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washing up liquid
I was told that if you us washing up liquid you are not being organic is this true? 

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- Super Green Thumb
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Technically speaking detergent is a soap and soap is made from the chemical reaction of a base with a fat or an oil. Fats and oils are made from carbon and oxygen and therefore are considered to technically be organic chemicals but, this is one of the many cases where "organic" chemicals are not necessarily something that an "organic" gardener would want to use.
Detergents can be very slow to break down in the enviroment and can be detrimental to plants.
Detergents can be very slow to break down in the enviroment and can be detrimental to plants.
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They can provide phosphate, which is a fertilizer, but in a very water-soluable form (of course). There are vegetable oil based soaps that are very suitable for that sort of use, and I would much rather use an insecticidial soap as curative than some of the harsher alternatives. Let your conscience and due diligence be your guide...
HG
HG