North Indian Soapnuts, Certified Organic

As GUROO FARMS, we write to introduce ourselves as a group of certified Organic Farmers based in N. India.

Our sister concern, Earthy Flavorance Inc helps us to door-deliver our products anywhere in USA & Canada.

As a natural products enthusiast, you are always concerned about the "quality" of your products, be it essential oils, natural hair color [mehendi, indigo etc] or natural soap [soapnuts]. Obviously, it is most prudent to procure from genuine sources, if possible, the farmer himself, because that is where you get "quality" and the "right price" - There are No MIDDLE-MEN or SALES AGENTS- thus the best price at a premium quality.

We grow some of our own essential oils, as well as source directly from farmer friends, like myself.

Wild-grown [wild-collected] Reetha [Ritha] or the North Indian Soapnut, Sapindus Mukorossi comes from the Shivaliks- the lower ranges of Himalayas in North. India.

Natural [and certified organic] Mehendi Leaf Powder[Lawsonia Innermis]  comes from Rajasthan.

Natural Indigo Leaf Powder is sourced from Andhra-Pradesh

Our Rose-Water [floral water] comes from the Roses at Kannauj.Our Lemongrass, Peppermint & cornmint Oils come from the Indo-Gangetic plains of N. India

We also source spice oils, citronella, geranium, basil etc from South Indian Farmers.

We invite you to visit our blog

One of our research projects has resulted in development of a genotype of lemongrass, which is rich in geraniol and cironellol, just like the oil of Geranium !!! Strange, but true, yes--- this is an excellent ingredient for mehendi, indigo [for hair color] or soap-nuts [natural shampoo, soap]

Details on these varieties of lemongrass

Its an award winning achievement, as you would see in the link below
 You may want to read reviews of our buyers

Should you be interested in bulk purchase, please feel free to contact us

References

A Great Gentle Lemongrass Chemotype « The Aromahead Blog by Andrea Butje  http://bit.ly/butje_ccs

Spotlight on Guroo Farms Distillery in India « The Aromahead Blog http://bit.ly/andrea_gf

Kind Regards,
Gurpreet Singh

Visit us in India at www.guroofarms.com
Our e-cart in USA is at www.earthyflavorance.biz

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North Indian Soapnuts, Certified Organic

As GUROO FARMS, we write to introduce ourselves as a group of certified Organic Farmers based in N. India.

Our sister concern, Earthy Flavorance Inc helps us to door-deliver our products anywhere in USA & Canada.

As a natural products enthusiast, you are always concerned about the "quality" of your products, be it essential oils, natural hair color [mehendi, indigo etc] or natural soap [soapnuts]. Obviously, it is most prudent to procure from genuine sources, if possible, the farmer himself, because that is where you get "quality" and the "right price" - There are No MIDDLE-MEN or SALES AGENTS- thus the best price at a premium quality.

We grow some of our own essential oils, as well as source directly from farmer friends, like myself.

Wild-grown [wild-collected] Reetha [Ritha] or the North Indian Soapnut, Sapindus Mukorossi comes from the Shivaliks- the lower ranges of Himalayas in North. India.

Natural [and certified organic] Mehendi Leaf Powder[Lawsonia Innermis]  comes from Rajasthan.

Natural Indigo Leaf Powder is sourced from Andhra-Pradesh

Our Rose-Water [floral water] comes from the Roses at Kannauj.Our Lemongrass, Peppermint & cornmint Oils come from the Indo-Gangetic plains of N. India

We also source spice oils, citronella, geranium, basil etc from South Indian Farmers.

We invite you to visit our blog

One of our research projects has resulted in development of a genotype of lemongrass, which is rich in geraniol and cironellol, just like the oil of Geranium !!! Strange, but true, yes--- this is an excellent ingredient for mehendi, indigo [for hair color] or soap-nuts [natural shampoo, soap]

Details on these varieties of lemongrass

Its an award winning achievement, as you would see in the link below
 You may want to read reviews of our buyers

Should you be interested in bulk purchase, please feel free to contact us

References

A Great Gentle Lemongrass Chemotype « The Aromahead Blog by Andrea Butje  http://bit.ly/butje_ccs

Spotlight on Guroo Farms Distillery in India « The Aromahead Blog http://bit.ly/andrea_gf

Kind Regards,
Gurpreet Singh

Visit us in India at www.guroofarms.com
Our e-cart in USA is at www.earthyflavorance.biz

Facebook

Linked-in

Twitter

http://bit.ly/fWFRpG

North Indian Soapnuts, Certified Organic Essential Oils-lemongrass citratus

As GUROO FARMS, we write to introduce ourselves as a group of certified Organic Farmers based in N. India.

Our sister concern, Earthy Flavorance Inc helps us to door-deliver our products anywhere in USA & Canada.

As a natural products enthusiast, you are always concerned about the "quality" of your products, be it essential oils, natural hair color [mehendi, indigo etc] or natural soap [soapnuts]. Obviously, it is most prudent to procure from genuine sources, if possible, the farmer himself, because that is where you get "quality" and the "right price" - There are No MIDDLE-MEN or SALES AGENTS- thus the best price at a premium quality.

We grow some of our own essential oils, as well as source directly from farmer friends, like myself.

Wild-grown [wild-collected] Reetha [Ritha] or the North Indian Soapnut, Sapindus Mukorossi comes from the Shivaliks- the lower ranges of Himalayas in North. India.

Natural [and certified organic] Mehendi Leaf Powder[Lawsonia Innermis]  comes from Rajasthan.

Natural Indigo Leaf Powder is sourced from Andhra-Pradesh

Our Rose-Water [floral water] comes from the Roses at Kannauj.Our Lemongrass, Peppermint & cornmint Oils come from the Indo-Gangetic plains of N. India

We also source spice oils, citronella, geranium, basil etc from South Indian Farmers.

We invite you to visit our blog

www.earthyflavorance.blogspot.com

One of our research projects has resulted in development of a genotype of lemongrass, which is rich in geraniol and cironellol, just like the oil of Geranium !!! Strange, but true, yes--- this is an excellent ingredient for mehendi, indigo [for hair color] or soap-nuts [natural shampoo, soap]

Details on these varieties of lemongrass

http://earthyflavorance.blogspot.com/2010/10/certified-organic-essential-oils.html

http://earthyflavorance.blogspot.com/2010/09/new-varieties-of-lemongrass-farmers.html

 

Its an award winning achievement, as you would see in the link below

http://bit.ly/indianexp_lg

 
 You may want to read reviews of our buyers

http://bit.ly/lemongrass_reviews

 

Should you be interested in bulk purchase, please feel free to contact us

 

References

 

A Great Gentle Lemongrass Chemotype « The Aromahead Blog by Andrea Butje  http://bit.ly/butje_ccs

 

Spotlight on Guroo Farms Distillery in India « The Aromahead Blog http://bit.ly/andrea_gf

Posted by Gurpreet Singh at earthyflavorance.biz

From Evernote:

Posted by Gurpreet Singh at earthyflavorance.biz

Clipped from: file:///C:/Users/hortishoppe/AppData/Local/Temp/WindowsLiveWriter-429641856/2AE90A53E9FD/index.htm

Posted by Gurpreet Singh at earthyflavorance.biz

I found the following information very interesting, which is derived from various articles I read recently

This article is about the Botanical aspects of various “Natural Hair Colors” available in the markethenna indigo cassia earthyflavorance.biz

Henna (Lawsonia inermis) is a flowering plant used since antiquity to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather and wool. The name is also used for dye preparations derived from the plant, and for the art of temporary tattooing based on those dyes.

Henna is a tall shrub or small tree, 2.6 m high. It is glabrous, multibranched with spine tipped branchlets. Leaves are opposite, entire, glabrous, sub-sessile, elliptical, and broadly lanceolate (1.5–5.0 cm x 0.5–2 cm), acuminate, having depressed veins on the dorsal surface. Henna flowers have four sepals and a 2 mm calyx tube with 3 mm spread lobes. Petals are obvate, white or red stamens inserted in pairs on the rim of the calyx tube. Ovary is four celled, style up to 5 mm long and erect. Fruits are small, brownish capsules, 4–8 mm in diameter, with 32–49 seeds per fruit, and open irregularly into four split

The henna plant is native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, southern Asia, and northern Australasia in semi-arid zones. Henna's indigenous zone is the tropical savannah and tropical arid zone, in latitudes between 15° and 25° N and S from Africa to the western Pacific rim, and produces highest dye content in temperatures between 35°C and 45°C. During the onset of precipitation intervals, the plant grows rapidly; putting out new shoots, then growth slows. The leaves gradually yellow and fall during prolonged dry or cool intervals. It does not thrive where minimum temperatures are below 11°C. Temperatures below 5°C will kill the henna plant. Henna is commercially cultivated in UAE, Morocco, Yemen, Tunisia, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, western India, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Turkey, Somalia and Sudan. Presently the Pali district of Rajasthan is the most heavily cultivated henna production area in India, with over 100 henna processors operating in Sojat City.

Henna has been used since the Bronze Age to dye skin (including body art), hair, fingernails, leather, silk and wool. In several parts of the world it is traditionally used in various festivals and celebrations. There is mention of henna as a hair dye in Indian court records around 400 CE,[2] in Rome during the Roman Empire, and in Spain during Convivencia.[3] It was listed in the medical texts of the Ebers Papyrus (16th c BCE Egypt)[4] and by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (14th c CE (Syria and Egypt) as a medicinal herb. In Morocco, wool is dyed and ornamented with henna, as are drumheads and other leather goods.

Use of henna for body art has enjoyed a recent renaissance due to improvements in cultivation, processing, and the emigration of people from traditional henna-using regions

For skin dyeing, a paste of ground henna (either prepared from a dried powder or from fresh ground leaves) is placed in contact with the skin from a few hours to overnight. Henna stains can last a few days to a month depending on the quality of the paste, individual skin type, and how long the paste is allowed to stay on the skin.

henna body art traditional

 

Henna also acts as an anti-fungal and a preservative for leather and cloth. Henna flowers have been used to create perfume since ancient times, and henna perfume is experiencing a resurgence. Henna repels some insect pests and mildew.

Henna's coloring properties are due to lawsone, a burgundy organic compound that has an affinity for bonding with protein. Lawsone is primarily concentrated in the leaves, especially in the petioles of the leaf. Lawsone content in leaves is negatively correlated with the number of seeds in the fruits

Henna has been used to adorn young women's bodies as part of social and holiday celebrations since the late Bronze Age in the eastern Mediterranean. The earliest text mentioning henna in the context of marriage and fertility celebrations comes from the Ugaritic legend of Baal and Anath, which has references to women marking themselves with henna in preparation to meet their husbands, and Anath adorning herself with henna to celebrate a victory over the enemies of Baal. Wall paintings excavated at Akrotiri (dating prior to the eruption of Thera in 1680 BCE) show women with markings consistent with henna on their nails, palms and soles, in a tableau consistent with the henna bridal description from Ugarit.[10] Many statuettes of young women dating between 1500 and 500 BCE along the Mediterranean coastline have raised hands with markings consistent with henna. This early connection between young, fertile women and henna seems to be the origin of the Night of the Henna, which is now celebrated worldwide.

The Night of the Henna was celebrated by most groups in the areas where henna grew naturally: Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Zoroastrians, among others, all celebrated marriages by adorning the bride, and often the groom, with henna

Across the henna-growing region, Purim,[11] Eid,[13] Diwali,[14] Karva Chauth, Passover, Nowruz, Mawlid, and most saints' days were celebrated with some henna. Favorite horses, donkeys, and salukis had their hooves, paws, and tails hennaed. Battle victories, births, circumcision, birthdays, Zār, as well as weddings, usually included some henna as part of the celebration. When there was joy, there was henna, as long as henna was available.[12]

Henna was regarded as having "Barakah," blessings, and was applied for luck as well as joy and beauty.[15] Brides typically had the most henna, and the most complex patterns, to support their greatest joy, and wishes for luck. Some bridal traditions were very complex, such as those in Yemen, where the Jewish bridal henna process took four or five days to complete, with multiple applications and resist work.

The fashion of "Bridal Mehndi" in Pakistan, Northern Libya and in North Indian diasporas is currently growing in complexity and elaboration, with new innovations in glitter, gilding, and fine-line work. Recent technological innovations in grinding, sifting, temperature control, and packaging henna, as well as government encouragement for henna cultivation, have improved dye content and artistic potential for henna.

Though traditional henna artists were Nai caste in India, and barbering castes in other countries (lower social classes), talented contemporary henna artists can command high fees for their work. Women in countries where women are discouraged from working outside the home can find socially acceptable, lucrative work doing henna. Morocco, Mauritania,[16] Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, as well as India and many other countries have thriving women's henna businesses. These businesses are often open all night for Eids, Diwali and Karva Chauth, and many women may work as a team for a large wedding where hundreds of guests will be hennaed as well as the bride and groom.

The FDA has not approved henna for direct application to the skin. It is unconditionally approved as a hair dye, and can only be imported for that purpose.

So-called "black henna" powder may be derived from indigo (from the plant Indigofera tinctoria). Indigo refers to several species of Indigofera, famous for the natural blue colors obtained from leaflets and branches of this herb. The French and Guatemalan indigo differ in size and shape of the leaflets and pods. Prior to the development of synthetic aniline and indigo dyes, the indigo species were grown commercially in the East Indies, India, and parts of North, South, and Central America for export and domestic use. Popularity and economic value of the plant reached a peak during the Middle Ages, when indigo was the most important dye plant for blue color in the western portion of the world.

True indigo, Indigofera tinctoria  is a shrub one to two meters high. It may be an annual, biennial, or perennial, depending on the climate in which it is grown. It has light green pinnate leaves and sheafs of pink or violet flowers. The plant is a legume, so it is rotated into fields to improve the soil in the same way that other legume crops such as alfalfa and beans are. The plant was one of the original sources of indigo dye. It has been naturalized to tropical and temperate Asia, as well as parts of Africa, but its native habitat is unknown since it has been in cultivation worldwide for many centuries. Natural dye from I. tinctoria is still available, marketed as natural coloring. The plant is also widely grown as a soil-improving groundcover.

The blue dyestuff is produced during fermentation of the leaves. A paste that exudes from fermenting plant material is processed into cakes and finely ground. The blue color develops as the material is exposed to air. The indigo dye is a derivative of indican, a natural constituent of several of the Indigofera species. The species name tinctoria refers to tinctorius, meaning "of dyes" or "belonging to dyes"

you can buy online here-  http://earthyflavorance.biz/earthyessencesnaturalproducts.aspx 

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Disclaimer-No claims are made as to any medicinal value of any product available or suggested on this website or by representatives of Earthy Flavorance Inc. The information presented here is for educational purposes of traditional uses and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases.Statements made, or products sold through this web site, have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases. The information provided by this website or this company is not a substitute for a face-to-face consultation with your physician, and should not be construed as individual medical advice. The testimonials on this website are individual cases and do not guarantee that you will get the same results. Earthy Flavorance Inc recommends you consult a health care professional before using herbal supplements of any kind.

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Some of the ethnic Indian Tribal silver jewelry / jewellery—coming very soon to

From Evernote:

Some of the ethnic Indian Tribal silver jewelry / jewellery—coming very soon to

Clipped from: http://earthyflavoranc.livejournal.com/

Some of the ethnic Indian Tribal silver jewelry / jewellery—coming very soon to our US store and shall be available online at

www.earthyflavorance.biz

Posted by- Gurpreet Singh

gauris cottage emporioum ethnic pendant with embedded stone 1

sargam trial 080

Gauris cottage emporium silver bangles pair kara

sargam trial 026

sargam trial 030

sargam trial 082

http://bit.ly/eBLto6

ethnic indian paintings

From Evernote:

ethnic indian paintings

Compiled by Gurpreet Singh at earthyflavorance.biz

Through this particular blog-post, we are attempting to discover various facets of the vibrant world of paintings, with a special emphasis on Indian paintings. The infinite variety of Indian paintings can be broadly classified as Miniatures, Glass, Batik, Madhubani, Warli, Phad, Patachitras, Thangkas etc, which also include many Tribal paintings.

The evolution of Art dates back to prehistoric times, when the pre-historic man started to draw on the walls of the caves. Indian art,  as anywhere across the world, has evolved into peculiar forms of art, varying with location. You will find paintings everywhere in India - from streets to temples, from festivals to religious ceremonies - painting is a part of Indian life and style. 

 

Our e-store is receiving a consignment of some very rare ethnic Indian paintings. Visit us or write to us for details.

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Ethnic Indian Paitings by earthyflavorance.biz
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History of Knives Daggers.

From Evernote:

History of Knives Daggers.

Keywords- Boot Knives Daggers.

Contributed by Gurpreet Singh at earthyflavorance.biz

Much like battle axes, daggers evolved out of prehistoric tools. In Neolithic times, daggers were made of materials such as flint, ivory or bone and were used as weapons since the earliest periods of human civilization. The earliest metal daggers appear in the Bronze Age, in the 3rd millennium BC, predating the sword, which essentially developed from oversized daggers. Although the standard dagger, in many cases, was not as effective as axes, spears, or even maces due to its limited reach, it was an important step towards the development to what is often seen as a more useful close-combat weapon, the sword.


Neolithic dagger - Museum of Toulouse


Celtic dagger and sheath

However, from pre-dynastic Egypt,[1] daggers were adorned as ceremonial objects with golden hilts and later even more ornate and varied construction. One early silver dagger was recovered with midrib design. Traditionally, some military and naval officers wore dress daggers as symbols of power, and modern soldiers are still equipped with combat knives and knife bayonets. In the second century BCE, socketed daggers were known to be used in Minoan Crete as evidenced by archaeological recovery at the Knossos site.[2]

Historically, knives and daggers were always considered secondary or even tertiary weapons. Most cultures mainly fought with pole weapons, swords, and axes at arm's length if not already utilizing bows, spears, slings, or other long-range weapons. Roman soldiers were issued a pugio.

From the year 1250 onward, gravestones and other contemporary images show knights with a dagger or combat knife at their side.[citation needed] The hilt and blade shapes began to resemble smaller versions of swords and led to a fashion of ornamented sheaths and hilts in the late 15th century.This is also a symbol of the church because the dagger look much like a cross.

The dagger is symbolically ambiguous. It may be associated with cowardice and treachery due to the ease of concealment and surprise that someone could inflict with one on an unsuspecting victim—many assassinations were reportedly carried out using one. Victims of such assassinations included Julius Caesar, who suffered from 23 stab wounds from irate members of the Roman Senate. A cloak and dagger attack is one in which a deceitful, traitorous, or concealed enemy attacks a person. On the other hand, the dagger may symbolically suggest a determination to become courageously close to the enemy.

With the advent of very protective plate armour during the Middle Ages, the dagger became increasingly useful as a good close in weapon for stabbing through the gaps in armour. Books offering instruction on the use of weapons predominantly described that the dagger be held in the hand with the blade pointing from the heel of the hand both in armour and out of armour, and used by making downward jabs. Straight jabs from a normal hammer grip were also used, though icepick style jabs are more commonly depicted in manuals. The dagger was quite a common murder weapon, easily used by commoners or vengeful aristocrats who wished to remain anonymous.

With the development of firearms, the dagger lost more and more of its usefulness in military combat; multipurpose knives/bayonets and handguns replaced them. However, beginning with the 17th century, another form of dagger—the plug bayonet and later the socket bayonet—was used to convert muskets and other longarms into spears by mounting them on the barrel.

Daggers achieved public notoriety in the 20th century as ornamental uniform regalia during the Fascist dictatorships of Mussolini's Italy and Hitler's Germany. The resurgence of these dress daggers and accoutrements in post-WW1 Germany gave a much needed boost to the flagging fortunes of the metalworking center Solingen. Dress daggers were used by several other countries as well, including Japan but never to the same extent as those worn by the Military and Political bodies of the Third Reich. As combat equipment they were carried by many infantry and commando forces during the Second World War. British commandos had an especially slender dagger, the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife, developed from that used in Shanghai. U.S. Marine Corps Raiders in the Pacific carried a similar fighting dagger, and others were fashioned for American forces and their allies from cut-down World War I Patton sabers.

See some of our pictures of the contemporary boot knives

http://bit.ly/boot_daggers_20101112


What are Boot Knives-

A boot knife also sometimes referred to as a dagger is a highly concealable knife featuring a double edged blade. These knives are typically placed in a protective sheath and carried in or on one's boot. These are also considered combat tactical knives for self-defense and used by soldiers in the military and law enforcement officers in many areas of the world. These fixed blade combat knives feature blades that are usually between three to five inches in overall length and are designed for stabbing and thrusting capabilities. in survival situations. People also carry them on a belt or under a pant leg. If worn around the neck (by means of a chain or lanyard) they become a neck knife. Boot knives generally come with a sheath that includes some form of a clip. Most have double-edged blades, like a dagger.

A boot-knife carries with it a multitude of legal issues, as each defining factor is likely to cause legal trouble in many jurisdictions. Some regions prohibit carrying fixed-blade knives, double-edge knives, or concealed knives. Being that most boot knives fit all three of those categories, carrying a boot-knife is not legal in most jurisdictions in the United States of America. 

http://bit.ly/deqzVX

Palmarosa Oil, Essential Oil of Palmarosa

From Evernote:

Palmarosa Oil, Essential Oil of Palmarosa

Clipped from: file:///C:/Users/hortishoppe/AppData/Local/Temp/WindowsLiveWriter-429641856/2F94ECD29105/index.htm

Visit us at www.earthyflavorance.blogspot.com  and  www.earthyflavorance.biz

Keywords- Essential Oils, Palmarosa, earthyflavorance.biz

Kingdom     Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom     Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision     Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division     Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class     Liliopsida – Monocotyledons
Subclass     Commelinidae
Order     Cyperales
Family     Poaceae – Grass family
Genus     Cymbopogon Spreng. – lemon grass
Species     Cymbopogon martinii (Roxb.) J.F. Watson – rosha grass

General - Palmarosa is a wild-growing herbaceous plant with long slender stems and terminal flowering tops; the grassy leaves are very fragrant. The essential oil is obtained by steam distillation of the fresh or dried grass. Palmarosa, or "Indian Geranium" has a rose like scent, similar to geranium. It is antibacterial, balancing and regenerating. Palmarosa essential oil is obtained from a wild grass native to India, this essential oil has a sweet floral fragrance. Palmarosa is a valuable antiseptic essential oil that suits all skin types. Soothing and stimulating, palmarosa is also uplifting to the emotions, and may be used in a room burner for its antiviral properties. Native to India and Pakistan; now grown in Madagascar, Indonesia, Brazil and the Comoro Islands. Palmarosa oil, also known as Indian grass oil, rusa oil, is distilled from the over-ground portions of the rusa or geranium grass designated as Cymbopogon Martini. The numerous synonyms of this herb are: Cymbopogon Martinianus, Schult., Andropogon Martini, Roxb., A. pachnodes, Trin., A. Calamus aromaticus, Royle, A. nardoides, a, Nees, A. Schoenanthus, Fluck. et Hanb., non L, A. Schoenanthus var. genuinus, Hack., A. Schoenanthus var. Martini, Hook. f. The popular designation rusa, applied to this grass, is probably traceable to the reddish-brown color taken on by the panicles in fall.

The erroneous designation "Turkish geranium oil", which has practically been abandoned, dates back to a time when the oil entered the European market via Constantinople. From Bombay it was transported by ships to the ports of the Red Sea and thence by overland routes through Arabia to Constantinople. After having been specially prepared it was here used on a large scale to adulterate rose oil.

Taking into consideration the wide distribution of this grass, the territory in which it is distilled for its oil is in most of Central and South India. The essential oil of this plant, which contains the active compound geraniol, is valued for its scent and for a number of traditional medicinal and household uses. Palmarosa oil has been shown to be an effective insect repellent when applied to stored grain and beans,[1] an antihelmintic against nematodes,[2] and an antifungal and mosquito repellent.

palmarosa flowering top earthyflavorance.biz

Properties. Palmarosa oil is colorless or light yellow, occasionally it is colored green by copper. It has a pleasant odor reminding of roses. Its sp. gr. is 0,887 to 0,90. Its optical properties vary, some oils being slightly dextro-gyrate, others slightly laevo-gyrate, still others optically inactive. aD + 6 to - 3°, mostly between +1 and - 2°; nD20o1,472 to 1,476; A. V. 0,5 to 3,0; E. V. 12 to 48; E. V. after acetylation 226 to 274 corresponding to 74,8 to 94,8 p.c. of total geraniol. In 1,5 to 3 and more parts of 70 p.c. alcohol it dissolves to form a clear solution; in very rare instances opalescence to turbidity has been observed. Oils with a higher geraniol content are soluble in from 3 to 4 vols, and more of 60 p.c. alcohol.

Uses - The scent is sweet, similar to a combination of geranium and rose, with a slight citrus note. Considered to be a cellular regenerative, it may be useful in skin care preparations for dry or mature skin. May also be useful in alleviating stress and fatigue. Used extensively as a fragrance component in cosmetics, perfumes and especially soaps due to excellent tenacity. Aroma therapists recommend it as an oil to diffuse during flu epidemics. Its action against viral illnesses and against bacteria, together with its pleasant smell make it a great oil to use to disinfect a room. Maggie Tisserand, in her book "Stress: The Aromatic Solution" recommends Palmarosa for acne, alopecia, lack of concentration and depression with apathy and despair. Other aroma therapists recommend it as an oil to diffuse during flu epidemics. Its action against viral illnesses and against bacteria, together with its pleasant smell make it a great oil to use to disinfect a room.

In burners and vaporizers, Palmarosa oil can help with: convalescence, fatigue, nervousness, exhaustion, stress and for relaxing. In a blended massage oil or diluted in the bath Palmarosa could assist with: convalescence, exhaustion, fatigue, nervousness, stress, eczema and relaxing. Palmarosa oil can help for scarring when used in a wash, for general skin care in a lotion or cream and directly on athlete's foot.

Palmarosa essential oil, Cymbopogon martini,  blends well with the following essential oils: cananga, Geranium, oak moss, rosewood, amyris, sandalwood, guaiacwood, cedarwood and floral oils. It is said to be Antiseptic, bactericidal, cicatrizant, digestive, febrifuge, hydrating, stimulant (digestive, circulatory), tonic.

Disclaimer-Information provided is not designed to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any illness, or injury and is provided for informational purposes only. Always consult a medical doctor, or other alternative medical practitioner when suffering from any disease, illness, or injury, or before attempting a traditional or folk remedy. Keep all products away from children and pets. As with any natural product, they can be toxic if misused. This company, it's owners, staff and/or representatives are not responsible for misuse of this or any other product. It is solely the responsibility of the purchaser to know what they are buying and how to handle and use the item(s). The products on this website are NOT a food grade item and should never be taken internally. We do not train or certify anyone

Technorati Tags: Essential Oil,Palmarosa
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Organic agriculture and companion planting

From Evernote:

Organic agriculture and companion planting

Key words, tags- Organic Agriculture, Companion planting, organic essential oils

Compiled by Gurpreet Singh at earthyflavorance.biz

Abstract

Companion planting is based on the idea that certain plants can benefit others when planted in near proximity. Thus, its implication for ORGANIC AGRICULTURE needs to be well understood for its incorporation.

My last blog detailed the salient features of ORGANIC CERTIFICATION.

Companion planting can be described as the establishment of two or more plant species in close proximity so that some cultural benefit (pest control, higher yield, etc.) is derived. The concept embraces a number of strategies that increase the biodiversity of agro-ecosystems, on the theory that they assist each other in nutrient uptake, pest control, pollination, and other factors necessary to increasing crop productivity.

Companion planting is used by farmers and gardeners in both industrialized and developing countries for many reasons. Many of the modern principles of companion planting were present many centuries ago in cottage gardens in England and Home gardens in Asia.

Companion planting is considered to be a form of polyculture.

Companion planting has applications to commercial horticultural and agronomic crops, specially, organic agriculture systems, where-in, there is a restriction on use of chemicals insecticides.

History

In China, the mosquito fern has been used for at least one thousand years, as a companion plant for rice crops. It hosts a special cyanobacteria that fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere, and also blocks out light from getting to any competing plants, aside from the rice, which is planted when tall enough to stick out of the water above the azolla layer.

Companion planting was practiced in various forms by Native Americans prior to the arrival of Europeans. One common system was the planting of corn (maize) and pole beans together. The cornstalk would serve as a trellis for the beans to climb while the beans would fix nitrogen for the corn. The inclusion of squash with these two plants completes the Three Sisters technique, pioneered by Native American peoples.

Companion planting was widely touted in the 1970s as part of the organic gardening movement[citation needed]. It was encouraged for pragmatic reasons, such as natural trellising, but mainly with the idea that different species of plant may thrive more when close together[citation needed]. It is also a technique frequently used in permaculture, together with mulching, polyculture, and changing of crops.

While companion planting has a long history, the mechanisms of beneficial plant interaction have not always been well understood. some of the recommendations for companion planting, made around the middle of this century, were based on the results of sensitive crystallization tests.

Originally developed by Dr. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, sensitive crystallization testing entails the mixing of plant extracts with select salt reagents like sodium sulfate or copper chloride. The resulting solution is placed in a controlled environment chamber and allowed to evaporate slowly. The process results in a precipitate that often takes on beautiful geometric forms and patterns. The characteristics of the pattern are studied and interpreted to establish whether the plants are likely to interact well with each other (1). Sensitive crystallization appeals to practitioners of Biodynamics™ (BD) and others who take a more metaphysical approach to nature. Conventional science is much more skeptical of this process as a means to evaluate plant associations.

Host-finding disruption

Recent studies on host-plant finding have shown that flying pests are far less successful if their host-plants are surrounded by any other plant or even "decoy-plants" made of green plastic, cardboard, or any other green material.

The host-plant finding process occurs in phases:

   * The first phase is stimulation by odours characteristic to the host-plant. This induces the insect to try to land on the plant it seeks. But insects avoid landing on brown (bare) soil. So if only the host-plant is present, the insects will quasi-systematically find it by simply landing on the only green thing around. This is called (from the point of view of the insect) "appropriate landing." When it does an "inappropriate landing," it flies off to any other nearby patch of green. It eventually leaves the area if there are too many 'inappropriate' landings.
   * The second phase of host-plant finding is for the insect to make short flights from leaf to leaf to assess the plant's overall suitability. The number of leaf-to-leaf flights varies according to the insect species and to the host-plant stimulus received from each leaf. The insect must accumulate sufficient stimuli from the host-plant to lay eggs; so it must make a certain number of consecutive 'appropriate' landings. Hence if it makes an 'inappropriate landing', the assessment of that plant is negative, and the insect must start the process anew.

Thus it was shown that clover used as a ground cover had the same disruptive effect on eight pest species from four different insect orders. An experiment showed that 36% of cabbage root flies laid eggs beside cabbages growing in bare soil (which resulted in no crop), compared to only 7% beside cabbages growing in clover (which allowed a good crop). Simple decoys made of green cardboard also disrupted appropriate landings just as well as did the live ground cover.

The Scientific Foundations for Companion Planting

While conventional agriculturalists and BD practitioners may disagree over the validity of sensitive crystallization research, there is general agreement today on the validity of several mechanisms that create beneficial plant associations


Trap Cropping

Sometimes, a neighboring crop may be selected because it is more attractive to pests and serves to distract them from the main crop. An excellent example of this is the use of collards to draw the diamond back moth away from cabbage (2).
Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation

Legumes—such as peas, beans, and clover—have the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen for their own use and for the benefit of neighboring plants via symbiotic relationship with Rhizobium bacteria. Forage legumes, for example, are commonly seeded with grasses to reduce the need for nitrogen fertilizer. Likewise, beans are sometimes inter-planted with corn.

Biochemical Pest Suppression

Some plants exude chemicals from roots or aerial parts that suppress or repel pests and protect neighboring plants. The African marigold, for example, releases thiopene—a nematode repellent—making it a good companion for a number of garden crops. The manufacture and release of certain biochemicals is also a factor in plant antagonism. Allelochemicals such as juglone—found in black walnut—suppress the growth of a wide range of other plants, which often creates a problem in home horticulture. A positive use of plant allelopathy is the use of mow-killed grain rye as a mulch. The allelochemicals that leach from rye residue prevent weed germination but do not harm transplanted tomatoes, broccoli, or many other vegetables.

Physical Spatial Interactions

For example, tall-growing, sun-loving plants may share space with lower-growing, shade-tolerant species, resulting in higher total yields from the land. Spatial interaction can also yield pest control benefits. The diverse canopy resulting when corn is companion-planted with squash or pumpkins is believed to disorient the adult squash vine borer and protect the vining crop from this damaging pest. In turn, the presence of the prickly vines is said to discourage raccoons from ravaging the sweet corn.

Nurse Cropping

Tall or dense-canopied plants may protect more vulnerable species through shading or by providing a windbreak. Nurse crops such as oats have long been used to help establish alfalfa and other forages by supplanting the more competitive weeds that would otherwise grow in their place. In many instances, nurse cropping is simply another form of physical-spatial interaction.

Beneficial Habitats

Beneficial habitats—sometimes called refugia—are another type of companion plant interaction that has drawn considerable attention in recent years. The benefit is derived when companion plants provide a desirable environment for beneficial insects and other arthropods—especially those predatory and parasitic species which help to keep pest populations in check. Predators include ladybird beetles, lacewings, hover flies, mantids, robber flies, and non-insects such as spiders and predatory mites. Parasites include a wide range of fly and wasp species including tachinid flies, and Trichogramma and ichneumonid wasps. Agroecologists believe that by developing systems to include habitats that draw and sustain beneficial insects, the twin objectives of reducing both pest damage and pesticide use can be attained.

Security Through Diversity

A more general mixing of various crops and varieties provides a degree of security to the grower. If pests or adverse conditions reduce or destroy a single crop or cultivar, others remain to produce some level of yield. Furthermore, the simple mixing of cultivars, at times can reduce pest infestation.

Options For System Design

Agronomists use the term "intercropping" to describe the spatial arrangements of companion planting systems. Intercropping systems range from mixed intercropping to large-scale strip intercropping. Mixed intercropping is commonly seen in traditional gardens where two or more crops are grown together without a distinct row formation. Strip intercropping is designed with two or more crops grown together in distinct rows to allow for mechanical crop production. No-till planting or transplanting into standing cover crops can be considered another form of intercropping

Other Miscellaneous Benefits

Flavor enhancement — some plants, especially herbs, seem to subtly change the flavor of other plants around them.

Hedged investment — multiple plants in the same space increase the odds of some yield being given, even if one category encounters catastrophic issues.

Increased level interaction — plants that grow on different levels in the same space, perhaps providing ground cover or working as a trellis for another plant

Pollinator and predator recruitment — The use of plants that produce copious nectar and protein-rich pollen in a vegetable garden (insectary plants) is a good way to recruit higher populations of beneficial insects that control pests. Some insects in the adult form are nectar or pollen feeders, while in the larval form they are voracious predators of pest insects.

Positive hosting — attracts or is inhabited by beneficial insects or other organisms which benefit plants, as with ladybugs or some "good nematodes"

Protective shelter — one type of plant may serve as a wind break or shade for another

Pattern disruption — in a monoculture, pest spread from one plant to the next, is interrupted by companion plants

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