MIRACLE GROW PRODUCTS

[GLEN]

Are these products good,bad ?

[jeffpcox]

Bad idea,

See http://www.dirtdoctor.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=122

[CaptainCompostAL]

Miracle Gro, 10-10-10, Osmocote, etc. are all synthetic fertilizers derived from petroleum products. They are terrible for an organic gardening system because:

1. They kill and repel earthworms and beneficial soil microbes.

2. They are usually all acidic. Most gardens need a near neutral pH from about 6.0 to 7.0. Compost buffers soil pH, and no matter what greens or browns you use in composting, the resulting final mature compost has a pH near 7.

3. They contain no humus or organic matter, which is essential for all soil life, soil conditioning, and soil health.

4. They contain no beneficial microbes. These microbes digest insoluble organic material, and their waste products are the true plant fertilizers in the soil and on plant foliage, like in organic foliar feeding.

5. They contain totally insoluble nutrients. Nature is designed to feed plants via microbes and earthworms that break down organic matter into soluble nutrients. Too much soluble NPK can burn, kill, or injury plants. Insoluble nutriuents in organic matter is totally safe to plants, soil, and microbes.

6. Most synthetic fertilizers only supply 3 nutrients NPK. The rest of the product beyond the NPK is garbage, dust, maybe even anthax (we don't know!) In natural fertilizers, there are more micronutrients and insoluble NPK that just soluble available NPK. That is why natural fertilizers have low NPK ratings whose 3 numbers usually add to less than 20. (i.e. fish emulsion has a NPK = 5-1-1).


7. Because synthetic fertilizers are so soluble, whatever nutrients that the plant doesn't immediate uptake, gets evaporated or leached all out of the soil in 1-2 months! Compost buffers nutrients in the soil, prevents excessive soil leaching, and slow-releases NPK and micronutrients to plants over 10-20 years!

[amodekraft]

I used to use miracle grow on my potted plants and it seemed to me that all my plants, though beautiful, would eventually die no matter what I did. Now my potted plants seem to live forever although they never really grow very much. I also never get that cottony-scale-mealy-bug :?: anymore. All my new guys get is waterings with used water from my fish tank. This is not very scientific, I know, but it was just an observation of mine.

[senegaltictac]

I used to use Miracle Grow several years ago. Using organic program i noticed that my plants have thicker main trunks and branches, attract more good insects on outside plants, and have a longer growing period than when I used Miracle Grow.

[CaptainCompostAL]

If you got ant left over Miracle-Gro or any other synthetic fertilizers, the best way to get rid of them is as a last and final time use as a soluble nitrogen activator for your hot compost piles, or bury them under lots of organic matter in your garden beds in a trench composting system! (LOL)

[khwoz]

You can use it as a stump rotting agent also. Put it in holes you drill into the stump. The more holes, the better.

[Tree Dude]

Can you use a shop vac to suck up the MG and put expanded shale, molasses, compost, mulch, and such n such?


Tree Dude