OMRI, oh my!

The Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) is an international nonprofit organization that determines which input products are allowed for use in organic production and processing. OMRI listed products are allowed for use in certified organic operations under the USDA National Organic Program. (The OMRI Canada program lists products for use under the Canadian Organic Standards, and the OMRI Mexico program lists products for use under the Mexican Organic Products Law.)

OMRI, founded in 1997, supports organic integrity by developing clear information and guidance that enables producers to know which products are appropriate for organic operations. It provides an independent review of products, such as fertilizers, pest controls and livestock health care products intended for use in certified organic production and processing. When companies apply, OMRI reviews their products against the organic standards. Acceptable products appear on the OMRI Products Lists. OMRI also provides technical support and training for professionals in the organic industry.

Here’s a round-up of OMRI listed products/brands to consider carrying in your garden center.

(All the information below, as well as in this description, is from the respective company’s website.)

1. Black Gold

Black Gold brand potting soils and garden amendments have been available at garden centers since 1985. Its mixes, amendments and fertilizers are available throughout the United States. Black Gold includes a broad line of natural and organic gardening products listed by OMRI and approved for organic gardening. The first Black Gold products were listed by OMRI in 2001. Black Gold’s parent company is Sun Gro Horticulture, which specializes in both professional and retail growing mixes and fertilizers.

For more: blackgold.bz

2. Coast Of Maine

Coast of Maine Organic Products, founded in 1996, produces organically approved compost-based soils, enriching mulches, soil supplements and liquid fertilizers. The company composts residuals sourced locally in Maine and New Brunswick, such as shellfish (lobster and crab), salmon, wild blueberries and cow manure. Additional local ingredients include tree bark, worm castings and seaweed. Coast of Maine distributes organic retail bagged goods to independent garden centers along the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest and is not available in big box stores.

For more: coastofmaine.com

3. VPG (ferti-lome)

VPG (Voluntary Purchasing Group), started in 1968, is the company that produces ferti-lome, Hi-Yield and Natural Guard by ferti-lome. VPG is 100% patron-owned, and patrons receive a patronage refund at the end of each fiscal year. VPG’s products include ferti-lome, a complete line of premium fertilizers and pesticides; Natural Guard by ferti-lome, which was developed in 1988; and Hi-Yield, a complete line of fertilizers and pesticides developed in 1976 that are competitively priced for independent dealers. VPG products are not available in publicly traded big-box stores.

For more: fertilome.com

4. Fish Head Farms

Fish Head Farms produces the appropriately named Fish Sh!t, a nutrient booster — not a fertilizer — with more than 4,000 distinct species of living microbes in each dose. Fish Sh!t is derived from feeding tilapia a proprietary mix of feed that promotes microorganism production and growth. The company says beneficial bacteria promote nutrient mineralization and availability, acting as a biocontrol agent to fight plant pests, parasites and disease in the root zone. The company also says the product increases plants’ mineral and nutrients uptake; increases overall growth and leaf production; helps prevent root rot and increases root growth; and promotes variegation.

• FISH SH!T Organic Soil Conditioner 

For more: fishheadfarms.com

5. Lambert Peat Moss

A Canadian company, Lambert Peat Moss is a family-owned business now led by the fourth generation. Lambert operates six sphagnum peat moss bog sites in Québec, Canada; has 400 employees; and exports horticultural products to more than 65 countries. The six peat bogs are spread over both shores of the St. Lawrence River. The company also has its head office, a research laboratory and two horticultural mixture manufacturing plants at its original location.

For more: lambertpeatmoss.com/en

6. Neptune’s Harvest

Neptune’s Harvest is a division of Ocean Crest Seafoods, founded in 1965 in Gloucester, Massachusetts, as a wholesale fish and seafood company. The fertilizer division was developed to fully utilize the fresh fish by-product, such as heads, skeletons, scales and fins (collectively known as gurry), that was once dumped back into the sea. In partnership with the state of Maine and local universities, Ocean Crest Seafoods developed a process to create liquid fish hydrolysate fertilizers. The company says hydrolyzed fish promotes beneficial bacteria, making soil less compact, increasing drainage and holding moisture, while promoting excellent plant growth with increased yields.

For more: neptunesharvest.com

7. Soil Moist

Soil Moist is a soil amendment and water management aid that its parent company says reduces plant waterings by 50%. It’s produced by Ohio-based JRM Chemical, founded in 1987, which manufactures the water-storing polymer used in the horticultural, agricultural, environmental, floral and gift markets. Soil Moist stores more than 200 times its weight in tap water and releases a steady supply of water as plants need it. It can also reduce transplant shock and soil compaction and is effective in the soil for three to five years.

For more: soilmoist.com

8. We The Wild

We The Wild is an Australia-based company that launched in the U.S. in 2022. Its 100% organic plant care products are made by earthworms, which are fed a specific mix of organics “to deliver optimal plant-powering performance,” according to the company. The earthworm diet includes guano, kelp, humic acid, tree clippings, fish aminos, butcher’s waste, alfalfa, worm castings, poultry litter, fulvic acid and rainwater. The company says there are up to 500 million microbes per teaspoon of its products.

• Plant Care Grow Concentrate 

• Plant Care Enrich Powder 

• Plant Care Protect With Neem Oil 

For more: wethewild.us

Emily Mills is associate editor of Garden Center magazine.