True Organic All Purpose Plant Food Review: Top Performance Organic Fertilizer

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True Organic All-Purpose Plant Food Review: Feeding the Soil, Not Just the Plant

1. Introduction: The “Fast Food” vs. “Whole Food” Debate

When you buy fertilizer, you are usually making a choice between immediate gratification and long-term health. Synthetic fertilizers (the blue powders) are like energy drinks for plants—they provide an instant rush of growth, but they do nothing for the soil and can easily burn roots if misused.

True Organic All Purpose Plant Food sits on the other side of the spectrum. It is a granular, slow-release feed derived from farm-grade ingredients like seabird guano, shrimp shell, and soybean meal. Instead of force-feeding the plant chemicals, it feeds the microbes in the soil, creating a living ecosystem that sustains the plant naturally.

This approach promises tastier vegetables, stronger disease resistance, and zero risk of chemical burns. But is it strong enough to handle the heavy demands of tomato plants or hungry annual flowers? In this review, we analyze the ingredients, the application process, and the real-world results of this premium organic blend.

2. Key Features Explained Simply

True Organic packs a lot of biological complexity into a bag of brown granules. Here is what the ingredients actually do for your garden.

The 5-4-5 NPK Ratio

The Benefit: This is a balanced ratio (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium). Unlike high-nitrogen synthetics that promote massive leafy growth but few fruits, this ratio supports the whole plant.
The Reality: It’s gentle. You won’t see your plants double in size overnight, but you will see steady, sturdy growth that is less prone to pests (aphids love the soft growth caused by excess nitrogen).

Seabird Guano & Shrimp Shell Meal

The Benefit: These are the “secret weapons.” Seabird guano is one of the most potent organic sources of nitrogen and phosphorus. Shrimp and crab shell meal provides Calcium (4%) and Chitin. Calcium is critical for preventing “Blossom End Rot” in tomatoes and peppers, a common issue where the fruit rots from the bottom up.

Soil Microbe Food

The Benefit: By using soybean meal and poultry manure, this fertilizer acts as a probiotic for your dirt. It encourages beneficial bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi to colonize the roots. These microbes help the plant drink water more efficiently, making your garden more drought-resistant over time.

Granular Slow-Release

The Benefit: You don’t need to mix this with water every week. You sprinkle it on the soil, scratch it in, and water it. It breaks down slowly, feeding the plants for 3-4 weeks continuously.

3. Hands-On Use & Performance

We tested True Organic in a vegetable garden (raised beds) and large container pots.

Application Experience

This is a granular product, meaning it looks like coarse sand or kitty litter. It is easy to grab by the handful (wear gloves) or pour. There is no dust cloud, which is a common issue with bone meal products.
The Smell: Let’s be honest—it’s organic manure and fish parts. It smells like a barnyard when you first open the bag. However, once you scratch it into the soil and water it, the smell dissipates within 24 hours. Be warned: dogs love the smell of this stuff, so store it securely.

Vegetable Garden Results

We applied this to tomatoes and peppers at planting time. The 4% Calcium content was the MVP here. In a season where many neighbors struggled with rot on their Roma tomatoes, the plants fed with True Organic remained firm and healthy. The yield was heavy, and the foliage remained a deep, dark green without the “burnt tips” often seen with chemical feeds.

Safety and “Burn”

One of the biggest advantages is safety. We intentionally over-applied this to a test patch of basil. In a scenario where chemical fertilizer would have killed the plant, the basil showed no signs of stress. This makes it an excellent choice for beginner gardeners who are worried about making mistakes.

4. Pros and Cons Table

5. Comparison: The Organic Battle

How does True Organic stack up against the household name and the chemical alternative?

6. Who Should Buy This?

True Organic is a specific tool for specific gardeners:

• The Vegetable Gardener: If you are growing food to eat, you want clean inputs. The calcium content makes this specifically superior for tomatoes, peppers, and squash.
• The Soil Health Advocate: If you care about earthworms and long-term garden fertility, this product builds your soil rather than depleting it.
• The “Burn-Phobic”: If you have accidentally killed plants with chemicals before, this is the stress-free alternative.

Who should skip it? If you are growing houseplants indoors, be careful—the smell might be unpleasant in a living room. Use a liquid indoor fertilizer instead. Also, if you have a dog that digs relentlessly for bones, the ingredients here might trigger that instinct.

7. Comparison Summary

Espoma Garden-Tone is a legendary product and slightly cheaper, but True Organic’s inclusion of seabird guano and shrimp shell meal provides a slightly punchier nutrient profile that seems to green up plants faster.

Miracle-Gro is cheaper and cleaner to use (no smell), but it does nothing for your soil quality. If you are growing annual flowers that die in winter, Miracle-Gro is fine. If you are growing food or perennials, True Organic is the better investment.

8. Final Verdict

Read more articles on this topic: Fertilizers & Plant Food.