I was looking at the breakdown of the Miracle-Gro plant food (because I was saddened by how poorly my garden is doing..and everyone I know says 'add miracle-gro') and wanted to know what organic fertilizer is comprable to this. From what I can tell, Miracle Gro has everything except Calcim in it.

Also, liquid vs. granulation? Which is better overall? I've been using the Neptune's Harvest seaweed and fish emulsion combo, but when I used the calcium (granulated) I liked the consistency better..plus no smell
Is one better that the other?

Any help to this newbie is greatly appreciated

Newbie Planter Dani,

First welcome to the forum. I too am fairly new to organic gardening. Miracle Gro is a chemical based fertilizer. Organic fertilizers are naturally derived.

Now, what food would you rather put in your mouth, a chemically or naturally derived food? We all know your answer. Natural of course.

I started organic gardening two years ago. To this day people look at me funny when I say I garden "organic" As if it is some new age technique. Well it is not.

The biggest differienting factor between chemical and natural based gardening is short-term success and long-term success. Miracle Gro will, in most circumstances win hands down in a sprint race. However, organic gardening will easily win in the long run.

First, quit using Miracle Gro right now. It is an easy fix just like a junkie would need. Second, find a compost source. Next, plan on adding alot of organic material to your bed(s) this fall and then mulch very heavily with shredded leaves. Then, in the spring fertilize with an organic based fertilizer. You will notice results the first year probably and at the least in the second year.

If you feed the soil organically your crops will flourish for many years. If you feed your plants chemically they will flourish for a few days dependant on the next dose of Miracle Gro.

Grow organic in raised beds, with lots of organic material, and in no till beds. You will not believe the results.

Salem Hokie...
First...Love your name!!!
Second...not using Miracle Gro (just looked at it..just as bad I guess :| )
I didn't do any of this stuff...I just bought dirt, seeds, liquid fertilizer and containers and off I went!
Container gardening, though great for tight spaces, does lose some gardening charm :O
I am just trying to get info regarding the difference in liquid vs. granulated...though you helped with the miracle-gro question...thanks!!!
Happy Gardening!

P.S. did you know that Miracle Gro is introducing a new product called organic choice garden soil? supposed to be 100% organic?! I guess they see that organic is not a fad and got to get in with the changing times (maybe losing too many customers will do that!)

And the most important thing to remember as any kind of gardener and person on the planet, create rich and healthy soil first, which feeds the soil critters, microbes and worms, and that is what growing things is all about. They eat and poop and interact in ways that make it possible for plants to thrive. The soil critters can't live on chemicals derived from synthetic sources like Miracle Gro. Also, synthetic sources also produce salts that leach into the soil and harm plants, then can also leach into the ground water, polluting it.

Organic sources of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium are what is necessary to feed your soil. Then the balance of all the natural creatures takes care of your plants.

I guess we've concluded here that fish emulsion is not earth friendly anymore, and can encourage animals that you don't want digging in your garden. Seaweed is good because it is renewable, there's blood meal and bone meal, rock powders. These need to be in the soil for a while before they can be taken up by plants, so they are not quick, but they are crucial in the long run, along with the compost.

And make sure you've got at least 3 inches of leaf mulch all over everything. Keeping it damp keeps it tidy and helps it break down faster. And if you are seeing signs of calcium deficiency in your plants you can water down milk and add it around the roots.

You can also grow low clovers that are nitrogen fixers that pull nitrogen from the air and store it in their roots. When the annual clover dies back, the roots release the nitrogen and it breaks down, becoming available to the plants. This takes several months, but it is a great thing to do. The clovers will reseed themselves, and start all over again. Free nitrogen, what could be better?

Merical Gro is good stuff but Scotts is better.
I know that isn't saying a lot or giving a lot of info but hey, I help how I can.
Also as far as granuals or liquid, I would stick with granuals. The problem you get with liquid is that it can evaporate where as the granuals do not and with granuals you also have a better idea of how much you are supposed to use. Over fertilizing is a big problem and can actually kill your plants.

Kireel...
Thanks for the info on the granules!
That is a huge help!!!

Sweetpea..thanks to you also for the information you provided!!!
This will help me (more for next year..but help is help, right?!)

Happy Gardening all!!!


Message was edited by: newbie planter dani

It's difficult to synthesize garden soil, so it (the soil) might satisfy the claim as 100% organic. I haven't seen any yet but my $$$$ is on non-organic fertilizers added. You can bet if it says Miracle Gro it ain't 100% "organic"!

Dirt

Welcome, all new posters.

I'm seeing some recommendations for chemical methods here and there in a few threads (including Scott's products, Scott's is chemical) - people here strive to use non-chemical practices.

If you go to the top of any page here and click on "search forums", then keyword your subject of interest such as - fertilizer, or compost, or weeds - and so forth, you'll find lots of helpful advice which is non-chemical. And there many, many talented people here who can usually answer your questions with non-chemical, organic solutions.

Miracle Gro is a highly soluble synthetic fertilizer that is partly based on foliar feeding research that is really pretty specious. The vast majority of the nutrients this stuff supplies moves right through your soil and into the ground water and pollutes the water lots of us drink contributing to the buildup of nitrates in our systems that is slowly poisoning us. If your soil has sufficient organic matter this would not be needed to feed your plants and if your soil does not have sufficient organic matter this highly soluble runs right through helping your plants very little and you are essentially taking money and throwing it down the drain.
Since this is an organic gardening forum a discussion about Miracle Gro should be limited to why not to use it and convincing those miseducated people that do use it in ways to get away from it.

Well said!

That really is a smart move for the big companies! Not that I support them. I did break down recently though and bought a can of organic Ragu...hmmm can't help my curiousity

I was looking at the Miracle Gro website, wanting to know what is in it. Another thread told me aobut their organic line, so I went looking at the labels. You can read in this PDF file the ingredients of the feritlizer, and this is for their "Organic Choice garden soil. The claim is that the organic material is supplied from pelettized poultry litter and manure, and the soil also is formulated from compost (from wood and/or manure), forest products (presumably things like chipped wood), sphagnum peat, and "pasteurized, peletted poultry litter".

Since I don't have a garden yet (will next year, though, when we establish our new 7 acre homestead!) and have only done a little container gardening, I don't know what to say to compare Miracle Gro with anything else. I've used it and liked it fine in my containers (no need to worry so much about polluting the water source, I don't think, since I'm not planting directly in the ground yet).

You might want to think about your potting soil mix. It sounds to me as though you may have too much (or too little) draining, and the plants are either not getting a chance to get to their nutrients before they are evaporating through the bottom of your pot, or they're sort of drowning in it. I'd consider leaving the miracle-gro alone for a while and check drainage first. Are you using a soil mix with lots of those little white pellets? Perlit, it's called Too much of that and not enough real soil will mean too much drainage. Repot with more "real" soil.

BTW, a true story, a friend of mine woke up one morning to find something had burned a hole through her front porch; her husband had just put out a small fire there. A mason jar left on her porch made her think maybe the sun had hit it just right. They called the fire department. It turns out that perlite mix is flammable: a cigarette she'd put out in her flower pot the night before had started a smoldering fire in the pot; overnight, that soil had ignited and burned through the pot and created a new hole in the porch, darn near setting the whole house on fire!

The moral of the story: don't put out your cigarettes in a flower pot!

Good luck!

Love,

Michelle


Message was edited for typos by: Jaguwar

The company that produces Miracle Gro is owned by the Scotts Company which in turn is owned by Monsanto. It is not, no matter what the companies try to tell you, organic or acceptable in an organic garden, ever.
Putting your garden on a diet like that of miracle gro would be like putting your children on a diet of "Ensure" and "Diet coke".

To add to what Kimm said, if you need to look up the ingredients in an expensive dictionary, its NOT organic. And if the company tries to hide what their products are made of (as in Miracle Grow), it is NOT organic.

My question on the Scotts organic stuff is how far did you have to go to find out the ingredients. And did it list in them anything as ambiguos as "other organic" fertilizers. If it di, they are using the term "organic" from the scientific meaning which is "containing both hydrogen and carbon molecules". By that definition Gasoline is organic and I most certainly don't want it on my garden. Do you?