[mrpotatohead]

I never use pesticides or herbicides on my fruit and veg. Pardon my ignorance-but are things like 'miracle gro' ok to use if you grow organically?

[snowdrops]

No I don't think so,it should say on the packet if you read it carefully,have a look at the garden organic website that will give further details,I stand to be corrected & usually am

[Christine]

I think that this information from the depth of this site will tell you which fertilisers are organic. Just be careful if you buy poultry manure pellets that you get organic ones not any old ones. 

[davejg]

I thought all chicken manure pellets were organic, tell us more.

[RJR_38]

So did I... Do some have added chemicals then? Grrr

[mumofstig]

not as afar as I know, but some come from higher welfare poultry farms and the pellets maybe approved by the Soil Association

[moose]

Chickens reared on non organic farms/units may be given antibiotics that are not acceptable to the organic movement- there may be residues in the poo. I guess that if they are fed with GM modified feeds that would also rule out organic certification.

[JayG]

"Organic" is the most widely misused word I can think of, and I think it's often done deliberately to suggest that the product is more PC, environmentally sound, natural etc, than it actually is.

Dried chicken poo is chemically organic in that it contains carbon, but I haven't yet come across any brand which claims to meet the full criteria of bodies such as the Soil Association (some claim to be derived from farms meeting high standards of animal husbandry, but I'm not at all sure what that means in practice - presumably not free-range or they'd say so.)

Growmore and products like Miracle Grow are chemically inorganic and manufactured from mostly non-renewable sources, although of course that does mean that there are no animal welfare issues involved in their production.

I'd use neither if I could get away with it, because this sort of thinking does my head in, but I've more or less proved that I can't grow good crops in my sandy soil without additional fertilisers, so I use both types, but as economically as I can. 

[mumofstig]

Rooster seems to be the only brand approved by the Soil Association, and no longer seems to be readily available
http://www.rooster.uk.com/

6x is

certified by Organic Farmers & Growers for use in organic systems.

http://www.6-x.co.uk/directions.htm

The thing is how far do you take it, cos even our homemade compost may fail their tests, unless all the fruit and veg we buy to supplement our own is organic as well 

[Totty]

probably one of the most argued issues in gardening, and everyone has different views on it.
Do you class a product that has been manufactured from organic material (plant matter, animal byproducts such as blood fish and bone) that has not necessarily been grown organically, then packaged into a plastic container, and then transported to a retail outlet, as organic as getting a load of manure from the local farm delivered. I use both organic and non organic. Non organic on weeds and flowers, organic for food crops.

Totty

[JayG]

Rooster seems to be the only brand approved by the Soil Association, and no longer seems to be readily available
http://www.rooster.uk.com/

6x is

certified by Organic Farmers & Growers for use in organic systems.

http://www.6-x.co.uk/directions.htm

Seems to be more than one dried chicken poo mixture approved by the SA, although I couldn't say how easy it is for the amateur to get hold of any of them (and some may still question what "from acceptable sources" means.) 

Can't see 6X on the SA's list - must work to different criteria! 

http://www.soilassociation.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=CI7TIVwyZUA%3D&tabid=143

I don't worry about it much these days - I recycle as much, and waste as little, as possible, keep the use of any chemicals to a minimum, and enjoy the produce knowing that it's much better tasting and freer from chemicals than regular supermarket produce. 

[mumofstig]

Seems to be more than one dried chicken poo mixture approved by the SA

which others did you find Jay?

Can't see 6X on the SA's list

They are certified by

Organic Farmers & Growers (OF&G) is a leading UK organic control body

http://www.organicfarmers.org.uk/

[JayG]

Seems to be more than one dried chicken poo mixture approved by the SA

which others did you find Jay?

Activit and 2 versions from Pennine.

[fatcat1955]

I try not to use weedkiller but do due to having limited time have used it sparingly. I use growmore and chicken pellet's but i never spray anything on my crop's apart from seaweed extract diluted to twice the recomended dose. I know what my crop's have been grown in and what they have been fed. I believe that is important to me.