Plant Write Up

I want to grow the Daylily flower.

• Daylilies are rugged, adaptable, vigorous perennials that endure in a garden for many years with little or no care. Daylilies adapt to a wide range of soil and light conditions. They establish quickly, grow vigorously, and survive winters with little or no injury.
• Daylilies can be planted almost any time the soil can be worked. Works in well-rooted manure or compost to increase organic matter. Fertilizer needs to be applied depending on a soil test. We have to dig a hole large enough for the roots without bending or crowding them.
• The best time to transplant or divide plants is early spring. Plants divided in the spring may not bloom the same summer. Divisions should have two to three stems or fans of leaves with all roots attached. Divisions are made by digging the entire plant and gently pulling the fans apart, cutting the foliage back, and leaving only five or six inches. Once the plant is placed in the soil, its important to make sure that the crown (the portion where the stem and root meets) is one inch below the ground line. It need to be watered after planting. A winter mulch of straw or shredded leaves helps ensure against winter injury for unestablished plants.
• Daylilies should be spaced no less than 18 to 24 inches apart on each side.
• Daylilies can do well over a relatively wide soil pH range and adjustment of pH need only be considered if the plants appear to be doing poorly. A soil test as recommended and should always be conducted before amending with sulfur or lime.
• Although daylilies are adaptable to most soils, they do best in a slightly acidic, moist soil that is high in organic matter and well drained.
• Although daylilies tolerate drought, they perform best in moist, but well-drained soils. One inch of water weekly is ideal, more frequent watering may be necessary on sandy soils.
• The genus Hemerocallis is native to Asia. Since the early 1930s, hybridizers in the United States and England have made great improvements in daylilies. Originally, the only colors were yellow, orange, and red. Today, we have colors ranging from near-whites, pastels, yellows, oranges, pinks, vivid reds, crimson, purple, nearly true-blue, and pretty blends. Many people are familiar with only the common yellow or orange daylilies which are often seen along roadsides. These daylilies are cultivated forms of the wild types of daylilies which have "escaped" and are growing as if they are wild. All the modern daylilies have been developed through a complicated history of hybridization among these and other wild types.

My Sources
http://www.daylilies.org/AHSfaq1.html#origin
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG1106.html

Biodiversity – Senior Project Ideas

I am considering to focus on biodiversity as my senior project because it is what entangles us humans and our planet in the circle of life. The extinction or domination of a certain type of plant or animal can throw off the entire balance of our world as we know it, and it comes with many consequences. “Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play.” Every animal and plant has a purpose, and if we destroy one, we will all follow suit.

A healthy biodiversity offers many natural conveniences for us and our planet. Benefits such as food, medicine and pharmaceutical drugs, wood products, and clothing. If we lost these free benefits, replacing them would be extremely expensive. “At least 40 per cent of the world’s economy and 80 per cent of the needs of the poor are derived from biological resources. In addition, the richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for medical discoveries, economic development, and adaptive responses to such new challenges as climate change”. The Convention about Life on Earth, Convention on Biodiversity web site. Therefore, the obvious and economically wise choice is to maintain a clean, stable, and diverse environment. Species need the variety of genes to ensure a successful survival. As for my senior project, I plan to show the shocking statistics that people don't realize. I want to remind the public of how dependent we are on our environment.

Humans are responsible for the drastic decline in biodiversity because they have destroyed animal's natural habitats and transported animals from one part of the world to another. Our invasion of wilderness regions, rainforest, and wetlands, along with our industry impact, has had a huge influence on the survival of many threatened animals and plants. “Almost a quarter of the world's mammals face extinction within 30 years” - United Nations report on the state of the global environment. In total, we have around 11,000 endangered animal and plant species in danger. If we lose these endangered species, we would throw off natures delicate balance. For my senior project, I would want to include the specific examples and evidence of how we damage our environment. I would include visuals and ideas of how we could help our planet, and how our planet would look like if we continued to ignore it.

Experts and scientists both agree on the fact that humans are hurting themselves. With our mass consumption of natural products, we are ruining everything that the world has given us. "Biodiversity includes all living things that we depend on for our economies and our lives," explained Brooks Yeager, vice president of global programs at the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, D.C. "It's the forests, the oceans, the coral reefs, the marine fish, the algae, the insects that make up the living world around us and which we couldn't do without," We do not realize how vitally important it is to maintain our plants, animals, and planet alive.

For my senior project, I am interested in showing how negatively the world would be effected if the plants and animals we take for granted become extinct. I would show that due to the loss of bees, we no longer have honey. Plants that relied on their pollination died, animals that relied on those plants decreased in numbers, and soon that cycle will reach us and there wouldn't be anything else we could do about it. Showing examples such as that is what I am interested in doing.

Cited Sources and Annotations

Shah, Anup. "Why Is Biodiversity Important? Who Cares? Global Issues." Global Issues : social, political, economic and environmental issues that affect us all Global Issues. N.p., 18 Nov. 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2010. .

Good Quotes
“At least 40 per cent of the world’s economy and 80 per cent of the needs of the poor are derived from biological resources. In addition, the richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for medical discoveries, economic development, and adaptive responses to such new challenges as climate change”.
The Convention about Life on Earth, Convention on Biodiversity web site.

“Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play.”
“Humankind needs to act quickly to ensure that the ancient pact between flowers and pollinators stays intact, to safeguard our food supply and to protect our environment for generations to come. These efforts will ensure that bees continue to provide pollination and that our diets remain rich in the fruits and vegetables we now take for granted”.
Diana Cox-Foster and Dennis van Engelsdorp, Solving the Mystery of the Vanishing Bees, Scientific American, April 2009

What the article was about
Biodiversity is essential because we are all entangled together in the circle of life. The extinction or domination of a certain type of plant or animal can throw off the entire balance of life as we know it, and come with many consequences.
A healthy biodiversity offers many natural conveniences for us and our planet. Benefits such as food, medicine and pharmaceutical drugs, wood products, and clothing. If we lost these free benefits, replacing them would be extremely expensive. Therefore, the obvious and economically wise choice is to maintain a clean, stable, and diverse environment. Species need the variety of genes to ensure a successful survival.

Podger, Corinne. " BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Quarter of mammals 'face extinction'." BBC NEWS | News Front Page. N.p., 21 May 2002. Web. 20 Jan. 2010. .

Good Quotes
“Almost a quarter of the world's mammals face extinction within 30 years” - United Nations report on the state of the global environment.
11,000 endangered animal and plant species
“One in eight bird species is also in danger of extinction, and more than 5,000 different plants”.

What the article was about
Humans are responsible for the drastic decline in biodiversity because they have destroyed animal's natural habitats and transported animals from one part of the world to another. Our invasion of wilderness regions, rainforest, and wetlands, along with out industry impact, has had a huge influence on the survival of many threatened animals and plants. If we lose these endangered species, we would throw off natures delicate balance.

CNN, Gary Strieker. "CNN.com - Scientists agree world faces mass extinction - August 23, 2002." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. N.p., 23 Aug. 2002. Web. 20 Jan. 2010. .

Good Quotes
"Biodiversity includes all living things that we depend on for our economies and our lives," explained Brooks Yeager, vice president of global programs at the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, D.C. "It's the forests, the oceans, the coral reefs, the marine fish, the algae, the insects that make up the living world around us and which we couldn't do without,"

What the article was about
Experts and scientists agree on the fact that humans are hurting themselves. With our mass consumption of natural products, we are ruining everything that the world has given us. We do not realize how vitally important it is to maintain our plants, animals, and planet alive.

Farmer in Chief

From reading the news article “Farmer in Chief” by Michael Pollan, I began to reflect upon my families' eating pattern. Out of my immediate family, I am the only one who cares about the type of food we eat. My parents rather spend the same amount of money on a lot of junk food, than on a minimum amount of healthy food. They put quantity over quality because they don't realize that it takes more junk food to fill them up than healthy food does. My brothers on the other hand would rather eat junk food due to its low cost, easy accessibility, and taste. Changing my families' awful eating habits is a challenge, but they are slowly warming up to the idea in hopes of losing some weight. I am also encouraging them to cook a meatless meal once a week so that we could help the environment in some way.
The idea of encouraging students to pursue farming as a career really struck out to me. Throughout history, people were influenced to leave their farms and try to get a better job in the city. In order to save our diminishing farms, we have to reverse the order now. I felt that it was a really good idea to create farming college majors so that students can have a farming career. The education is essential so that the new farmers would be able to produce the best crops. I believe that the pay should be pretty nice as well especially since it is physical labor. This would also open up plenty of job opportunities for families across America - and since the farms would be local, the produce would be fresher.
Another idea I really liked was excluding “junk food” food stamps. I feel that people don't buy healthy food because they are always concerned about the prices. If we lowered the cost for fresh fruits and vegetables, and or raised the prices of junk food, people would buy healthier things!
An interesting quote that John O'Reilly said was “Why is it that poor people in different countries are so thin, but poor people in America are over weight?” I personally believe that junk food should be very limited to the public. Everyone says that we should have the right to eat what want, anytime we want, as much as want. I feel that people abuse that sort of freedom. I believe that if we can not control our junk food intake, that we should be “fed” by a higher power. America just reminds me of a bunch of five year olds who only want to eat a lot of sugar, and we need a responsible adult to let us have some, but know when its time to stop. We can not do it on our own, for we have obviously shown that we can't. Sure it would suck if we can not have McDonalds whenever we like, but if the government limited junk food, it is for our best interest. We would lose weight, decrease our chances of heart failure and diabetes, and overall, become a healthier nation.

My Farming Family

My father used to spend a great amount of time on his aunt's farm in Arkansas. My great aunt and uncle had their own farm in which they raised animals such as horses, chicken, and pigs, and cultivated their own garden and vegetables. However, they didn't sell the food to supermarkets, they just made it for themselves and their family. My dad told me that he remembers getting the chance to ride horseback, catch hens, and see a chicken get its head chopped off.

What is one thing in the natural world that you are curious about?

The development of infants and the stages of pregnancy is what interests me the most. I am so fascinated by the miraculous three stage process and nine months that result into a new life. From embryo, to fetus, to baby, to new born, there is so much to know and learn about how they grow. I have been very curious about babies ever since my younger brother was born. His birth led me to discovering my career options and future planning.