Garden Detective

Earlier this week, lawn-care giant Scotts recalled four of its lawn and garden products that contain weed suppressants never approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. They are Miracle Gro Shake 'n Feed with Weed Preventer All Purpose Plant Food, Scotts Bonus S MAX, Scotts Turf Builder MAX and SLS Fertilizer with .28 Halts.

The products were not contaminated. There weren't any bad batches. That might be understandable. But according to the press release, "two of the products have not been registered with EPA and two of the products were registered but are not properly labeled." The company has reportedly blamed the error on a former employee.

Um. Maybe it's me, but wouldn't you think it's safe to assume that in this great country of ours products that require registration would be, well, registered before hitting store shelves? We're not talking about a mom-and-pop operation here. Scotts is a publicly-traded company that pulled in $2.9 billion in net sales last year. Its products are sold pretty much all over the planet. How does one single person have such control in a company like that?

I don't want to get into a debate about Scotts' business practices, but since lots of people use its products in their gardens, the recall makes it necessary to talk about alternatives.

I’m not a big fertilizer person. In fact, I have never, ever fertilized my lawn. I've never quite understood the whole suburban obsession with perfect turf. Mine is nearly half weeds, but when it’s neatly mowed (which is isn’t right now), you’d never know it. Green is green, whether it’s grass or amputated dandelions. For my purposes, it's a lawn.

I try to garden responsibly – just like I try to eat well – but I'm not an extremist in any facet of my life. And while I’ve been known to indulge in the occasional sack of White Castle cheeseburgers, I’d rather my lawn go without weed killers than smother it in chemicals.

I do, however, give my perennials an occasional dose of 5-10-5. I’ve used Miracle-Gro in the past, and in all fairness, I’ve seen good results. A couple of years ago I discovered a product called Worm Poop that worked wonders on my tomatoes. Another "plant food,” Dynamite, which was bestowed with EPA’s Gulf Guardian Award, has served my perennials well.

Regardless of the brand you buy, pick one with a slow-release formula, which is best for the environment with less excess to run off into ground water. They're also better for your plants. And look for one that contains micro nutrients like magnesium, copper, boron, iron and molybdenum in addition to the usual nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (N-P-K). Dynamite offers both benefits, plus it contains ammoniacal nitrogen instead of the more-common urea, which can contribute to groundwater pollution and is found even in some organic fertilizers.

And what about weeds? Why not try all-natural corn gluten? Applied before weed seeds germinate, it's a good alternative to products containing trifluraline.

If you have any of the recalled Scotts' products, don't use them. Call 888-295-0671 for instructions on getting a refund. Other Scotts products are unaffected by the recall.