The term "Organic" has been bastardized and commercialized almost beyond recognition with our current "green" trend in society but the fundamentals are really simple and can become quite complex the deeper you delve into it I think. I am happy no matter what peoples intentions are for going green but labels and terminology can be misleading (which I think that is kind of the idea) so here is some info I came across a while back that I hope adds some clarity.
The following are the USDA standards and labels for organic items.
"100% Organic means that a product has been certified as containing only organically produced ingredients, with the exception of water and salt (which are not themselves agriculturally produced products, so cannot be certified organic under The National Organic Program aka NOP ).
Organic means that a product has been certified as containing 95% organically produced ingredients, with the exception of water and salt. The other 5% of ingredients must be on the allowed list and must be products not currently produced organically for the commercial market.
Made with Organic Ingredients means that the processed product bearing this label contains 70% organically produced ingredients. These products can additionally list up to three ingredients on the package that are organically produced along with the percentage of organic ingredients, however packaging cannot use the USDA seal."
Now I for one have very little faith in the EPA ,USDA, NOP or the AAPFCO. What the hell is the AAPFCO you say? The Association of American Plant Food Control Officials is an individually run state group that determines the labels for your states fertilizers.
The last time i checked the AAPFCO had a different set of standards than the NOP and the USDA.Biosolids were OK depending on the level of trace metals determined by the EPA not necessarily in accordance with the NOP and USDA.Can you imagine how confusing this is for organic commercial farmers?So what does this mean?It simply means you can't trust a label, stamp or seal if you intend to grow organic. For me personally I am not a fan of growing in urea or sewage sludge. If you have ever smelled Milorganite you would understand why.I
try to grow organic but I can't say that my seeds were organic. Some "organic" ferts still release organic toxins such as dioxins, polychlorinated-dibenzo-p dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans so what the hell? And we haven't even touched on all the scary stuff that's in the water these days!
You just have to be a very diligent, label reading, google geek with your own set of standards and ideals. Nobody is going to come by take your "100% Organic" trophy away because your fert uses pure synthetic urea rather than a natural sourced urea. I try to maintain my grow as organic as possible to keep my costs down, reduce my carbon footprint and honestly...its just easier once your homework is done. The organic vs. inorganic taste debate still rages on but I feel better knowing that less toxic, less petroleum reliant materials were used to make my daily smoke.
I think a really simple cost effective organic approach is Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil, Blue Mountain Organic Nutrients with RO water and neem oil to keep the critters away.
Sorry for the long rant but this has been a topic of recent dinners in our home and I obviously had a lot on my mind.
I hope i didn't add to the confusion and good luck however you choose to grow.
