On Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:59:04 +0200, Emery Davis
wrote:

On 04/30/2012 12:32 PM, Jake wrote:
AFAIK, though, simply adding the term "organic" to a bag of compost
isn't illegal and doesn't necessarily mean anything as compost is
organic material. The word plus a logo of a certifying agency, such as
the Soil Association, is an indication that the product is organic in
the organic sense as it has passed tests. It is confusing!

Yes, I think you've put a finger on it, Jake.

Ye gads! I have put a finger on the compost. My finger may have soap
residues on it (which are chemical) and so the compost is no longer
organic! Hangs head in shame!

In something written (IIRC and I may not) by the Centre for
Alternative Technology in North Wales, is was suggested that blood,
fish and bone imported from certain foreign climes was not organic as
it was believed to contain the cremated remains of cats and dogs as
well as of non-organically farmed cattle.

My approach is that I use as little peat as possible (I prefer growing
in coir as I get better results, sorry Mr Titchmarsh) and as few
chemicals as possible (glyphosate and Provado Ultimate Bug Killer, the
latter for lily beetles which are too numerous here to pick off). My
slug and snail hunting torch is "wind up" and my despatch method is a
small bucket of salt water for some and hedgehogs for others. My
preferred plant food is not certified organic as it contains some
minor non-organic elements.

Which is probably more organic overall than many certified organic
farms!

I wonder whether rain is organic! Round here, the amount of dust that
washes out of the atmosphere in the first rain shower after a dry
spell must contain chemical elements!

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the asylum formerly known as the
dry end of Swansea Bay.