We really need to get a clear definition of "Organic"!!!  For the purposes of this blog and in my views "Organic"  means natural.  In short, the natural process of decaying matter into soil and plant nutrients.  Yesterday I was gathering some soil in containers for my indoor garden.  I have used Miracle Grow in the past and it worked wonders for me.  However with this new lifestyle I figured lets google Miracle Grow and see what pops up.  Below is one of the links I found, and frankly found the results shocking.  In light of this both those who say it is, which is mainly Scotts who makes it claim it to be organic.  However there are studies which say otherwise.  So I for one will not be buying and using it anymore.

The clear way to having healthy soil is to use and make healthy soil.  When getting soil for a pot to move some basil inside for the winter I gathered some great soil.  Here in the Southern States of the US we have mainly what is called red clay.  Some plants do well others suffer,  and rarely do you ever see black dirt.  However it is here if you are willing to look for it.  I know where to look in my own backyard to get black soil.  Almost any place where there was a tree or in wooded areas where leaves and limbs have naturally decomposed you can find it.  For me this is where some trees were cleared and the stumps remained.  Since I didn't want a backyard full of stumps I cut them off at ground level so they would decompose more rapidly.  In many places people have the stumps ground down which really is just using a machine like a ditch witch to mulch the stump up.  Regardless close to where the stump was there is a lot of good healthy Organic black soil.

Prior to placing soil into the pot, gather up some grass clippings mixed with old leaves and place them in the bottom.  Then place your soil on top of them.  This will release nutrients to the roots of the plant while they are decomposing.  If you have a compost pile, mix it in with your soil you can use a bucket or wheel barrel for this.  This will aid in helping your plants get the right amount of nutrients without all the chemical garbage.  In a later post I will discuss composting.

Here is just one link on Miracle Grow and quotes the study they used.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/terms/go/2307/#b