Plants that can beat Indoor Pollution June 4, 2009

beat indoor pollution

1. The Areca Palm (or Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) does great air cleansing work during the day. About 4 shoulder height plants per person should do the trick.
2. The Mother-in-law’s Tongue (or Sansevieria trifasciata) takes over by converting CO2 to O2 at night. You want about 6 to 8 of these waist high plants per person.
3. The Money Plant (or Epipremnum aureum) does the job of filtering out removing Formaldehyde and other VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds).

A study carried out by Chichester College confirms the advantages of having house plants around because they make our environment a healthier place in which to live and work. Researchers have found that one potted plant per 100 square feet of floor space can help clean the air.

The students rated the most effective plants and the ubiquitous Areca Palm came first for removing ammonia, and formaldehyde (found in many cleaning products) from the air and releasing moisture into the air. Next was the Peace Lily which removes acetone, then the Rubber Plant, then Ficus Benjamina (weeping fig) then the dracena. Number 6 is english ivy that eliminates mould causing asthma, boston ferns are highly rated for improving air quality, then the spider plant and lastly the moth orchid (phalaenopsis).

Making your own organic fertilizers March 17, 2009

Image via Wikipedia

Many commercial fertilizers on the market today contain ingredients that may harm or burn plants. The solution? Go organic. Think of the things you use every day.. specifically food items, such as eggs. A very beneficial fertilizer can be made using eggshells. Eggshells contain a high level of nitrogen and protein which are important to a plant’s nutrition and can help your plants grow and prosper. After cooking breakfast, save your eggshells and put them in a blender or food processor and grind them down to a powder. To this powder you can also add coffee grounds, tea grounds, and even vitamin and mineral tablets. Add bottled water to the mixture, since some water supplies contain too much chlorine that can be harmful to plants. If you see yellow leaves or burned edges on the leaves of your plants, it could be due to the chlorine content of the water you are administering to the plants.

Another method of feeding plants is to mix a teaspoon of sugar to a pitcher of bottled water and add a pinch of crushed aspirin to the mixture. The sugar feeds the plant and the aspirin serves to keep the plant’s capillaries open in order to deliver water and nutrients to all parts of the plant.

You could also feed and water your plants with freshly brewed tea or coffee (let it cool first, of course) and you can also add a few teaspoons of sugar.

Try filling a pitcher with bottled water and adding some nails (rusted or not)dried leaves, dried manure, and bread crumbs. Set the container in the sun where it will be undisturbed for three days, strain the liquid and water your plants.

Create a portable compost heap using a medium sized plastic garbage can and use it only for discarded foodstuffs from your kitchen. It can be kept in your garage or you could leave it in your back yard and the sunlight can slowly “cook” the ingredients. Periodically add bottled water to help mix the nutrients. Using a large cooking spoon, scoop out a bit of the compost and add it to a pitcher of bottled water and let it sit for a few hours, then water your plants.

source: Michael Smith @ http://www.helium.com