Is Miracle-Gro Organic? Who Cares?

I completely agree with you mike, vote with your dollars.

I totally agree with Erin – I can’t get anything but Miracle-Gro products at my local hardware stores.  Space is really limited in NYC stores, so Scott’s stuff is all most places carry when it comes to gardening supplies.  After reading posts about Scott’s/Monsanto on this site I got fed up and ending up ordering soil from Johnny’s (an employee ownd company out of Maine). 

Did I pay more for the soil?  Probably.  Can I trust that the product they supply is actually organic?  Yes.  Am I happy that I paid a little more for a product from a company I can trust/respect rather than a mega-corporation with little regard for business ethics or the environment?  Absolutely.

That’s what’s up bro. It might cost a little more, but you are supporting something you believe in.

That’s what ultimately matters.

It isn’t always easy to find things outside of the big box stores.  For example, Dr. Earth, a product I love, refuses to be carried in a big box store so I have to search to find it.  It did take a while and I do have to drive a bit, but the cost is comparable to Scott’s products so I make a list of what I need, plan ahead and get as much as I can in one trip.  I also try to predict if I “might” need something to eliminate another trip too soon.  I’d rather lose a bit of storage space than use gas unnecessarily.  You can also find things online.  Amazon is a great resource if you know what you need or want.

When did the comments here become moderated? Not complaining, just curious.

I learn so much from your blog and honestly, on days like these where I spend 2 hours in the morning just weeding my potato patch, I long for the small, suburban garden I used to have a few years ago. Life was so easy then when I could just buy my soil or use the compost from our horse manure pile at my parent’s house. These days I garden 4000 sq. ft. and I have only a small new compost pile. I struggle to fight pests from taking down all my plants overnight. I continually try to get bigger, better yields with stronger plants. Some days it feels like battle. Sometimes it’s a battle within myself on what I will allow myself to put into the soil and on the plants.

I’ve mentioned on here before that I used Miracle Gro this year. I still struggle with it but in all honesty I’m not willing to forfeit this year’s production. That being said, I am moving towards a more organic garden. It’s a learning curve for people like me who have a large garden but not a farm with animals that produce the best compost. To compost my garden would be incredibly expensive however I am working towards finding a way to do that. In the fall I will have my soil tested and get recommendations for amending. I have found a source for burnt out manure which I plan on picking up this week to use manure tea the rest of the season. I am using grass clippings and leaves to mulch to preserve water. I am on my way to changing the garden for the better and I think that’s the most important thing for me right now. 

I completely understand where you are coming from with Miracle Gro and I agree. By reading this blog and learning from many others I hope to be all organic by next spring.

That’s the beauty of the online world. You don’t have to shop at the big box stores. Good point.

I just moderate the ones that have links in them. The comments were becoming a haven for people just dropping their links and promoting their stuff. So anytime there is a link, it has to be approved. Been like that for a few months now.

There certainly are alternatives. It’s just a matter of letting people know what they are so they can buy them. That’s what we can do.

It’s definitely one of those subjects that can do that.

Cool. Appreciate the book recommendation. Never heard of it.

I’m with you! I won’t buy them anymore, and I recommend others not to either.

When I started gardening, I didn’t know anything about the ramifications of chemical fertilizers, pesticides or GMOs. So I ended up using some Miracle Gro products like seed starting soil, moisture retaining soil, and some all-purpose fertilizer. I did decide I didn’t want to use pesticides in the garden and still have not.
Then I learned a little bit about organic practices and the impact of non-organic fertilizers on the environment. This was about 9 months to a year into my gardening. And around that time I also started noticing the “Organic Choice” line, so I started picking those up – the potting soil, compost and bone meal. I was still using their normal all-purpose fertilizer, the green liquid one, because it was so concentrated that the bottle was lasting forever. But I was also starting to use organic fertilizers – fish emulsion, liquid kelp, Kellog’s. I alternated what I fertilized with. I was also using other brands for compost, mostly Kellog. Then last summer after having some solar stake lights in my containers I started noticing the weirdest white and blue crystallization all over the stake where it was embedded in the ground. I realized it was from the Miracle Gro fertilizers (didn’t and still does not happen to stakes in soil where I only use organic fertilizers). Well I sure as hell didn’t want to eat that stuff or anything that was growing in it! That was when I quit their chemical fertilizers.
I was still using the Organic Choice bone meal I had to prepare flower beds, and their seed starting soil because it was the only one I could find. Then the last two bags of seed starter I bought this year were of low quality. Instead of the fine peat moss and perlite that I was accustomed to getting – there was coarse material mixed in. Small twigs and I think tiny bits of bark chips. On top of that discovery the price of the seed started had also gone up. WTF? I finally got to try some coconut coir from Buzzy, I love it and I’m not going back!
This year the GMO problem really became clear to me, but it wasn’t until more recently that I became aware of Miracle Gro’s ties to Monsanto and GMOs. It has finally sunk in that I need to research the brands I”m using – for anything – and who controls them. I find myself going a little more out of my way to nurseries to get organic products sometimes, but I think it’s worth it to know what I’m putting into my soil, my food, and ultimately myself. I am spending about the same amount on the soil, compost, and fertilizers I do buy. I am also producing some compost myself and using it to fertilize. I am more involved in the growing process of my food and ornamental plants and appreciate them more for it. I have banned myself from purchasing anything from Miracle Gro, Ortho or Scotts. I don’t want to support them. If I find other brands with ties to Monsanto or other unethical practices I will boycott their products as well.
At this time I have “quarantined” all Miracle Gro products that were leftover – houseplant fertilizer, bone meal, perlite, seed starter. I am going to take the houseplant fertilizer to a S.A.F.E. disposal site. I am still debating on whether to put the other items in the garbage or use them for the ornamental plants in my parent’s front yard. I am trying to talk my dad into giving up his Scott’s grass seed… that is not going so well yet….

Sorry for the long rant

I appreciate you sharing your story. I think it’s one that most of us go through. You just get started, then slowly start to become more aware. Thanks!

Good point. I think it’s because they likely don’t know.

Agree completely!  I’m all about voting with my dolllars, whether it’s food in the store, gardening supplies, etc.  Just got my free sample of THRIVE in the mail and am eager to try it out. 

I used to use MiracleGro on my garden.  I stopped cause my food tasted funny (have to wait a LONG TIME before that stuff gets out of your veggies after fertilizing.)

Now, I have a 29 gallon goldfish tank, with 7 goldfish and 2 Chinese algae eaters.

Once every two weeks, I do a 50-66% H2O change.

The water that comes out of my fishtank gets mixed with more H2O (usually left over from the dog pool, waste not!), and used as fertilizer for my garden.  Any fishwaste water that I have left over gets dumped in the compost.  Water the compost and at nitrogen wastes?  YAY!

And so far?  My garden loves it.  LOVES IT! More so than the MiracleGro ickyness that I used last year.

So, I get to enjoy the antics of silly, pretty, incredibly cheap fish, and they help my garden by creating all sorts of awesome fish poopies for me to put on my plants.

Win-win.

I posted something earlier about using greywater on gardens, as well as the fish tank idea from Lateralthirdeye.  It was supposed to go to be moderated because I included a link, but now I don’t see it.  Was there something wrong with the link or the contents?

I’ve had the same conversation in my head at the gardening store. Thanks for vocalizing it!

I don’t think they are organic when they have cow manure in it with all they do to cows now a days. I found a potting soil at Walmart that just has forest compost in it called Earthgro. Read those lables. Now that I learned more from you I won’t be contributing a penny to them toward Genetically Altering my food.

I’m looking into building an aquaponics system and raising tilapia for food.  Fish poop in water, poopy water is cycled through plants and back to the tank.  Then after about 9 months I get to eat ‘em!  Keep 3 tanks going with staggered populations and I should be able to keep a constant supply for my dinner table.  :-D

I stopped by a store today to look for organic soil, and the first thing I searched for was the OMRI logo.  I didn’t see it on Miracle Gro and another large brand.  The brand that carried the OMRI logo or notice was a smaller bag from an unknown line.

I was at Walmart.  I rarely go there, and didn’t get a chance to take pictures.  A lot of products used “organic” but I didn’t see the OMRI label anywhere. If I return, I will definitely do camera inventory.

Thanks for that headsup.

Good call on that.

I’ve been using Fox Farm Ocean’s Forest.

i have to agree wholeheartedly… didn’t realise this so thanx

Slave fish. what a wonderful person you are.

KUDOS!!! If only the rest of the US, was educated enough regarding what is REALLY happening to our food thanks to Monsanto, Beyer and the likes then maybe, just maybe we could make a change for our food, our health and the environment. Keep up the good work! Get your voice out there where ever you can!! THANK YOU! And for those not realizing what their dollar can truly do, watch FOOD, INC.! It will inform you and disgust you all at the same time but at least you will know.

Miracle gro, it says it in the name, “very suspicious”, ah, duh! Never bought it, and don’t intent to now, ha.