3 Best Varieties Palm House Plants

Of those thousands plants could bring indoor, palms are the most favorite. In the ground most of palm trees grow as a monster thriving into a big tree as a common view in the parking lots, house yards and road fences. In spite of the fact, palm house plants are also a common sight in the business building and people houses around the world. You have to know that, some varieties of palm trees are small and excellent for houseplants. Other some are slow growing, so you can take it inside the house while they are young.

People are investing to the palm tree as houseplants for the sake of various backgrounds. In the business environments they want attract consumers as many as possible. In the house, they want to add special bold accent of tropics. Palms’ upright shapes easily add elegant touch into any blank space, wall corner or beside the table for creating instant dramatic living specimen.

As just you headed to look for one of them, this post cover numbers of the best varieties of palm house plants you can start determine before you walk to the local garden center. 5 of the best including:

Ponytail Palm (Beaucarnea recurvata)

Ponytail palm serves beautiful live scenery placed anywhere indoor. This is a common view and marvelous match for classical to the modern living space. The small plant is great specimen to be placed on the office desk, patio table, or even on the dining table. The tasseled fronds are really looking fabulous.

As time goes by, Ponytail Palm grows into taller plant, but don’t expect that would happen in short time. The plant is very slow growing, which make it very easy to maintenance even on neglect. Thereby, once the plant apparently need some of cares, when the start reaching the ceiling, you can simply cut the stem into desired size. The new stem will start growing and sprouting fresh beautiful leaves.

Ponytail palm can save abundant water in their thick trunk, so frequent watering is somewhat not necessary. However, if you wish to give regular watering, they will accept with pleasure. Overwatering will also fine. If you doesn’t have bright spot, it will be fine too as Ponytail Palm can tolerate low light spots.

The plant also has special feature: purifies the air.

Ruffled Fan Palm (Licuala grandis)

That is said, Licuala grandis is one the most beautiful small palms. Many of Ruffled Fan palm available for houseplants sold as young to medium potted plant. Ruffled Fan palm has attractiveness mainly located on the leaves. Its glossy creasy wide fan-like fronds are remarkably fabulous. Some of the plants have very large fronds reaching up to 3 feet across, right choice for immediate bold tropical accent.

Photo byRaffi Kojian at Gardenology.org

Unfortunately, this is not a hardy and easy plant. Licuala grandis is native to the wet rain forest in the tropics environments, so it likes lots of water and warmth. It also froze-tender and doesn’t tolerate drought, so you will need to outsmart the conditioned environment.

To keep the warmth you can add an automatic warm humidifier and let the tool become loyal companion to the plant when the weather begins to drop. To keep the moist, frequent watering needed. Dry soil in the planter is the main cause of the plant fail to thrive.

The easy part, Ruffled Fan Palm can live in the shady place to bright spot. The brighter place you have, it means more frequent watering required keeping the plant happy.

Chinese Fan Palm (Livistona chinensis)

Looks similar to its Ruffled Fan palm sibling, but the Chinese Fan Palm is a distinctive specimen with hardier ability to stand on the drought. If you love Licuala grandis, but afraid of the care, you can make Chinese Fan Palm as great alternative.

Benefits of Effective Microorganism for Organic Farming and Gardening

A Brief History of Effective Microorganism Technology and Development

Japanese farmers and gardeners began their conventional organic farming culture since long decades ago, but they have not been ever so productive before the advent of EM technology to boost their farming yields. As they realized that organic farming is the only way on reducing the use of chemicals to produce healthier yields for consumption. Since then, many efforts and development conducted by farmers group, scientists, government, university and other related parties.

Recently in 1980, Dr. Teruo Higa, a professor at Ryukyus University stunned the world with his finding as the result of his 20 years long process discovery. EM formula, we know it today is a brilliant booster and beneficial microorganism in the farm living world. Organic farming culture becomes faster and more efficient with the help of EM, as today it used in various applications like basic ingredients to make organic fertilizer, soil enrichments, organic pesticides, and many others.

Effective Microorganism (EM) is a biotechnology developed based on the environmentally friendly principle that finally leads to reduce the use of chemicals substance, which can reduce overall cost production and result human-friendlier food quality. Nowadays, the EM technology is such of common thing for either home-based gardening or wider scale in hundred acres land cultivation or screen houses. One instance in the wide scale of applications, EM is frequently used as the main activator to produce massive bokashi compost through the process of fermentation. The sustainability of organic materials and organic waste resources is one reason that’s bokashi compost is cheap and easy to make.

Chemicals Use Vs Organic Farming Vs Modern Organic Farming with Effective Microorganism Technology

There are lucrative benefits to take along with the EM technology application in farming and agriculture. In the table shown below, you will see comparison farming with the use chemicals substance, conventional organic farming and modern organic farming with EM.

Perimeters	Conventional Farming with Chemistry Use	Organic Traditional Farming	Modern Organic Farming with EM
Quantity Quality Cost Pollution Environment Productivity	Medium – High Low–Medium High High Damaging Non-Sustainable	Low-Medium Medium–High Low Zero Protect Sustainable	Medium–High Medium–High Low Zero Protect and Repair Sustainable

EM rules the modern agriculture and becomes such of a new dimension to learn and practice. It is why there are emerging research center and organization put their concern to develop the applicable technology that props up healthier agriculture and its sustainability. EMRO (Effective Microorganism Research Organization) recognized as vast improved organization with more than 30 country members. EMRO promotes studies, research and facilitate world conference on the EM technology developments.

Microorganism that Construct Effective Microorganism Culture

There are many types of microorganism/microbes with lucrative nature used as inoculants to promote the microbes’ diversity and richness in the soil. As we recognizes name of product today, they may vary in composition. There are at least five main microorganisms to produce Effective Microorganism solutions, which are including:

• Photosynthetic Bacteria (Rhodopseudomonas spp)
• Lactic Acid Bacteria (Lactobacillus)
• Yeast (Saccoharomyces)
• Actinomycetes
• Fungal Fermentation (Aspergillus & Penicillium)

Main Benefits of Effective Microorganism (EM) in Agriculture and Farming

In general, EM in agriculture will delivers such benefits as:

• Restore the benefits of biologic, physic and compound of soil
• Increasing and keep the stability of farming production in long term period
• Fermenting beneficial organic materials in the soil and fasten the process of decomposition
• Help to yield production in both quality and quantity
• Increase the number of good microbes in the soil

General Applications of Effective Microorganism Technology in Agriculture and Farming

EM generally cultured in the form of yellowish brown liquid with sour smell. In the modern industry, the Effective Microorganism solution packed in the bottle and can be kept as a Mother Culture EM, which generally they are in the dormant condition. Once you open it, mix to the organic materials or any other substance, they soon will wake up and active. The microbes start their activity according to their natural trait.

When you inoculate the EM solution directly by spraying to the soil, the EM will actively fermenting any organic materials contained in the soil. The results of those fermentations are already in the form of digestible organic compounds for roots. They may in the form of alcohol, protein, vitamin, molasses, amino acid, etc. It is different when you give organic materials to the soil without EM inoculation. The organic materials may be decayed and result kind of inorganic materials that could be bad for the plant.

In addition, EM doesn’t only ferment the organic materials. They also become a trigger for the other good microorganism to live and evolve giving more profits to the soil. Because of their antagonistic trait to the pathogens, the EM will fight for you to protect the soil and the plant. In that way, EM can gives your double benefits.

In further circumstance, Effective Microorganism solution is used for bokashi composting to make organic fertilizer. Find more information about bokashi here.

Step by Step How to Make Bokashi Juice

Beforehand, I wrote how to make bokashi compost that result solid substance compost. Now, using the similar concept of composting, you will watch how to make bokashi that result liquid substance. This kind of bokashi is also popular as bokashi juice – organic liquid compost. Bokashi juice is also rich-nutrient compost that consists of macronutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium) element and other micronutrients like chlorine, iron, zinc, boron as well as manganese that ready to feed to the plants or to reconstruct the soil condition.

Now you see that there are many home industries selling bokashi juice in package. Modern DIY enthusiast, home gardeners and indoor planting hobbyists already turn into greener small gardening and use bokashi juice as their main fertilizer in addition to the synthetic one. Kale, spinach, salad are example of perfect object to plant everywhere around the house like nearing the windows, on the patio or backyard.

Here you then, if bokashi juice is sound interesting to you for your new organic mainstay, stay tuned!

I see world is now filled by the concept of making bokashi juice using kitchen waste. That’s amazing, but I don’t agree at all as there are many ways yielding bokashi juice compost in addition of using kitchen waste. Now, you can think about backyard raising kitchen, birdcage, and your neighbor horse stable. All of them are the places where you catch the ideas on making bokashi juice. The mater is how good you turn such of organic waste into juice compost.

The Help of Microbes in the Effective Microorganism

Using the similar concept of what I explained here, it is easy to turn organic garbage into something smell good and rich-nutrient liquid. You are free to use any of EM formula in this case. Look at the example of small study below:

• Pick up several animal waste from your chicken coop/henhouse
• Place it into tumbler
• Add some water + microbes (Effective Microorganism)
• Cover it with plastic tightly and wait for couple week
• The process of composting will slowly begin
• Once the waste decayed you can use it as an organic fertilizer

Because EM is available in liquid substance and solid substance, later you can choose which one is right for you.

Bokashi Bucket the Specialist of Kitchen Waste

In the modern space people looking more practical way to make compost. Kitchen waste is really rich-nutrient source of compost. Everybody has kitchen and it produce waste every day. Luckily, the wastes are easy to convert into bokashi juice as they are more frequently have damp characteristics like damp tissue, egg, cooked fish, fruits, and vegetables.

To make them easier, you need to purchase bokashi kitchen bucket that cost from $50 to $100. Fill the bucket with the waste and add EM formula on each layer after you fill it. Wait until the process of decomposing accomplished, and you can simply get the juice buy opening the tap. In many cases, this process doesn’t completely ferment all the waste and give you the remnant. This remnant sometime called by ‘bokashi waste’. You can simply burry the bokashi waste and mix them again with EM to enrich the soil in your garden.

A Successful Guide of Bokashi Composting

Introduction

That see out your successful organic farming or gardening is the way in which you prepare great nutrient. World sees that compost always be better way rather than synthetic fertilizer. Earth sees that natural fertilizer will keep them healthy. Plant sees organic matter is friendlier to help them yielding fruitful harvest. Human have to supply the plants using right organic fertilizer to keep them producing healthy food. This is a healthy life cycle, right? So, start your own way!

Nature has its own mechanism to let organic matter decay into fertilizer and that sometime takes longer time without the advent of human creativity. Among various methods in which people working to make compost, bokashi composting is one most popular way. This is surprising after knowing that Japanese people tend to make bokashi compost since 50 years ago. Now, the time is yours.

In my opinion, bokashi compost is a better shortcut to find the most efficient organic fertilizer to keep the land healthy and plants grows happily all along the years. Cultivating the land using organic treatment is the safest method you can find in this planet. The best part, we can start bokashi project anytime regardless of the quantity – starting from small DIY project preparing high-quality organic fertilizer for your pot planting to the corps cultivating preparation on hundreds acres land.

Up until the end of this blog entry, I hope you wish nothing except acknowledging the basic principle to make small project on successful bokashi composting. I please reader from all round the globe to follow this post, as I will convey the most flexible method to make bokashi by taking benefits of various wastes or raw organic materials available at around your house like kitchen crap, foliage, chicken manure, or any possible organic materials.

Again, I don’t want to bother and force you to learn any complicated term as written by most people, but only quick practice, everything you need to prepare, and if possible I will let you know where to buy the stocks. According to me myself, I’m prefer to define bokashi as compost yielded from the process of fermented organic materials with the help from amazing effective microorganism (EM) technology and other booster materials like molasses and other compositions come with EM that could be bacteria like Azotobacter sp., Lactobacillus sp., yeast, photosynthetic bacteria, cellulose-degrading fungi and other beneficial living organisms.

Two Basic Components to Make Bokashi Compost

In my own perspective, a successful bokashi is so simple. Initially, all what you need to prepare is the raw organic materials and the EM itself. That is right you will also need equipments and tools to make them all working, but they will be varies in form, size and capacity depending the output you expect. Once you understand this general view then we move to the more specific details.

Introducing Bokashi Juice and Bokashi Compost

You can find bokashi in 2 form, one has juice/liquid substance another in the form of powder/raw /solid substance (like the soil itself). They both function as organic fertilizer as well. You can also take alternative as the solid one is for basic fertilizer and the bokashi juice is for plant feeding.

However both bokashi compost and bokashi juice they have similar function, but both applied differently. Bokashi juice requires right dosage for specific application while bokashi compost I think don’t require any specific dosage. You will also need to mix bokashi juice with other substance, but you won’t for the bokashi compost.

I was wondering how can people snug on the synthetic fertilizer, while they were actually been watching a serious drawbacks of the synthetic fertilizer like causing chemical burn, virulence, etc. Organic bokashi have no toxic effect.

That’s right while some people suggest not to apply directly of the bokashi juice into the soil or foliage, in truth if you do so, it will doesn’t matter, but it will only waste your money. Before applying the bokashi juice, you can mix them up with clean water and here is the magic happen. Greatly save money.

So, which one is suitable for me?

• Bokashi juice the most practical and effective for small fertilization like in pot planting or small garden. (Click here for the steps and tools you need to prepare to make bokashi juice).
• Bokashi compost is scalable to the wider applications

Step by Step Guide of Bokashi Composting

Everything about Materials

Seize the organic waste at around your home, and don’t waste it. See a few examples below:

• Autumn moment + leaf blower
  Make your autumn season jazzy with fun activity by turning the fall into stead. Probably you will need a helping tool like broom or a more modern leaf blower. If you want to invest some money on a good garden blower, you can find many advices in this website: diytoolsguide.com, especially if you are from UK.
• Harvest time + straw
  Have you ever heard about straw bale house? What I mean straw here is the same material. You can use it as a high nutrient bokashi when fermented correctly mixed with other rich-nutrient sources like animal waste, grass clippings, sawdust, kitchen waste, etc. When you use straw as part of the bokashi ingredients, you have at first to clips it into small pieces. In principle, all materials should already chopped properly before you proceed. Now you catch the idea for other possible materials like:
• Gardening routine + grass clippings
• Tidying up hedge + hedge clippings
• DIY sanding or chainsaw cutting + sawdust
• Farming industry + bran (corn, wheat, rice, etc
• Farming industry + husk
• Backyard + animal waste (chicken, sheep, goat, cow, rabbit, pig, etc)
  I make the exception for the animal waste, as they are very good nutrients resources. I usually make 1:4 composition ratio using animal waste (from cow and sheep) combined with all “green waste” on the list. Animal waste takes the biggest portion. Mixed them up and the result is amazing.

Rich-Nutrient Effective Microorganism

Using the right effective microorganism formula will determine the process of fermentation. In nature, all effective microorganisms (microbes) can decompose all organic materials. Nevertheless, not all consist of microbes you need to make good quality fertilizer or compost. Make sure you have the correct EM that consists of microbes to decompose the materials you prepare. Shopping online is easier to guide you finding the route for best EM microbes. In this case, I use the EM with liquid substance. 4-liter (four bottles) of EM is enough for up to 4000 pounds ready-to-serve compost.

Mixing the Organic Materials

What do you need including:

• Sprayer
• Tumbler
• Shovel

Follow these steps:

• Chop or clips all the materials into small pieces
• Prepare EM solution: 1 – 3 bottle cap (approximately 3 ml/cc) EM liquid for 1-liter water, then pour and mix into water in the tumbler.
• Molasses is optional
• Pour the solution into sprayer
• Spray the solution into the organic materials and stir well using the shovel (damp quality and not too wet)
• Put into compost tumbler or cover it with mulch

Fermenting

Many of composting requires anaerobes, organisms that grows without air, or requires oxygen-free conditions to live. This is why you need to prepare the space meet that condition. Many to choose including compost tumbler, bokashi bin, etc. For cheaper solution, you can also use plastic bag – depend on how big capacity you want to produce bokashi compost.
I was don’t really paying too serious attention on it. I used a simply ground cover such as mulch plastic to ferment amount of up to 250 pounds organic raw materials. If you plan to use mulch plastic, you can put the mixed materials above the ground than cover it. Don’t let the air come inside by blocking all the open sides by soil, stone, clay, etc.

Controlling the Process

Through this method, the fermentation process will produce heat. It is why you need to check the temperature regularly. Composting process generally takes time up to 1 month. You need to check every 3 or 4 days. If the temperature increasing and the materials are getting to hot, you can open the container/mulch for one hours period. If the temperature doesn’t want to go down, you can spray with water using hand-pump sprayer.

The Characteristic of High Quality Bokashi Compost

• Change in the color of materials
• Smells good
• Materials do not rot
• Already in the form of granule or crumbly and ready to sprinkle
• Do not content too much water