Island Rose with Treelizer

Of blossoms, bouquets and blooms 

  By Earl D.C. Bracamonte 

 “. . . Long-stemmed roses are the way to her heart . . .” Madonna (Express Yourself) 

Nothing lights up a girl's countenance than the sight of a bundled bouquet of long-stemmed roses. And when her eyes lit up in gratitude after smelling each whiff of fragrance from the blooms, you know you'd won her over. If womenfolk react favorably to a mere bunch, imagine how they would swoon if they come upon an entire field of blooming roses in varying colors. It would be pure bliss – a sensory overload. 

I was privy to seeing these emotions up close on a recent trip to the Island Rose farm in Tagaytay City. Oohhs and aahhs were generously dropped in every row of blooming rose bushes we passed; each one neatly lined inside the humungous greenhouses. “We cut roses in several lengths: medium, long, super long, select, and super select. The medium and long stalks are mostly used for flower arrangements in church weddings and intimate gatherings. The super long and super select are those used in pageant bouquets and massive ballroom centerpieces. The select stems are the preferred varieties for gifts, especially on Valentines Day,” apprized farm manager Francis Librando. 

We were informed the roses' stems now lengthen to 90 cms after they switched to using organic fertilizer. Before, with chemical fertilizers, the roses grew only until 50 cms. “The longer stems sell more. Here, however, you don't smell the roses much. The more fragrant varieties wilt faster. Treelizer, the organic fertilizer we use, has no harsh elements and won't burn the skin,” he added, even pouring a generous amount on his hands and forearms to illustrate his point. “When putting flowers on the vase, make sure you clean it constantly and always change the water daily. This is because the flowers eat the bacteria from the moss build-up and wilts in the process. Also, never let the leaves touch the water because they produce bacteria faster than moss,” Francis advised. 

The absence of chemicals in natural farming enables plants to enjoy the soil's perfect pH level condition. Earth crust with a pH lower than 7.0 is an acidic soil; and one with a pH higher than 7.0 is alkaline. Balanced pH provides strong immunity to the soil against damaging elements protecting the plant from the attack of destructive insects while boosting up the number of beneficial insects around the plant. Today, as populations mushroom, people turn to technology to somehow help Nature supply the booming human food consumption. It is into this predicament that chemical fertilizers come into the picture. 

 However, it's bane is also its boon. Chemical fertilizers assure rapid growth as well as greater plant yield. Thus, this becomes its attractive draw to farmers and consumers living in this fast-growing, populated world. Unfortunately, it's short term benefit creates long term damage to soil, plants and animals including humans. Let me show you the bigger picture! 

Because of chemical fertilizers, plants secrete nitrogenous compounds that attract destructive insects. This harmful swarm will overpower the number of beneficial insects, like bees, around the plant; causing plants to lose their guard. With this dilemma, farmers need to use not only chemical fertilizers but also insecticides and pesticides. And this is where the vicious destructive chain begins. These substances do not just kill the bad insects but also the good ones as well; causing more harm than good. 

With the crops dramatic growth comes an increased moisture content on the leaves, making them susceptible to fungus and, thus, attractive to other pests like snails. Before they completely devour the crops down to its last component, our poor farmers are already in the nearest chemical stores buying fungicides and molluscides in haste to save their crops. The problem does not stop there. The chemical fertilizers' excess nutrients also accelerate the growth of weeds and grasses within the area. Alas, these nutrient competitors signal farmers to buy herbicides. In summation, the combination of all these chemical inputs – fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and molluscides – doesn't just destroy the perfect natural farming system but also creates a greater invisible damage to the soil by making the Earth's topmost crust become acidic. From then on, the problem just spirals and multiplies exponentially. 

The soil's acidic layer causes plant growth to be stunted as it decreases the development of all its natural growth hormones (cytokines, gibberellins and auxins) to be present in plants. The stress it creates to the plant causes it to be underdeveloped; lacking all the essential nutrients every plant needs. Moreover, chemical inputs to plant cause very harmful effects on humans. The chemical residues present on the crops accumulate on the human body when ingested and eventually destroy the immune system causing sickness like cancer, or worse, death. 

Fortunately for Island Rose, they discovered the organic product just in time. The company now enjoys the benefits to natural and organic farming with Treelizer. This product, culled from fruit and vegetable extracts, brings back the natural state of plants, and the soil, to positively meet any market demand. Through a method known as Ferti-gation, tubes called 'spaghetti trippers' sprays water and fertilizer directly to each root area thereby minimizing spillage and water wastage. A multi-functional organic compound, Treelizer is a farming product that acts as soil conditioner, growth stimulant, fruit & vegetable preservation tool, as well as pest & insect repellant that can improve seed germination, reduce input costs, rebuild depleted soil, and increase harvest all in a single bottle. 

What it does in the initial application is break the solid acidic layer present in the soil (due to chemical inputs) and eventually bring back the soil to its natural pH level or the natural state of healthy, fertile soil. “Agriculture is still the Philippines' main business as the most number of Pinoys are farmers. Thus, our advocacy lies in this industry. For us to have an impact to more Filipinos, we create products that are organic because the health of farmers is our paramount concern. After all, inorganic products turn arable lands useless after 50 years. We want to lower the cost of farming yet increase harvest. It's all about production that's not burdensome,” enthused Yovel East president James Amparo. 

 Treelizer is made by Yovel East Research & Development Inc., a company aimed at doing something positive for the environment. They develop products that consume less energy, are non-pollutants, and completely natural; yet have the same functionality as non-ecological alternatives. To date, Yovel East has already developed solar (SolarTech), renewal energy (Wind and Wave Energy System) as well as fuel saver (VFuel), gadgets/maximizer (Fuel XPlus) and products for/about farming. Of the latter category, Treelizer is the first developed product which created a remarkable impact to farmers by its great savings and greater harvest benefits; doing away with the high cost of farming. With the help of effective micro-organisms for plants and animals, farmers enjoy better farming rewards. 

“Simply dilute 1 ml of Treelizer with each liter of water. This cost-effective mixture fixes the nitrogen in the soil for plants to better absorb minerals from the earth's crust. It is our aim to give consumers an advantageous choice in the market to choose eco-friendly products. We long to create awareness that when we choose to go green, we actually get a double-benefit: first, we make a move towards sustainability; and second, we all benefit from the products created. If there should be development, we should make it sustainable,” James emphasized, at the end of our colloquy. Island Rose is Treelizer's pilot study on flowers and blooms. The organic fertilizer has also been extensively used in other agricultural crops like rice, sugar cane, and vegetables. At the Tagaytay farm, we saw how Treelizer gave healthy growth to its rose farm as well as to its orchards of cherry tomatoes, honeydew, and bell peppers. It even made me think I was in Farmville, though not virtually this time. To check other applications to various crops, simply log-on to www.treelizer.com. For rose deliveries, simply call 816-3091 and/or browse the Web site, www.islandrose.net.