Are Organic Garden Products Misleading?

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

22 Jun 2008 05:58 AM

When we see an organic sticker on a product, we can have faith that we are doing the right thing for the environment by purchasing it, right? This is actually not necessarily the case. For food, organic stickers are USDA approved, so that food must meet certain standards to be labeled organic. This is not true for other products, such as garden products. pretty much anyone can currently slap on an organic or green label on a garden product, such as a bottle of pesticide whether or not it is truly organic.

If using organic gardening products is important to you, there are a couple of ways to tell if a product is really organic. The first thing you can do is to look for the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) label or symbol. This will ensure that the product is indeed organic. If the product doesn't have the OMRI symbol, it may still be organic, so here is another way to tell.

Read the product's label. Items such as corn, alfalfa, and feather meal are all organic components. Fertilizer should have low levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The percentages should be less than 10. Also, if there lots of chemicals and chemical compounds on the label that you can't recognize, then chances are that the product is not organic.

One recent product that is organic is EcoSource's greenPots (sic). These plant pots are 100 percent biodegradable. You can use them for about five years before they start to break down. When that happens, just plant them directly into your garden. The greenPots are made out of natural materials, such as grain husks. The pots come in eight different colors and cost anywhere from $6 to $24.

You can also go organic in your garden by using natural products, such as vinegar to control pests.

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. Starting June 1st, don't miss her articles in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

Related Articles:

Frugal Food Growing

Buying Organic? Know When to Spend And When to Save

Vinegar in The Garden

Create a Custom Herb Garden

Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger