Many of us try to do what we can to safely grow our flowers, fruits, and veggies without the use of harmful chemicals that will basically kill us dead in a slow and painful manner. One of the more popular ways of taking care of our precious gifts from Mother Nature is to use organic soil; either homemade or store bought. So one would think that if it says "organic" on the label, it means that the soil is all natural and good for growing your plants...guess again!
My husband, knowing that I only use organic soil, had purchased a bag of Miracle-Gro® Organic Choice Potting Mix so that I could re-pot a few of my little green babies--orange tree seedlings and African violet babies, to be exact. Well let me tell ya...I got more than just dirt in that bag!
My husband, knowing that I only use organic soil, had purchased a bag of Miracle-Gro® Organic Choice Potting Mix so that I could re-pot a few of my little green babies--orange tree seedlings and African violet babies, to be exact. Well let me tell ya...I got more than just dirt in that bag!
The first thing I noticed was how poorly composted the soil was. It contained mostly bits and pieces of wood chips inside, which is typically found SPARINGLY in organic soil, but this was pretty much a bag of somewhat broken down mulch. Then there were the mushrooms...
Not too long after I got everything re-potted, I started to notice little mushrooms (like the ones seen in this photo that I found online) growing among the orange seedlings and African violets. Knowing that it was more than likely due to the Miracle-Gro®, I just dealt with it by pulling out the 'shrooms whenever I saw them.
The other day, I opened the bag of Miracle-Gro® so that I could use the soil to pot one of the sages that was growing in my garden and found a nasty surprise inside...larvae worms! I wish I was better versed in entomology to be able to determine WHAT they were, but at that point I didn't really care and just dumped the remaining contents of the bag on the ground.
So much for that.
To make sure I wasn't the only one who ended up with a freak bag o' dirt, I did a little research online and found that many people were equally as frustrated and dissatisfied with this product as I was--if not more so.
So heed this warning, my gardening comrades: stay far, FAR away from Miracle-Gro® and any of its products. They are not good for your plants nor are they good for the environment. There are much better choices out there for organic soil, such as Espoma, FoxFarm, and Black Gold. If you feel that this info could be of use to others, please DO share this post on Facebook, Twitter, and the like.
Feel free to share your gardening soil recommendations (or warnings, as the case may be) here in the comments section below. Thanks so much!
Until next time...
Happy digging!
Not too long after I got everything re-potted, I started to notice little mushrooms (like the ones seen in this photo that I found online) growing among the orange seedlings and African violets. Knowing that it was more than likely due to the Miracle-Gro®, I just dealt with it by pulling out the 'shrooms whenever I saw them.
The other day, I opened the bag of Miracle-Gro® so that I could use the soil to pot one of the sages that was growing in my garden and found a nasty surprise inside...larvae worms! I wish I was better versed in entomology to be able to determine WHAT they were, but at that point I didn't really care and just dumped the remaining contents of the bag on the ground.
So much for that.
To make sure I wasn't the only one who ended up with a freak bag o' dirt, I did a little research online and found that many people were equally as frustrated and dissatisfied with this product as I was--if not more so.
So heed this warning, my gardening comrades: stay far, FAR away from Miracle-Gro® and any of its products. They are not good for your plants nor are they good for the environment. There are much better choices out there for organic soil, such as Espoma, FoxFarm, and Black Gold. If you feel that this info could be of use to others, please DO share this post on Facebook, Twitter, and the like.
Feel free to share your gardening soil recommendations (or warnings, as the case may be) here in the comments section below. Thanks so much!
Until next time...
Happy digging!