On Sat, 28 Jun 2003 08:18:43 -0400, Pat Meadows
wrote:

On Sat, 28 Jun 2003 12:12:33 GMT, Frogleg
wrote:

I agree with nearly all of what you said. I *adore* (and brew)
compost, and know that while Miracle-Gro may supply basic nutrients,
fertilizer is far from the be-all, end-all of growing plants, generous
soil, and a proper lifestyle. :-) My quarrel is with a "no chemical"
philosophy, and a generalized vilification of everything that comes in
a bottle, box, or plastic bag. Suppose I recommended acetic acid for
weed control: flags would go up; perhaps comments that "organic
methods are superior." Of course, acetic acid is vinegar, which is
often suggested as an "organic" alternative to "chemical poison"
weedkillers. I don't understand why there has to be a such a
confrontational attitude between The Organics and The Really Bad
People. We've got possters wondering if they're completely beyond the
pale for using a little Miracle-Gro solution on their houseplants! One
person suggested *anyone* could keep a bucket of manure tea around,
even in a high-rise apt. I beg to differ.


I must have missed that post - it seems to me as if you're
tilting at windmills here. ?

For myself, I know what acetic acid is.

I've not seen any foolishly slavish adherence to organic
methods pushed on rec.gardens.edible. But maybe I've missed
something.

I certainly wouldn't recommend that a person keep a bucket
of manure tea in an apartment! Wow. That *is* silly.
Maybe that post was before I was reading r.g.e. ?

The "manure tea in any situation" was from Red Suspenders some time
ago, who seems to have stopped posting. You surely have seen the posts
that immediately leap on any use of brand name fertilizer,
weed-killer, or bug deterent as (almost) the equivalent of setting off
back yard atom bombs.

You haven't seen "any foolishly slavish adherence to organic methods
pushed..."? I certainly didn't call them "foolish." I merely said
there seems to be an adversarial relationship between those who favor
"all organic" methods, and those (incl. self) who don't feel using a
little Miracle-Gro is Satan's work.