ammonium nitrate is not organic its usally the first ingredient of a non organic fertilizer.
This isn't actually true, but it all stems around the definition of "organic" you want to use. Ammonium nitrate is a
naturally occurring chemical that is formed by a chemical reaction between ammonia and nitric acid. Both of which are
naturally occurring substances in soil. The buzzword "organic" is commonly used to describe a process of making things without using "magical science" or whatever mumbo-jumbo you're concerned might make one chemical structure different than an absolutely identical chemical structure made by a more natural process.
The fact is that every single ammonium nitrate molecule is exactly the same as every other ammonium nitrate molecule: NH3NO3- is NH3NO3- is NH3NO3-. Building it by "non-organic" methods doesn't make any difference.
But, since it has been created long before mankind had any clue there were atoms to make things with let alone any notion what to name those atoms, and made naturally right in the soil under our feet every day, it's safe to say that ammonium nitrate can be entirely "organic", natural, or whatever buzzword you want to call it. Nature's cookbook. It's not always, and often in fertilizers it's the evil-twin of man-made ammonium nitrate, but since it's not so much evil as just absolutely friggin' identical, it's less about the source and more about the use.
Too much, too little, whatever. That's the issue.
What is a better soil to buy? I am in socal so my options are limited to here.
Personally I say screw soil, go with Sunshine mix #4 (soil-less "soil") and run hydro nutes. Less worry about how to feed since you know there's zip in the "soil", you know just how much your plants are getting because you're measuring it out yourself. Just my 2c.
So is FFOF organic?
Well......................It says so on the bag.
Advanced Nutrients Jungle Juice has a picture of a monkey on the bottle. But I'm pretty sure they don't squeeze any liquids out of monkeys to make it. (Not saying that's what they're claiming, I'm just saying that labels don't necessarily reflect contents for SO MANY reasons. Not the least of which is that the government literally forbids companies to include certain ingredients on the ingredients list.)
Imagine me arguing with the company that their soil is not organic, but yet the they "claim" its organic on the bag...
Who else...
Oh, how about Dutch Masters? They not too long ago swore up and down that their Phosphoload didn't have any PGRs in it. But wait, it does! Paclobutrazol and a buttload of it. That stuff is believed to cause cancer and they were happy not only for us to put it in our plants and then consume it, but to lie about it right to our faces.
You want to be a Trusty McRube and believe everything the nice company says on their bag of dirt, that's fine. Just don't make out like that's some kind of rational decision the rest of us are silly to avoid. Companies lie. Bigger companies lie bigger. Maybe there's some Honest Abe's out there but it's not reasonable, it's not rational to think that those companies are in the majority. Or even a size-able minority. Honesty is rare, particularly where money is concerned.
I'd love to be able to go through life thinking only the best of people. Life has taught me different. I see people like that and I think "wow, the world must look really nice through their eyes!" and then a moment later I think, "at least until something happens to wake them up."
Companies frequently, deliberately break laws because it's cheaper to pay the fines than to follow the rules. You really think it's impossible to make more money selling an "organic" product than the fine for lying about it - when/if you ever get caught - costs? Or more realistically, how about the fact that there's at least a dozen different "organic" licensing groups. Everyone's heard of OMRI, but they're not the only ones that can legitimize a claim to make something organic. Is every single person at every single one of those companies of unimpeachable integrity? Or do you think that maybe - just maybe - an inspector or two might have a sick family member or financial crisis that makes them weak enough to fudge a few numbers in exchange for some hospital bill money? Some of the agencies are just plain lax. OMRI is okay on standards, but not the best, while others are practically like, "Oh, you stir with a wooden spoon? That's totally organic! Here's your certificate!"
Wake up.
I'm not saying there's nothing worth trusting. I'm just saying don't blindly trust. "They print it right on the bag, they couldn't do that if it wasn't true, right?" is not an eyes-open perspective. "Probably true" is more like it. It's probably true. Possibly untrue. Each person has to find their own peace with what they believe is "likely enough to be true" or "likely enough to be untrue" and move on that. But don't just assume that if it's written down, it's true.
Hell, in that case I'm a French model.
