Worm Poop Gets Nasty | Suite101.com

Posted by
Barbara M. Martin
May 1, 2007

Sometimes the legal aspects of horticulture astound me. TerraCycle makes vermicompost and packages it -- and Miracle-Gro's maker says it's too close to its own iconic label and questions the product claims to boot.

To hear TerraCycle tell this story, its label looks nothing like the green and yellow label Scotts puts on Miracle-Gro. And no, it is NOT willing to release lab tests to support its claims about its product quality.

To hear Scotts tell it, there's a huge problem here.

Flip side, TerraCycle's vermicompost is getting a lot of free press -- more than it could probably afford to pay for in its normal marketing/advertising budget. (Even this blog is playing along!)

I don't know who's right in legal terms, but the mere idea of battling over vermicompost (aka worm poop) is "crazy" as we say in Los Angeles and it looks like the battle will be as huge as little Terracycle can afford to take it. We always like the underdog ... but then and again, I ain't no lawyer.

Here's the TerraCycle web site explaining the TerraCycle Sued by Scotts side of the story, obviously pretty slanted, but still pretty interesting.

Who knew vermicompost could be so controversial -- I bet this lawsuit is the best thing to happen to the worm poop industry in years. At least now, lots of gardeners will hear about it! The greatest thing since sliced bread! Well, maybe not exactly, but you know what I mean.