Deciphering Mainstream "Organic" fertilizers Pt 1: Chicken Manure Products

It's no secret that I have a real beef with using synthetic fertilizers in a garden. Not to name names but there are some pretty popular brands out there that are so successful at growing foods fast and furious that even the most devoted organic gardeners can get caught in their web of lies via the temptation of a bigger and faster growing crop.

Things get really confusing though when an aspiring organic gardener sees a plant fertilizer labeled as organic. Organic means good, right?! Well, not always... So I wanted to sum up a few of my personal reasons behind the bad taste in my mouth over these "organic" products.

First and foremost keep in mind that just like any other product labeling, these popular brand name companies are out to SELL to you .... not to take care of you.

The word "organic" can be used in the traditional, chemistry sense when not involved with the actual food products on the shelves at a grocery store. There is no USDA food regulation for labeling fertilizers as organic.

When you see an "organic" label on a fertilizer product.... it means that it's an organic compound in the truest sense.... not in the sense of it being USDA certified organic and safer for human consumption.

Here's an example. There are some dry, granulated "organic" fertilizers made entirely out of the bedding or litter used in factory farmed chicken housing. So what does that mean? That means these chickens who are processed and pumped full of antibiotics, GMO corn and growth hormones are housed on top a layer of material like wood shavings.

(image courtesy of CETFA)

After the chickens have been harvested for slaughter the bedding is removed with all of it's nutrient rich (and GMO, hormone, antibiotic rich) chicken manure, bagged up and sold as organic fertilizer.

YUM! .... yeah, not at all.

Now don't get me wrong! Chicken manure is a fantastic staple in the organic gardeners bag of tricks, but when that manure comes from factory farms there is NOTHING sustainable, organic, healthy or kind about it.

An alternative? Raise your own chickens (you really only need 2 or 3 for a back yard garden and you get eggs!), find a friend who raises chickens or look up local and humane chicken farms in your area.

Photo Courtesy of Backyard Chickens.com

Talk about how these birds are raised and what they're fed before adding the manure to your own compost. The extra effort is worth it! Yes it's true that these bagged, mainstream products will boost the growth of your veggies and speed crop production at mind blowing rates.... but at what cost? Is it worth it?