Feeding Your Food
By Michael Nolan
In a minute I’m going to rant about fertilizing your tomato plants, but first I need to cover something that is a little more important.
This topic was supposed to be saved for another couple of weeks, but when I read the news today, I felt that I should go ahead and write it now.
A popular brand of fertilizer products has been recalled and you need to know about it as soon as possible.
The products are all made by the Scotts company, and the specific items that are recalled are:
• Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed with Weed Preventer
• Scotts Bonus S MAX
• Scotts TurfBuilder MAX
• SLS LawnService Fertilizer with .28 Halts.
The products were recalled not because of contamination, but because they were either not registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or not properly labeled as such. If you own any of these products, call the Scotts company at 888-295-0671 for information on a refund.
See how much trouble using all these chemicals can cause?
Next time maybe you’ll listen when I tell you that nothing is better for those precious tomato plants than organic nutrients like compost and worm castings and you can make those for free. If you are hell bent on buying fertilizer, I suggest Tomatoes Alive! It has done an excellent job for me in the past, and it is basically idiot proof, so even your spouse could do it.
When you are using chemical fertilizers on your edible plants, you’re putting chemicals into your food. Does that make any sense? Not to me. So stop it, already.
May 14th, 2008 at 9:48 am
But Michael, how do you *really* feel?
I’m completely with you.
May 14th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Thanks for the heads up!
May 14th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
As far as I’m concerned, they should *all* be recalled. Who needs ‘em? Just yesterday, my neighbor was telling me that fish grown organically in aquaculture systems couldn’t be labeled as such if they were fed fish meal or pellets made from ocean-dwelling fish, since those fish were presumably contaminated by chemicals and thus didn’t qualify as “organic.” What a tragic and ironic statement! And here we are dumping chemicals on our tomatoes. Shame on us!!!
May 14th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
I’m right there with you. Why in the world would anyone put that crap on their food. I actually heard a master gardener suggest a systemic fungicide/pesticide for the vegetable garden. Several of us had a “fit and fell in it” over that one. Think people. THINK.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:37 am
I will never forget the one and only time I ever heard my grandmother use a foul word - ever.
A neighbor was visiting while she tended her garden, and recommended some name brand fertilizer “because that manure is just filthy. Imagine what you are eating!”. My grandmother, without even looking up from her weeding, responded “I’d rather eat sh*t that poison any day of the week and twice at Sunday supper.”
May 15th, 2008 at 5:25 am
What a classic quote! Go Grandma!!!!!!!!!!
May 18th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
She was quite the classic lady, there’s no doubt about it.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:28 am
I disagree with the idea of not using fertlizers. All they are is concentrated forms of the nutrients plants need to survive. I use miracle-grow on my tomatoes and they are some of the best tomatoes on earth. If you have ever ate a tomato from the grocery store then you defintely ate a lot of “fertilizer” They grow them Hydroponicly in warehouses straight dumping the chemicals on the roots! -
May 19th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Rick,
I don’t disagree with the use of fertilizers entirely, I just have a problem with synthesized, chemical laden fertilizers that add unnatural things to the fruit.
I know a lot of people who use and enjoy Miracle Gro - I’ve even used it before, but mainly on flowers. It is largely a personal preference but when it comes to something I will be eating, I want to know that everything is as natural as possible.
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:39 pm
Hi there thank you for the article, I was searching for your Facebook page so I could like it. Will you guys be adding facebook connect anytime soon?