Your Ultimate Gardening Guide.
Rules
Quick edit/ update.
I've looked deeper into the topic and found some more information.
It's pretty much non-toxic to bees and mammals. It works by making pests, that ate affected leaves, stop eating and weakening them because of that. It doesn't poison them. They just starve.
It seems to degrade very fast by all influences, even water alone and is only active for a few days.
Source (very recommended to read!): https://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/neemgen.html
Neem oil is a powerful insecticide and like most insecticides it's quite harmful for us humans as well (organic or not). I would not go too crazy on the Neem oil, especially close to harvest. Is there any particular reason you're using it preemptively instead of any time when you actually see pests on your plants? Have you had such bad problems before that you feel you really need to apply on a schedule?
Neem oil is a powerful insecticide and like most insecticides it's quite harmful for us humans as well
That's new for me. In which aspects is it harmful for humans too? I only know it to be toxic when combusted, that's why I don't use it for cannabis. Otherwise, it is always praised as pollinator friendly, very biodegradable, "natural", and whatnot.
Is there any particular reason you're using it preemptively instead of any time when you actually see pests on your plants? Have you had such bad problems before that you feel you really need to apply on a schedule?
YEP. Last year in particular was horrible. I tried it the "natural" way, using lots of insect friendly co-plants, insect hotel and beneficial insects. Eventually, there came wasps (the bad ones) and ants, sucking off the honeydew and even nurturing the aphids and shit. Gladly, they only stung ME and not my GF, who is deadly allergic.
Pretty much everyone of my plants got infected and damaged badly.
Remember, I'm on a balcony. Not garden. There's ZERO natural balance.
I'm not even using soil for the plants I spray, only hydro. So there's not even some runoff that has the chance to affect beneficial critters or microbes.
I tried badly, as much as I could, but it just doesn't work in that environment.
Using a "harmless" insecticide, so I can eat my lettuce without bugs on it (which I'm also allergic to btw!) was the best option.
I also have a systemic synthetic insecticide, which is super toxic to the environment, but I ONLY use it for houseplants. I would never spray it anywhere outside knowing how deadly it is for arthropods, bees, and whatnot.
If you have encountered a harvest getting destroyed in a very short time before, I think you have a valid reason to use it preemptively. I don't know too much about Neem oil actually but I know that in India they ingest it directly as a traditional medicine and that type of use has led to seizures and hormonal problems. I'm unsure how much of those effects transfer to use as pesticide on produce but I still wouldn't spray lettuce with Neem oil that I'm planning to eat the next day. I would at least research its safety further before deciding.
Have you thought about netting? It's very ugly but it's quite effective, as long as you apply the netting before the pests have arrived on the plant. It's one of those tricks that a small scale grower can use but large scale growers can't.
I use neem oil for potato bugs mostly because I’ve literally watched them eat a tomatillo plant to stalks in under an hour. Everything else I’ve found bunch better solutions than neem honestly. For example, I found planting nasturtiums with my cucumbers actually completely got rid of my cucumber beetle problem since they repel them and attract predator insects.
So yea I wouldn’t use neem unless you have some pretty nasty pests and don’t have other options
I’ve been using neem oil preventively on my tomato plants because I get nasty cases of powdery mildew on them. It’s the only thing that I’ve found that works (although open to other options). I also use I occasionally on my hydrangeas for powdery mildew. PM is the bane of my gardening.
When I use it preventively, I only spray once a week in a light mist, before the sun hits my plants, and before the bees start coming out. From what I’ve read, it’s not harmful to bees unless they are directly sprayed. I’ve been doing this for the last few weeks and the bees have been buzzing around my marigolds with no issues. If the plant has powdery mildew, I make sure to remove the affected leaves and spray directly around where the leaves were cut off.
I also use it for aphids, but not when vegetable plants are close to harvest and even then, I’ll wash the tomatoes with dawn soap when they come inside and before eating them. I have a young hibiscus that was recently planted and I give it a spritz of neem oil once or twice a week because it has aphids. It’s much smaller than the other hibiscus around it, so I’m trying to give it every chance it can have to get bigger. Netting isn’t a big option for my garden spaces except for the wheeled garden beds, which I do net when they are growing.
I had a really bad aphid infestation on my lettuce box recently. I ended up using mildly soapy water because the lettuce is meant for my bunnies and I don’t want them exposed to any pesticides. I’d rather I was exposed to it myself than my little bunny butts.
I don't know the specific of your situation, but I would argue against using neem oil preventatively because it repulse pests but also beneficial insects, which weakens the resilience of your plants' environment, making them vulnerable to pests.
That beeing said, yes, rain washes away neem oil. I think direct sunlight should not be a problem if your plant have enough leaves.
Another comment said something similar, you can see my response more detailed in the other thread :) I'll keep it short.
I'm on a balcony, not garden. There's zero natural balance. I tried it last year and learned it the hard way. Fuck that. Pesticides are the only option for that environment, so I went with something "harmless" that's at least pollinator friendly and the lesser evil I find.
What's your opinion on that?
I read your other comments, I understand why you are using it. Kudos for first trying to avoid pesticide, and then looking for the least harmful pesticide!
I tend to be a bit ideological at first sometimes with gardening, but at the end of the day you have to be pragmatic.
I tend to be a bit ideological at first sometimes with gardening, but at the end of the day you have to be pragmatic.
Same. My plan is, once I have a real garden sometime in the distant future, to grow only organically with nature in mind. But right now, in that environment and conditions, it just doesn't work sadly. It really hurt seeing that last season :(
Does it not have instructions on the bottle?