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Every yr 50,000km of soil is lost - Soil preservation is essential: #IY2015

SOIL Prevention is Essential...

HOME & GARDEN TIPS : OUTDOOR Gardening

All outdoor plants require at least 5-6 hours of direct sunlight a day to remain healthy, retain their colour, fruit and flower. Depending on the type of plant, remember to place it in an appropriate position where plenty of sunlight is available.

While watering plants, keep a few things in mind:

·         Check soil for moisture, if moist watering is not required. If you do expect a hot day ahead then you could give it a bit of a sprinkle.

·         Make sure the soil is never left soggy (heavily with water/moisture) for long periods letting it dry between watering. This will prevent the plants from rotting due to suffocation. Plants like cactus need to be watered once in a week and placed in full sun

·         The best time to water plants is in the morning, before the sunlight is at its strongest intensity as this is the optimum condition for plants to photosynthesize.

·         Make sure to thoroughly clean plants up to 2 times a week to keep them dust free. Dust interferes with the breathing of the plants and if not cleaned, plants appear dull and tend to wilt.

FERTILIZING :

All plants should be fertilized once a month. Make sure they are supplied a balanced diet of NPK- Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium or any well-decomposed Organic fertilizer.

For leaf shine and brightness, a weekly routine of spraying any Organic Liquid or Soil Fertilizer is advised.

TRIMMING & PRUNING:

Pruning is a horticultural practice that involves the removal of certain unwanted, diseased, non-reproducing parts of a plant. It is advised according to a particular plant's growth habit. While pruning, keep the following points in mind:

·         Is it flowering time of the plant in question?

·         If it is, then wait until it is done flowering and then continue to prune.

·         How much you need to prune will depend on how much you expect it to grow within a certain period. For example if you decide to drastically prune your bougainvillea, it will be another 6-10 months before you see in a lush bushy flowering state.

Pruning must be done systematically. A good method is to trim the young, wild, out of shape branches before you tackle the older, more established ones. In this way you give the plants a better form as it grows to increase its overall aesthetic appeal. It is advised that the cutters have sharp blades or else they could damage the plant creating and open wound susceptible to fungal and rust diseases.

Antidepressant Microbes In Soil: How Dirt Makes You Happy ?

There's No Denying that standing in the garden and picking your first Summer Lemon gives you a good feeling. Even in an Urban Environment a small pot in the balcony can brighten your day. But is there a scientific reason that getting our hands dirty makes us feel Good ?

Did You Know that there's a Natural Anti-Depressant in Soil ? It's True.

Mycobacterium vaccae is the substance under study and has indeed been found to mirror the effect on neurons that drugs like Prozac Provide. The Bacterium is found in soil and may Stimulate Serotonin production, which makes you relaxed and happier. Studies were conducted on cancer patients and they reported a better quality of life and less stress.

Lack of Serotonin has been linked to Depression, Anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and bipolar problems. The bacterium appears to be a natural antidepressant in soil and has no adverse health effects. These antidepressant microbes in soil may be as easy to use as just playing in the dirt.

           

Most avid Gardners will tell you that their landscape is their " HAPPY PLACE" and the actual physical act of gardening is a STRESS REDUCER & MOOD LIFTER. The fact that there is some science behind it adds additional credibility to these garden addict's claims.

Wish you all HAPPY GARDENING & Soil Playing...So let's get started.

(source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6509781.stm )

How Reducing Food Waste Could Ease Climate Change..?

Do you Know Producing the food we Throw Away generates more greenhouse gases (GHGs) than most entire countries do ?

More than a third of all of the food that's produced on our planet never reaches a table. It's either spoiled in transit or thrown out by consumers in wealthier countries, who typically buy too much and toss the excess. This works out to roughly 1.3 billion tons of food, worth nearly $1 trillion at retail prices.

Aside from the social, economic, and moral implications of that waste—in a world where an estimated 805 million people go to bed hungry each night—the environmental cost of producing all that food, for nothing, is staggering.

The water wastage alone would be the equivalent of the entire annual flow of the Volga—Europe's largest river—according to a UN report. The energy that goes into the production, harvesting, transporting, and packaging of that wasted food, meanwhile, generates more than 3.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. If food waste were a country, it would be the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, behind the U.S. and China. 

What are the solutions?

ohn Mandyck, the chief sustainability officer of United Technologies, a U.S.-based engineering and refrigerated transport firm, says that food waste can be mitigated by improving the "cold chain," which comprises refrigerated transport and storage facilities.

However, we can't take today's sophisticated refrigerated truck-trailer systems available in the U.S. and Europe and expect they can be immediately adopted in emerging countries. In many cases, the roads in these countries can't accommodate large truck systems, the technical skill is not yet present to support the systems, and the economy can't yet afford the systems. So we have to scale the technology to the local needs—smaller systems, fewer features, more affordable...

Only 60 Years of Farming Left If Soil Degradation Continues.....

Generating three centimeters of top soil takes 1,000 years, and if current rates of degradation continue all of the world's top soil could be gone within 60 years, a senior UN official said

(Source : Reuters ) December 5, 2014http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/only-60-years-of-farming-left-if-soil-degradation-continues/

ROME (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Generating three centimeters of top soil takes 1,000 years, and if current rates of degradation continue all of the world's top soil could be gone within 60 years, a senior UN official said on Friday.

About a third of the world's soil has already been degraded, Maria-Helena Semedo of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) told a forum marking World Soil Day.

The causes of soil destruction include chemical-heavy farming techniques, deforestation which increases erosion, and global warming. The earth under our feet is too often ignored by policymakers, experts said.

"Soils are the basis of life," said Semedo, FAO's deputy director general of natural resources. "Ninety five percent of our food comes from the soil."

Unless new approaches are adopted, the global amount of arable and productive land per person in 2050 will be only a quarter of the level in 1960, the FAO reported, due to growing populations and soil degradation.

Soils play a key role in absorbing carbon and filtering water, the FAO reported. Soil destruction creates a vicious cycle, in which less carbon is stored, the world gets hotter, and the land is further degraded.

"We are losing 30 soccer fields of soil every minute, mostly due to intensive farming," Volkert Engelsman, an activist with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements told the forum at the FAO's headquarters in Rome.

"Organic (farming) may not be the only solution but it's the single best (option) I can think of."

Use Humic Acid to Restore the Health of Your Soil

Most people are quick to say Humic Acids are fertilizers, but in fact, it is more of a soil conditioner.  The benefits far outweigh the costs and with so many soils being depleted around the world today, Humic Acids are an effective product to reverse the depletion trend.  In a world where we are seeing world population grow at an exponential rate, and are losing arable acres on which to grow crops, we need to fertilize crops to maximize production and feed the hungry. 

To keep your soil healthy, vibrant and productive, look towards a fertilization program with Humic Acids to help you achieve that.  In turn, you will prosper with higher yields, a healthier soil and a sustainable future. 

The Dirt on Dirt: 5 Things You Should Know About Soil

The Dirt on Dirt: 5 Things You Should Know About Soil

Here are five things you should know about soil.

1. Soil, like oil, is a finite resource.

2. Misusing soil can topple civilizations.

3. Good soil usage helps prevent droughts.

4. High-tech makes a difference.

5. Soil is alive.