly 20,000 natural food stores and 73% of conventional grocery stores.
Organic products account for 2.6% of total food sales in the year 2005.
Two thirds of organic milk and cream and half of organic cheese and yogurt are sold through conventional supermarkets.
Canada:
Organic food sales surpassed $1 billion in 2006, accounting for 0.9% of food sales in Canada.
Organic food sales by grocery stores were 28% higher in 2006 than in 2005.
British Columbians account for 13% of the Canadian population, but purchased 26% of the organic food sold in Canada in 2006.
Europe
In the European Union (EU25) 3.9% of the total utilized agricultural area is used for organic production. The countries with the highest proportion of organic land are Austria (11%) and Italy (8.4), followed by Czech Republic and Greece (both 7.2%). The lowest figures are shown for Malta (0.1%), Poland (0.6%) and Ireland (0.8%)
Austria:
11.6% of all farmers produced organically in 2007.The government has created incentives to increase the figure to 20% by 2010.
4.9% of all food products sold in Austrian supermarkets (including discount stores) in 2006 were organic. 8000 different organic products were available in the same year.
Italy:
Since 2005 all school lunches must be organic by law.
Poland:
In 2005 168,000 ha of land were under organic management. 7 percent of Polish consumers buy food that was produced according to the EU-Eco-regulation. The value of the organic market is estimated at 50 million Euros (2006).
UK:
Organic food sales increased from just over £100 million in 1993/94 to £1.21 billion in 2004 (an 11% increase on 2003).
Caribbean
Cuba:
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, agricultural inputs that had previously been purchased from Eastern bloc countries were no longer available in Cuba, and many Cuban farms converted to organic methods out of necessity. Consequently, organic agriculture is a mainstream practice in Cuba, while it remains an alternative practice in most other countries. Although some products called organic in Cuba would not satisfy certification requirements in other countries (crops may be genetically modified, for example, Cuba exports organic citrus and citrus juices to EU markets that meet EU organic standards. Cuba's forced conversion to organic methods may position the country to be a global supplier of organic products.
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Orchid Care Expert - A Practical Guide. The Most Practical Guide To Orchid Care To Be Found On The Internet. Click Here!
Organic Food Gardening Beginners Manual. 87 Page Step-by-step Gardening Manual For Beginners To Learn How To Grow Their Own Healthy, Organic Food - Saving Money And Eating Chemical Free! Great Bonuses With This E-manual. Revised Edition Just Released.
Click Here!
Forceful Orchid Fertilizers: Homemade Recipes. Know How To Feed Your Orchids To Quickly Get Astonishing Results. Click Here!
The Hypertufa How-To Manual. 100 Page EBook On How To Make Garden Art Objects From Hypertufa. Easy To Follow Instructions & Expert Advice. Click Here!
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Bonsai
Bonsai (help·info) (Japanese: 盆栽, literally "potted plant") is the art of aesthetic miniaturization of trees by growing them in containers. Cultivation includes techniques for shaping, watering, and repotting in various styles of containers.
'Bonsai' is a Japanese pronunciation of the earlier Chinese term penzai (盆栽). The word bonsai is used in the West as an umbrella term for all miniature trees in containers or pots, but properly should be applied only to container-grown trees following the Japanese tradition.
History
Container-grown plants, including trees as well as other plants, have a history stretching back at least to the early times of Egyptian culture. Pictorial records from around 4000 BCE show trees growing in containers cut into rock. Pharaoh Ramesses III donated gardens consisting of potted olives, date palms, and other plants to hundreds of temples. Pre-Common-Era India used container-grown trees for medicine and food.
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The word penzai first appeared in writing in China during the Jin Dynasty, in the period 265CE – 420CE. Over time, the practice developed into new forms in various parts of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Notably, container-grown trees were popularized in Japan during China's Tang Dynasty, a period of cultural growth when the Japanese experienced and adopted their own versions of many mainland practices. At first, the Japanese used miniaturized trees grown in containers to decorate their homes and gardens. During the Tokugawa period, landscape gardening attained new importance. Cultivation of plants such as azalea and maples became a pastime of the wealthy. Growing dwarf plants in containers was also popular. At this time, the term for dwarf potted trees was "a tree in a pot" (鉢の木, hachi-no-ki?). The c.1300 rhymed prose essay, Rhymeprose on a Miniature Landscape Garden, by the Japanese Zen monk Kokan Shiren, outlines aesthetic principles for bonsai, bonseki and garden architecture itself.
The oldest known living bonsai trees are in the collection at Happo-en (a private garden and exclusive restaurant) in Tokyo, Japan, where bonsai are between 400 to 800 years old.[citation needed]
Cultivation
Bonsai are not genetically dwarfed plants. They can be created from nearly any tree or shrub species and remain small through pot confinement with crown and root pruning. Some species are more sought after for use as bonsai material, because they have characteristics, such as small leaves or needles, that make them appropriate for the smaller design scope of bonsai. The purposes of bonsai are primarily contemplation (for the viewer) and the pleasant exercise of effort and ingenuity (for the grower). By contrast with other plant-related practices, bonsai is not intended for production of food, for medicine, or for creating yard-sized or park-sized landscapes. As a result, the scope of bonsai practice is narrow and focused on the successful long-term cultivation and shaping of one or more small trees in a single pot.
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Techniques
This juniper makes extensive use of both jin (deadwood branches) and shari (trunk deadwood). This photograph is of the tree's back.The practice of bonsai incorporates a number of techniques either unique to bonsai or, if used in other forms of cultivation, applied in unusual ways that are particularly suitable to the bonsai domain.
Leaf trimming This technique involves the selective removal of leaves (for most varieties of deciduous tree) or needles (for coniferous trees and some others) from a bonsai's trunk and branches. A common esthetic technique in bonsai design is to expose the tree's branches below groups of leaves or needles (sometimes called "pads"). In many species, particularly coniferous ones, this means that leaves or needles projecting below their branches must be trimmed off. For some coniferous varieties, such as spruce, branches carry needles from the trunk to the tip and many of these needles may be trimmed to expose the branch shape and bark. Needle and bud trimming can also be used in coniferous trees to force back-budding or budding on old wood, which may not occur naturally in many conifers. Along with pruning, leaf trimming is the most common activity used for bonsai development and maintenance, and the one that occurs most frequently during the year.
Pruning The small size of the tree and some dwarfing of foliage result from pruning the trunk, branches, and roots. Improper pruning can weaken or kill trees. Careful pruning throughout the tree's life is necessary, however, to maintain a bonsai's basic design, which can otherwise disappear behind the uncontrolled natural growth of branches and leaves.
Wiring Wrapping copper or aluminium wire around branches and trunks allows the bonsai designer to create the desired general form and make detailed branch and leaf placements. When wire is used on new branches or shoots, it holds the branches in place until they lignify (convert into wood), usually 6-9 months or one growing season. Wires are also used to connect a branch to another object (e.g., another branch, the pot itself) so that tightening the wire applies force to the branch. Some species do not lignify strongly, and some specimens' branches are too stiff or brittle to be bent easily. These cases are not conducive to wiring, and shaping them is accomplished primarily through pruning.
Clamping For larger specimens, or species with stiffer wood, bonsai artists also use mechanical devices for shaping trunks and branches. The most common are screw-based clamps, which can straighten or bend a part of the bonsai using much greater force than wiring can supply. To prevent damage to the tree, the clamps are tightened a little at a time and make their changes over a period of months or years.
Grafting In this technique, new growing material (typically a bud, branch, or root) is introduced to a prepared area on the trunk or under the bark of the tree. There are two major purposes for grafting in bonsai. First, a number of favorite species do not thrive as bonsai on their natural root stock and their trunks are often grafted onto hardier root stock. Examples include Japanese red maple and Japanese Black pine. Second, grafting allows the bonsai artist to add branches (and sometimes roots) where they are needed to improve or complete a bonsai design. There are many applicable Grafting techniques, none unique to bonsai, including branch grafting, bud grafting, thread grafting, and others.
Defoliation Short-term dwarfing of foliage can be accomplished in certain deciduous bonsai by partial or total defoliation of the plant partway through the growing season. Not all species can survive this technique. In defoliating a healthy tree of a suitable species, most or all of the leaves are removed by clipping partway along each leaf's petiole (the thin stem that connects a leaf to its branch). Petioles later dry up and drop off, or are manually removed once dry. The tree responds by producing a fresh crop of leaves. The new leaves are generally much smaller than those from the first crop, sometimes as small as half the length and width. If the bonsai is shown at this time, the smaller leaves contribute greatly to the bonsai esthetic of dwarfing. It should be noted that this change in leaf size is usually not permanent, and the leaves of the following spring will often be the normal size. Defoliation weakens the tree and should not be performed in two consecutive years.
Deadwood Bonsai growers use deadwood bonsai techniques called jin and shari to simulate age and maturity in a bonsai. Jin is the term used when the bark from an entire branch is removed to create the impression of a snag of deadwood. Shari denotes stripping bark from areas of the trunk to simulate natural scarring from a broken limb or lightning strike. In addition to stripping bark, this technique may also involve the use of tools to scar the deadwood or to raise its grain, and the application of chemicals (usually lime sulfur) to bleach and preserve the exposed deadwood.
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Care
Watering
With limited space in a bonsai pot, regular attention is needed to ensure the tree is correctly watered. Sun, heat and wind exposure can dry bonsai trees to the point of drought in a short period of time. While some species can handle periods of relative dryness, others require near-constant moisture. Watering too frequently, or allowing the soil to remain soggy, promotes fungal infections and root rot. Free draining soil is used to prevent waterlogging. Deciduous trees are more at risk of dehydration and will wilt as the soil dries out. Evergreen trees, which tend to cope with dry conditions better, do not display signs of the problem until after damage has occurred.
Repotting
An uprooted bonsai, ready for repottingBonsai are repotted and root-pruned at intervals dictated by the vigour and age of each tree. In the case of deciduous trees, this is done as the tree is leaving its dormant period, generally around springtime. Bonsai are often repotted while in development, and less often as they become more mature. This prevents them from becoming pot-bound and encourages the growth of new feeder roots, allowing the tree to absorb moisture more efficiently.
Pre-bonsai material known as potensai, are often placed in "growing boxes" which are made from scraps of fenceboard or wood slats. These large boxes allow the roots to grow more freely and increase the vigor of the tree. The second stage, after using a grow box, has been to replant the tree in a "training box;" this is often smaller and helps to create a smaller dense root mass which can be more easily moved into a final presentation pot.
Tools
Set of bonsai tools
leaf trimmer; rake with spatula; root hook; coir brush; concave cutter; knob cutter; wire cutter; small, medium and large shearsSpecial tools are available for the maintenance of bonsai. The most common tool is the concave cutter (5th from left in picture), a tool designed to prune flush, without leaving a stub. Other tools include branch bending jacks, wire pliers and shears of different proportions for performing detail and rough shaping.
Soil and fertilization
Akadama soilOpinions about soil mixes and fertilization vary widely among practitioners. Some promote the use of organic fertilizers to augment an essentially inorganic soil mix, while others will use chemical fertilizers freely. Most use the general rule of little and often due to the flushing effect when watering, taking care to use the correct fertilizer at any given time in each season, depending on the tree's requirements. Bonsai soil is primarily a loose, fast-draining mix of components,often a base mixture of coarse sand or gravel, fired clay pellets or expanded shale combined with an organic component such as peat or bark. In Japan, volcanic soils based on clay are preferred, such as akadama, or "red ball" soil, and kanuma, a type of yellow pumice used for azaleas and other calcifuges.
Bonsai Gardening Secrets. Discover Over 95 Pages Of Insider Secrets To Creating Stunning Bonsai Trees. Click Here!
Location and overwintering
Bonsai are sometimes marketed or promoted as house plants, but few of the traditional bonsai species can thrive or even survive inside a typical house. The best guideline to identifying a suitable location for a bonsai is its native hardiness. If the bonsai grower can closely replicate the full year's temperature, humidity, and sunlight, the bonsai should do well. In practice, this means that trees from a hardiness zone closely matching the grower's location will generally be the easiest to grow, and others will require more work or will not be viable at all.
Outdoors
Most bonsai species are outdoor trees and shrubs by nature, and they require temperature, humidity, and sunlight conditions approximating their native climate year round. The skill of the gardener can help plants from outside the local hardiness zone to survive and even thrive, but doing so takes careful watering, shielding of selected bonsai from excessive sunlight or wind, and possibly protection from winter conditions (e.g., through the use of cold boxes or winter greenhouses).
Traditional bonsai species (particularly those from the Japanese tradition) are temperate climate trees, and require moderate temperatures, moderate humidity, and full sun in summer with a dormancy period in winter that may need be near freezing. They do not thrive indoors, where the light is generally too dim, and humidity often too low, for them to grow properly. Only in the dormant period can they safely be brought indoors, and even then the plants require cold temperatures and lighting that approximates the number of hours the sun is visible. Raising the temperature or providing more hours of light than available from natural daylight can cause the bonsai to break dormancy, which often weakens or kills it.
Indoors
Tropical and Mediterranean species typically require consistent temperatures close to room temperature, and with correct lighting and humidity many species can be kept indoors all year. Those from cooler climates may benefit from a winter dormancy period, but temperatures need not be dropped as far as for the temperate climate plants and a north-facing windowsill or open window may provide the right conditions for a few winter months.
Containers
Assorted bonsai pots
Containers come in a variety of shapes and colors, and may be glazed or unglazed. Containers with straight sides and sharp corners are generally better suited to formally presented plants, while oval or round containers might be used for plants with informal shapes. Most evergreen bonsai are placed in unglazed pots, while deciduous trees are planted in glazed pots. The color of the pot should complement the tree, and many formal and informal rules guide the selection of pot finish and color for a particular tree. Pots are also distinguished by their size. The design of the bonsai tree, the thickness of its trunk, and its height can all be considered when determining the size of of a suitable pot.
Some pots are highly collectible, like ancient Chinese or Japanese pots made in regions with experienced pot makers such as Tokoname, Japan or Yixing, China. Today many western potters throughout Europe and the United States produce fine quality pots for Bonsai.
Unlike many common plant containers, bonsai pots have drainage holes to allow excess water to drain. The grower usually covers the holes with a plastic screen or mesh to prevent soil from escaping and pests from entering the pots from below.
Common styles
Semi-cascade style larch
Formal upright style Bald cypress
Forest style Black Hills Spruce
Informal upright style Juniper
Root-over-rock style maple on display at at the Chinese Penjing Collection of National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in Washington, DCIn English, the most common styles include: formal upright, slant, informal upright, cascade, semi-cascade, raft, literati, and group/forest.
The formal upright style, or Chokkan, is characterized by a straight, upright, tapering trunk. The trunk and branches of the informal upright style, or Moyogi, may incorporate pronounced bends and curves, but the apex of the informal upright is always located directly over where the trunk begins at the soil line.
Slant-style, or Shakan, bonsai possess straight trunks like those of bonsai grown in the formal upright style. However, the slant style trunk emerges from the soil at an angle, and the apex of the bonsai will be located to the left or right of the root base.
Cascade-style, or Kengai, bonsai are modeled after trees which grow over water or on the sides of mountains. The apex, or tip of the tree in the Semi-cascade-style, or Han Kengai, bonsai extend just at or beneath the lip of the bonsai pot; the apex of a (full) cascade style falls below the base of the pot.
Raft-style, or Netsuranari, bonsai mimic a natural phenomenon that occurs when a tree topples onto its side (typically due to erosion or another natural force) and branches along the exposed side of the trunk, growing as if they are a group of new trunks. Sometimes, roots will develop from buried portions of the trunk. Raft-style bonsai can have sinuous, straight-line, or slanting trunks, all giving the illusion that they are a group of separate trees -- while actually being the branches of a tree planted on its side.
The literati style, or Bunjin-gi, bonsai is characterized by a generally bare trunk line, with branches reduced to a minimum, and typically placed higher up on a long, often contorted trunk. This style derives its name from the Chinese literati, who were often artists, and some of whom painted Chinese brush paintings, like those found in the ancient text, The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, depicting pine trees that grew in harsh climates, struggling to reach sunlight. In Japan, the literati style is known as bunjin-gi (文人木, bunjin-gi?). (Bunjin is a translation of the Chinese phrase wenren meaning "scholars practiced in the arts" and gi is a derivative of the Japanese word, ki, for "tree").
The group or forest style, or Yose Ue, comprises a planting of more than one tree (typically an odd number if there are three or more trees, and essentially never 4 because of its significance in China) in a bonsai pot. The trees are usually the same species, with a variety of heights employed to add visual interest and to reflect the age differences encountered in mature forests.
The root-over-rock style, or Sekijoju, is a style in which the roots of a tree (typically a fig tree) are wrapped around a rock. The rock is at the base of the trunk, with the roots exposed to varying degrees.
The broom style, or Hokidachi is employed for trees with extensive, fine branching, often with species like elms. The trunk is straight and upright. It branches out in all directions about 1/3 of the way up the entire height of the tree. The branches and leaves form a ball-shaped crown which can also be very beautiful during the winter months.
The multi-trunk style, or Ikadabuki has all the trunks growing out of one root system, and it actually is one single tree. All the trunks form one crown of leaves, in which the thickest and most developed trunk forms the top.
The growing-in-a-rock, or Ishizuke style means the roots of the tree are growing in the cracks and holes of the rock. There is not much room for the roots to develop and take up nutrients. These trees are designed to visually represent that the tree has to struggle to survive.
Bonsai Gardening Secrets. Discover Over 95 Pages Of Insider Secrets To Creating Stunning Bonsai Trees. Click Here!
Worlds Best Compost. Make The Worlds Ultimate Natural Fertilizer, Colloidal Humus, Without Bins, Turning Or Odor. Click Here!
The Complete Grape Growing System. A Complete System With E-book And Audio Book To Help You Grow Grapes The Correct Way. Click Here!
How To Start Beekeeping. Want To Start Beekeeping? This New EBook Reveals It All. Start Keeping Bees This Season! Click Here!
Orchid Care Expert - A Practical Guide. The Most Practical Guide To Orchid Care To Be Found On The Internet. Click Here!
Organic Food Gardening Beginners Manual. 87 Page Step-by-step Gardening Manual For Beginners To Learn How To Grow Their Own Healthy, Organic Food - Saving Money And Eating Chemical Free! Great Bonuses With This E-manual. Revised Edition Just Released.
Click Here!
Forceful Orchid Fertilizers: Homemade Recipes. Know How To Feed Your Orchids To Quickly Get Astonishing Results. Click Here!
The Hypertufa How-To Manual. 100 Page EBook On How To Make Garden Art Objects From Hypertufa. Easy To Follow Instructions & Expert Advice. Click Here!
Homemade Hydroponics. Hydroponics Secrets Shows You How To Grow The Plants, Fruits And Vegetables -even In Limited Space--without Using Soil. Pays 75% Commission With Excellent Conversion Rates. Click Here!
Bonsai Gardening Secrets. Discover Over 95 Pages Of Insider Secrets To Creating Stunning Bonsai Trees. Click Here!
Forceful Insecticides Home Made Formula. Discover Secret Informations That Big Multinationals Dont Want You To Know! Click Here!
'Bonsai' is a Japanese pronunciation of the earlier Chinese term penzai (盆栽). The word bonsai is used in the West as an umbrella term for all miniature trees in containers or pots, but properly should be applied only to container-grown trees following the Japanese tradition.
History
Container-grown plants, including trees as well as other plants, have a history stretching back at least to the early times of Egyptian culture. Pictorial records from around 4000 BCE show trees growing in containers cut into rock. Pharaoh Ramesses III donated gardens consisting of potted olives, date palms, and other plants to hundreds of temples. Pre-Common-Era India used container-grown trees for medicine and food.
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The word penzai first appeared in writing in China during the Jin Dynasty, in the period 265CE – 420CE. Over time, the practice developed into new forms in various parts of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Notably, container-grown trees were popularized in Japan during China's Tang Dynasty, a period of cultural growth when the Japanese experienced and adopted their own versions of many mainland practices. At first, the Japanese used miniaturized trees grown in containers to decorate their homes and gardens. During the Tokugawa period, landscape gardening attained new importance. Cultivation of plants such as azalea and maples became a pastime of the wealthy. Growing dwarf plants in containers was also popular. At this time, the term for dwarf potted trees was "a tree in a pot" (鉢の木, hachi-no-ki?). The c.1300 rhymed prose essay, Rhymeprose on a Miniature Landscape Garden, by the Japanese Zen monk Kokan Shiren, outlines aesthetic principles for bonsai, bonseki and garden architecture itself.
The oldest known living bonsai trees are in the collection at Happo-en (a private garden and exclusive restaurant) in Tokyo, Japan, where bonsai are between 400 to 800 years old.[citation needed]
Cultivation
Bonsai are not genetically dwarfed plants. They can be created from nearly any tree or shrub species and remain small through pot confinement with crown and root pruning. Some species are more sought after for use as bonsai material, because they have characteristics, such as small leaves or needles, that make them appropriate for the smaller design scope of bonsai. The purposes of bonsai are primarily contemplation (for the viewer) and the pleasant exercise of effort and ingenuity (for the grower). By contrast with other plant-related practices, bonsai is not intended for production of food, for medicine, or for creating yard-sized or park-sized landscapes. As a result, the scope of bonsai practice is narrow and focused on the successful long-term cultivation and shaping of one or more small trees in a single pot.
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Techniques
This juniper makes extensive use of both jin (deadwood branches) and shari (trunk deadwood). This photograph is of the tree's back.The practice of bonsai incorporates a number of techniques either unique to bonsai or, if used in other forms of cultivation, applied in unusual ways that are particularly suitable to the bonsai domain.
Leaf trimming This technique involves the selective removal of leaves (for most varieties of deciduous tree) or needles (for coniferous trees and some others) from a bonsai's trunk and branches. A common esthetic technique in bonsai design is to expose the tree's branches below groups of leaves or needles (sometimes called "pads"). In many species, particularly coniferous ones, this means that leaves or needles projecting below their branches must be trimmed off. For some coniferous varieties, such as spruce, branches carry needles from the trunk to the tip and many of these needles may be trimmed to expose the branch shape and bark. Needle and bud trimming can also be used in coniferous trees to force back-budding or budding on old wood, which may not occur naturally in many conifers. Along with pruning, leaf trimming is the most common activity used for bonsai development and maintenance, and the one that occurs most frequently during the year.
Pruning The small size of the tree and some dwarfing of foliage result from pruning the trunk, branches, and roots. Improper pruning can weaken or kill trees. Careful pruning throughout the tree's life is necessary, however, to maintain a bonsai's basic design, which can otherwise disappear behind the uncontrolled natural growth of branches and leaves.
Wiring Wrapping copper or aluminium wire around branches and trunks allows the bonsai designer to create the desired general form and make detailed branch and leaf placements. When wire is used on new branches or shoots, it holds the branches in place until they lignify (convert into wood), usually 6-9 months or one growing season. Wires are also used to connect a branch to another object (e.g., another branch, the pot itself) so that tightening the wire applies force to the branch. Some species do not lignify strongly, and some specimens' branches are too stiff or brittle to be bent easily. These cases are not conducive to wiring, and shaping them is accomplished primarily through pruning.
Clamping For larger specimens, or species with stiffer wood, bonsai artists also use mechanical devices for shaping trunks and branches. The most common are screw-based clamps, which can straighten or bend a part of the bonsai using much greater force than wiring can supply. To prevent damage to the tree, the clamps are tightened a little at a time and make their changes over a period of months or years.
Grafting In this technique, new growing material (typically a bud, branch, or root) is introduced to a prepared area on the trunk or under the bark of the tree. There are two major purposes for grafting in bonsai. First, a number of favorite species do not thrive as bonsai on their natural root stock and their trunks are often grafted onto hardier root stock. Examples include Japanese red maple and Japanese Black pine. Second, grafting allows the bonsai artist to add branches (and sometimes roots) where they are needed to improve or complete a bonsai design. There are many applicable Grafting techniques, none unique to bonsai, including branch grafting, bud grafting, thread grafting, and others.
Defoliation Short-term dwarfing of foliage can be accomplished in certain deciduous bonsai by partial or total defoliation of the plant partway through the growing season. Not all species can survive this technique. In defoliating a healthy tree of a suitable species, most or all of the leaves are removed by clipping partway along each leaf's petiole (the thin stem that connects a leaf to its branch). Petioles later dry up and drop off, or are manually removed once dry. The tree responds by producing a fresh crop of leaves. The new leaves are generally much smaller than those from the first crop, sometimes as small as half the length and width. If the bonsai is shown at this time, the smaller leaves contribute greatly to the bonsai esthetic of dwarfing. It should be noted that this change in leaf size is usually not permanent, and the leaves of the following spring will often be the normal size. Defoliation weakens the tree and should not be performed in two consecutive years.
Deadwood Bonsai growers use deadwood bonsai techniques called jin and shari to simulate age and maturity in a bonsai. Jin is the term used when the bark from an entire branch is removed to create the impression of a snag of deadwood. Shari denotes stripping bark from areas of the trunk to simulate natural scarring from a broken limb or lightning strike. In addition to stripping bark, this technique may also involve the use of tools to scar the deadwood or to raise its grain, and the application of chemicals (usually lime sulfur) to bleach and preserve the exposed deadwood.
Bonsai Gardening Secrets. Discover Over 95 Pages Of Insider Secrets To Creating Stunning Bonsai Trees. Click Here!
Care
Watering
With limited space in a bonsai pot, regular attention is needed to ensure the tree is correctly watered. Sun, heat and wind exposure can dry bonsai trees to the point of drought in a short period of time. While some species can handle periods of relative dryness, others require near-constant moisture. Watering too frequently, or allowing the soil to remain soggy, promotes fungal infections and root rot. Free draining soil is used to prevent waterlogging. Deciduous trees are more at risk of dehydration and will wilt as the soil dries out. Evergreen trees, which tend to cope with dry conditions better, do not display signs of the problem until after damage has occurred.
Repotting
An uprooted bonsai, ready for repottingBonsai are repotted and root-pruned at intervals dictated by the vigour and age of each tree. In the case of deciduous trees, this is done as the tree is leaving its dormant period, generally around springtime. Bonsai are often repotted while in development, and less often as they become more mature. This prevents them from becoming pot-bound and encourages the growth of new feeder roots, allowing the tree to absorb moisture more efficiently.
Pre-bonsai material known as potensai, are often placed in "growing boxes" which are made from scraps of fenceboard or wood slats. These large boxes allow the roots to grow more freely and increase the vigor of the tree. The second stage, after using a grow box, has been to replant the tree in a "training box;" this is often smaller and helps to create a smaller dense root mass which can be more easily moved into a final presentation pot.
Tools
Set of bonsai tools
leaf trimmer; rake with spatula; root hook; coir brush; concave cutter; knob cutter; wire cutter; small, medium and large shearsSpecial tools are available for the maintenance of bonsai. The most common tool is the concave cutter (5th from left in picture), a tool designed to prune flush, without leaving a stub. Other tools include branch bending jacks, wire pliers and shears of different proportions for performing detail and rough shaping.
Soil and fertilization
Akadama soilOpinions about soil mixes and fertilization vary widely among practitioners. Some promote the use of organic fertilizers to augment an essentially inorganic soil mix, while others will use chemical fertilizers freely. Most use the general rule of little and often due to the flushing effect when watering, taking care to use the correct fertilizer at any given time in each season, depending on the tree's requirements. Bonsai soil is primarily a loose, fast-draining mix of components,often a base mixture of coarse sand or gravel, fired clay pellets or expanded shale combined with an organic component such as peat or bark. In Japan, volcanic soils based on clay are preferred, such as akadama, or "red ball" soil, and kanuma, a type of yellow pumice used for azaleas and other calcifuges.
Bonsai Gardening Secrets. Discover Over 95 Pages Of Insider Secrets To Creating Stunning Bonsai Trees. Click Here!
Location and overwintering
Bonsai are sometimes marketed or promoted as house plants, but few of the traditional bonsai species can thrive or even survive inside a typical house. The best guideline to identifying a suitable location for a bonsai is its native hardiness. If the bonsai grower can closely replicate the full year's temperature, humidity, and sunlight, the bonsai should do well. In practice, this means that trees from a hardiness zone closely matching the grower's location will generally be the easiest to grow, and others will require more work or will not be viable at all.
Outdoors
Most bonsai species are outdoor trees and shrubs by nature, and they require temperature, humidity, and sunlight conditions approximating their native climate year round. The skill of the gardener can help plants from outside the local hardiness zone to survive and even thrive, but doing so takes careful watering, shielding of selected bonsai from excessive sunlight or wind, and possibly protection from winter conditions (e.g., through the use of cold boxes or winter greenhouses).
Traditional bonsai species (particularly those from the Japanese tradition) are temperate climate trees, and require moderate temperatures, moderate humidity, and full sun in summer with a dormancy period in winter that may need be near freezing. They do not thrive indoors, where the light is generally too dim, and humidity often too low, for them to grow properly. Only in the dormant period can they safely be brought indoors, and even then the plants require cold temperatures and lighting that approximates the number of hours the sun is visible. Raising the temperature or providing more hours of light than available from natural daylight can cause the bonsai to break dormancy, which often weakens or kills it.
Indoors
Tropical and Mediterranean species typically require consistent temperatures close to room temperature, and with correct lighting and humidity many species can be kept indoors all year. Those from cooler climates may benefit from a winter dormancy period, but temperatures need not be dropped as far as for the temperate climate plants and a north-facing windowsill or open window may provide the right conditions for a few winter months.
Containers
Assorted bonsai pots
Containers come in a variety of shapes and colors, and may be glazed or unglazed. Containers with straight sides and sharp corners are generally better suited to formally presented plants, while oval or round containers might be used for plants with informal shapes. Most evergreen bonsai are placed in unglazed pots, while deciduous trees are planted in glazed pots. The color of the pot should complement the tree, and many formal and informal rules guide the selection of pot finish and color for a particular tree. Pots are also distinguished by their size. The design of the bonsai tree, the thickness of its trunk, and its height can all be considered when determining the size of of a suitable pot.
Some pots are highly collectible, like ancient Chinese or Japanese pots made in regions with experienced pot makers such as Tokoname, Japan or Yixing, China. Today many western potters throughout Europe and the United States produce fine quality pots for Bonsai.
Unlike many common plant containers, bonsai pots have drainage holes to allow excess water to drain. The grower usually covers the holes with a plastic screen or mesh to prevent soil from escaping and pests from entering the pots from below.
Common styles
Semi-cascade style larch
Formal upright style Bald cypress
Forest style Black Hills Spruce
Informal upright style Juniper
Root-over-rock style maple on display at at the Chinese Penjing Collection of National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in Washington, DCIn English, the most common styles include: formal upright, slant, informal upright, cascade, semi-cascade, raft, literati, and group/forest.
The formal upright style, or Chokkan, is characterized by a straight, upright, tapering trunk. The trunk and branches of the informal upright style, or Moyogi, may incorporate pronounced bends and curves, but the apex of the informal upright is always located directly over where the trunk begins at the soil line.
Slant-style, or Shakan, bonsai possess straight trunks like those of bonsai grown in the formal upright style. However, the slant style trunk emerges from the soil at an angle, and the apex of the bonsai will be located to the left or right of the root base.
Cascade-style, or Kengai, bonsai are modeled after trees which grow over water or on the sides of mountains. The apex, or tip of the tree in the Semi-cascade-style, or Han Kengai, bonsai extend just at or beneath the lip of the bonsai pot; the apex of a (full) cascade style falls below the base of the pot.
Raft-style, or Netsuranari, bonsai mimic a natural phenomenon that occurs when a tree topples onto its side (typically due to erosion or another natural force) and branches along the exposed side of the trunk, growing as if they are a group of new trunks. Sometimes, roots will develop from buried portions of the trunk. Raft-style bonsai can have sinuous, straight-line, or slanting trunks, all giving the illusion that they are a group of separate trees -- while actually being the branches of a tree planted on its side.
The literati style, or Bunjin-gi, bonsai is characterized by a generally bare trunk line, with branches reduced to a minimum, and typically placed higher up on a long, often contorted trunk. This style derives its name from the Chinese literati, who were often artists, and some of whom painted Chinese brush paintings, like those found in the ancient text, The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, depicting pine trees that grew in harsh climates, struggling to reach sunlight. In Japan, the literati style is known as bunjin-gi (文人木, bunjin-gi?). (Bunjin is a translation of the Chinese phrase wenren meaning "scholars practiced in the arts" and gi is a derivative of the Japanese word, ki, for "tree").
The group or forest style, or Yose Ue, comprises a planting of more than one tree (typically an odd number if there are three or more trees, and essentially never 4 because of its significance in China) in a bonsai pot. The trees are usually the same species, with a variety of heights employed to add visual interest and to reflect the age differences encountered in mature forests.
The root-over-rock style, or Sekijoju, is a style in which the roots of a tree (typically a fig tree) are wrapped around a rock. The rock is at the base of the trunk, with the roots exposed to varying degrees.
The broom style, or Hokidachi is employed for trees with extensive, fine branching, often with species like elms. The trunk is straight and upright. It branches out in all directions about 1/3 of the way up the entire height of the tree. The branches and leaves form a ball-shaped crown which can also be very beautiful during the winter months.
The multi-trunk style, or Ikadabuki has all the trunks growing out of one root system, and it actually is one single tree. All the trunks form one crown of leaves, in which the thickest and most developed trunk forms the top.
The growing-in-a-rock, or Ishizuke style means the roots of the tree are growing in the cracks and holes of the rock. There is not much room for the roots to develop and take up nutrients. These trees are designed to visually represent that the tree has to struggle to survive.
Bonsai Gardening Secrets. Discover Over 95 Pages Of Insider Secrets To Creating Stunning Bonsai Trees. Click Here!
Worlds Best Compost. Make The Worlds Ultimate Natural Fertilizer, Colloidal Humus, Without Bins, Turning Or Odor. Click Here!
The Complete Grape Growing System. A Complete System With E-book And Audio Book To Help You Grow Grapes The Correct Way. Click Here!
How To Start Beekeeping. Want To Start Beekeeping? This New EBook Reveals It All. Start Keeping Bees This Season! Click Here!
Orchid Care Expert - A Practical Guide. The Most Practical Guide To Orchid Care To Be Found On The Internet. Click Here!
Organic Food Gardening Beginners Manual. 87 Page Step-by-step Gardening Manual For Beginners To Learn How To Grow Their Own Healthy, Organic Food - Saving Money And Eating Chemical Free! Great Bonuses With This E-manual. Revised Edition Just Released.
Click Here!
Forceful Orchid Fertilizers: Homemade Recipes. Know How To Feed Your Orchids To Quickly Get Astonishing Results. Click Here!
The Hypertufa How-To Manual. 100 Page EBook On How To Make Garden Art Objects From Hypertufa. Easy To Follow Instructions & Expert Advice. Click Here!
Homemade Hydroponics. Hydroponics Secrets Shows You How To Grow The Plants, Fruits And Vegetables -even In Limited Space--without Using Soil. Pays 75% Commission With Excellent Conversion Rates. Click Here!
Bonsai Gardening Secrets. Discover Over 95 Pages Of Insider Secrets To Creating Stunning Bonsai Trees. Click Here!
Forceful Insecticides Home Made Formula. Discover Secret Informations That Big Multinationals Dont Want You To Know! Click Here!
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