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The National List—synthetics
The NOP Standards define synthetic as "A substance that is formulated or manufactured by a chemical process or by a process that chemically changes a substance extracted from naturally occurring plant, animal, or mineral sources, except that such term shall not apply to substances created by naturally occurring biological processes."
Synthetic substances permitted for crop fertility include fish products stabilized with acids, seaweed products extracted with potassium hydroxide, humic acids that are alkali-extracted, lignin sulfonate used as a binding agent, and synthetic micronutrients formulated without chlorides or nitrates. Synthetic micronutrients are restricted to use when a soil deficiency is documented by testing.
Most synthetic fertilizers are prohibited. This includes ammonium nitrate, anhydrous ammonia, ammonium sulfate, urea, superphosphate, triple phosphate, calcium oxide and calcium hydroxide. Calcium chloride (derived from the brine production process) is permitted only for foliar sprays to treat disorders related to calcium uptake, such as blossom-end rot in tomatoes.
Minor synthetic ingredients added to formulations (such as, the plastic polymers in seed pellets) are also prohibited unless included on the National List. This includes preservatives in fish or algae products and chelating agents and binders in fertilizers, unless they are derived from natural sources.
If you wish to purchase a soil amendment, you will need documentation from the supplier that it is a mined product and has not been heated or chemically changed in any way. For example, mined rock phosphate, potassium sulfate from a mined source and crushed lime direct from a quarry are all acceptable.
All active and inert ingredients must be acceptable. To verify all inerts are allowed, you either need to get permission to use the specific brand name product from your certification agency, or look to the OMRI list. Inerts are often not identified on the product label since suppliers consider this information proprietary.
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Farmer-to-Farmer"In the Rodale Institute gardens, we use a kelp-and-fish product called Kelpak, made by processing freshly harvested kelp at low temperatures. Naturally occurring enzymes are isolated from the kelp and help break it down into a rich brew. The active compounds stimulate the growth and productivity of most crops."
~Eileen Weinsteiger
TRI master gardener
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