Hopefully she means this stuff...
{{gwi:139601}}

You might beat her to the punch and go get some.

i wish, she means the same old miracle grow my mom used to use

how can i tell if a commercial product is truely harmless? i dont trust that 20 years down the line the next generation wont have issues from chemical exposure.

This is a company that offers a multitude of poisons, including Roundup, that unthinking or unknowing home owners can put on the their lawns and gardens. If Scotts offers a product or two that they feel they can put the word "organic" on the label, why should we even consider supporting them? These people have no environmental conscience. Their bread is buttered by supplying poisons to the agricultural sector and the unthinking homeowner. Pandering to "organic gardeners" is just gravy for this company. My advise: don't even go there.

A laughable note: "Scotts Miracle-Gro announced in early 2006, that any worker who smoked would be fired  period. Workers have less than one year to comply or they will be terminated."

If James Hagedorn, chairman and chief executive of Scotts truly intended to help the health and welfare of it employees and its customers, he would fire any employee promoting any of the poisons that is Scotts' stock in trade. He could start with himself.

This is not an organic company. Spend your money at companies with an organic conscience. Scotts has none.
Mussolini spread the false propaganda that he made the trains run on time. Scotts propaganda is that it is environmentally sensitive.

Wayne

that is exactly how i feel wayne =] i just dont have anything but instinct to back me up. our area has one of the worlds largest chemical companies in our backyards. i have seen with my own eyes things that dow has done to our environment but our supposed proctectors were bought off decades before i was born. i thank everyone for their help and support of my natural stand. if everyone would realize chemicals never helped anything or made life easier maybe the earth can try to heal itself.

Miracle Gro is mostly epsom salts, urea and some trace elements that is not truly organic by the book, but it is by no means DDT or Agent Orange. I would think you would be better off using a manure based product.

Miracle gro is not organic!! the organic gardener's miracle is good, finished compost. Stand your ground!

No organic gardener should purchase any product made by this company, whether that product is labeled "organic" or not.

If you follow the OMRI standards (not saying this is the only organic standard or that you should), the All-Purpose Organic Plant Food has a restricted status. I'm pretty new to growing so someone can correct me here, but I think this is because they use uncomposted chicken manure. So, it is my understanding that if you were a commercial farm making over a certain amount of money, you wouldn't be able to legally call your produce "organic" if you used these products without addressing the restrictions. They also list chicken waste in their soil products, so the same might apply to those also. It seems strange to me that a huge company like Scott's isn't throwing around a bunch of "certified" labels as a marketing plot. I can only assume that something in their products is suspect.

Miracle grow "organics" are certainly convenient since they are sold everywhere, but I would rather pay a few extra dollars and go to a local organic farm to pick up supplies.

I found an interesting article awhile back about miracle grow organics - here.

The restricted status is because of the uncomposted manure. Certified organic growers can use 'raw' manure but they can't harvest food crops for 90 or 120 days after the application depending on whether they are leaf or root crops (National Organic Program rules). The only exception is the zillions of tons of pelletized poultry manure coming out of the Purdue plant. They market it as 'microstart' but I have read that it is in over 70% of the fertilizers sold as 'organic' in the US. I was kind of surprised that this uncomposted manure was being treated like composted manure and am not sure if it is because Purdue has a lot of political clout or if they convinced the NOP that their manure was completely sterile.

Personally I see little harm in the judicious use of Miracle-Gro and other chemical fertilizers (I'm not 100% organic, although I draw the line at herbicides or pesticides of any kind). But I think you need to (nicely) make clear to your MIL that this is YOUR garden, and you're going to play by YOUR rules. You've made a rational choice and she needs to respect that.

Organic Miracle Grow?

Is that like Clean Coal or Dehydrated Water (just add water)?

Sorry, I'm with the compost crew here. There is no need to buy "wonder" products to sprinkle on your soil. I use compost and lots of mulch both collected from less enlightened neighbors who bag their leaves and grass clippings and leave them on the curb for me weekly.

Feed the soil good compost and mulch and it will pay you back many times over.

Cheers,
Kyle

Klye said it!!!

But when the ends is all you care about, the means don't matter????
I once had a friend who said I only plant stuff so I can compost it.
I do dirt.
Bryan

Just got an email back from miracal gro and they said they are not OMRI listed. I guess I can put the words "organic" on anything and sell it

Justaguy2,
You are right on target. While I do feel it is far better to improve your soil to the point of not needing fertilizer, for some it is not possible in the short term.
Miracle grow or any other fertilizer used in moderation WILL NOT destroy your soil or harm your children.
The crops harvested will still be 100% better than what you buy at the grocery store.
Pesticides are another matter altogether. They ARE dangerous, and I do not use them, but many commercial crops could not be raised economically without them.
JMO,
Tom

Many people can get really worked up about "organic". Make your own decision and stick to it.

The old fashion Miracle grow is not "organic".

If your Mother-in-law were to sneak over and feed your tomatoes with it, your children are not going to die from it. If used responsibly, it isn't dangerous. It won't ruin your soil after just one use and the world is not going to end. That said, if she does do a sneak attack, you can no longer claim your garden is "pure organic".

Long term use of such things without providing plenty of organic matter and "food" for your microbes and worms, will spell disaster for you soil in the long run. Also long term use of chemical fertilizers tends to build up some salts in the soil that need to be flushed out or they tend to burn things and kill off worms and microbes that support healthy soil.

Anyway, each of us must decide what "organic" means to us and choose our battles. To some people, it is a crusade to other's it just means not using roundup or spraying pesticides. To me, it just means dumping tons of organic matter all over my yard!!!!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: My Garden

I'm vegetarian, so for me using "organic" miracle grow would be like ordering a veggie burger at a steak house. It just doesn't make sense on many levels. :)

Like others have already stated you'd be better offer supporting an organic company and/or composting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Greenthumbr

As has been stated several times, Miracle Gro is not the best company to support with your organic fertilizer dollars. Why not use a product that is actually produced by an organic fertilizer company? I have to admit I am a little bit biased, well maybe a lot a bit biased as I use fertilizers manufactured by Mighty Grow Organics out of Fruitdale, Alabama. They are a young, but growing manufacturer of mineral rich organic fertilizers that have, so far, given me great results. There are also many other REAL organic fertilizer manufacturers. Why not help them out AND help yourself by using REAL organic fertilizers.

C'mon, Michael. You know better than to advertise or promote your own product on the GardenWeb. Tsktsk.

Go ahead and use all the synthetics you want. Plants can't tell the difference- it is a proven science.

Farms that use bad practice with organics can pollute very bad. It is mass agriculture that is bad, not synthetics. Growing organic feeds the soil and makes soil as opposed to taking it away. People are against scotts and synthetic fertilizers and they don't even know why lol ;)

2% of our food is grown organically.

I was more or less saying in-organics are as bad as many make them out to be. I do grow organic so. You can mantain an organic system topdressing with compost and material to keep adding to your soil.

How do I know the label is telling the truth?
How do I know it is really organic, just because someone I never met & will never meet said so?
They could be ling just like Miracle Grow & the makers of Round Up? Just read a thread on this site about how "Organic" label have many loop holes in them.
How can it be bad on one thread & good on another?

I'm a big believer in using mulch, stray, hay etc. around the plants. When that breaks down, it will feed the soil, which ultimately is what you are looking for. A healthy soil will have food available to your plants when they need it, IMHO.