I suppose this could go under the gardening section, but i thought i would have more luck bringing this topic over here. move it if u must.

I'm curious how many people grow their own food.

I am also curious about soils and the difference between organic and non organic soils.

I went to the store yesterday to buy dirt for my garden. They had a miracle grow "organic choice" dirt. It was the most expensive and had a name brand. I don't generally like miracle grow for some reason. It is a very superficial reason I just think it is very commercial and I ususally thing commercial = bad.

It smelled worse then all the other dirts there. I don't really understand why if it was "organic." I almost got it just because it was marketed as "organic." It smelled way too bad tho so olga and i decided that we didn't want to use it after all and we put it back.

I got different kind from a 'no-name' brand that was also labeled "organic" and smelled just like wet dirt.

I looked at all the ingredients and the only differences I could see in the ones labeled "organic" and the ones not labeled organic was fertilizer. some used poultry fertilizer and some use bat guano.

I used to use bat guano in my garden about two and a half weeks before I planted stuff and I thought it was "organic." does that make it not organic?

I use soft rock phosphate in my garden about two and a half weeks before i start putting stuff in the soil. does that make it not organic?

Is fertilizer not considered organic?

is the organic label just a marketing ploy?

I have always thought that organic = no pesticides. Does organic = no chemicals? How can that be possible if everything in this world is just a matter of different chemicals that produce different chemical reactions? I am no scientist, I am just curious, and interested in keeping a clean garden.

They still use "chemicals" which can still be toxic.
[hgic.clemson.edu]

I don't use any pesticides, I just shake the leaves well and rinse off any remaining critters too small to see that might be clinging.

I plant extra so that I will get enough, and the critters get some, too.

I can't say that my food is completely vegan, though. I used a mix of about 1/4 cow manure, 1/4 vermiculite, 1/4 peat, and 1/4 soil from my backyard with occasional bits of compost worked in.

I think one of the keys is to choose plants that will do well in your area with minimal intervention.

But one thing I noticed that is a big diff between my leaves and store-bought leaves is that mine are much much richer tasting.

Thank you for the info. I am not really concerned about pesticides tho. I don't use pesticides on my food at all, and I rarely but occasionally use a mix of castile soap and water on some flowers and plants when they are infested with aphids.

I am curious what makes a soil organic as opposed to not organic?

I don't mind sharing with the snails and the rollie pollies, I just don't want to poison them, or myself.

This year I did not use animal fertilizer, just soil and compost. Usually I use a little bit of bat guano and mix it in. I am wondering if my soil is "organic?" How can I tell? What makes it not organic?

From UC Berkeley
[www.ocf.berkeley.edu]

"It means that pesticides, if used, must be derived from natural sources, not synthetically manufactured. Also, these pesticides must be applied using equipment that has not been used to apply any synthetic materials for the past three years, and the land being planted cannot have been treated with synthetic materials for that period either."

Okay, thanks! =)