Re: Plants
Defoliating plants won't kill them unless you remove around 75% of the foliage. Less than this will encourage lots of growth in the root system. Cutting off the leaves on the tallest parts of most plants should release the lower stems from apical dominance, and should produce lateral growth, or a "bushier" appearance.
Most species can be reproduced by making clippings close to the base, as in the removal of a whole stem, and placed in water. The water should be filtered to limit uptake of heavy metals and chlorine/chloramines, but never distilled because doing so removes essential minerals. Some species can take a few weeks to produce a primary root. I think there are water soluble, organic fertilizers available, but I've always just given my cuttings lots of sunlight and regular water changes and haven't had a problem.
I buy my plants from a local nursery, and they try to grow organically. In spite of this, I still wipe new plants down with clean cloth (no soap) and rinse their root systems. Some people quarantine for 30 days in organic soil before adding new plants of mysterious origin to their vivs, but I haven't actually seen anything conclusive about fertilizers and such eventually being "pushed out" by the plant. Be careful when washing root systems because doing so can damage the root hairs and inhibit the plant from taking in nutrients.
I've also added earthworms and pillbugs as gardeners.
Also, watch out for plants that grow fairly tall. If they get too big, they can burn under lighting. To stunt, or limit plant growth, envelope the root ball in a mesh cover.
The best lighting temperature ranges around 6500K to 6700K, and I prefer fluorescent lights because they don't get as hot.
My tree frogs have shown the most preference for philodendron vines and croton, but I try to stick to edible plants.
~Aja
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