Or, the Neem/Karanja meal blend, either or. I'm looking for actual experience with both the adding to the mix and/or the top dressing in regards to the effects on the CB larvae in the soil. This would be a soiless mix in containers for me, but any experience/observations, soil or soiless, would be welcome. I have the 50/50 blend from BAS, but it was far too late to have any effect with the infestation that was already going on. I will be getting lures, sticky traps and whatnot for the above ground beetles next year, but I'm especially interested in how well the neem works on the beetle larvae that chow down on the roots. Even ARBICO (?), with all their organic IPM's has nothing for Cucumber beetles specifically. Any welcome news out there? Wet
Source: Neem: A Treatise I pulled out my copy and looked at neem seed powder (NSP) which described as simply 'pounded' neem meal (aka cake). An inexpensive coffee bean grinder is probably a better way to go. NSP is used throughout India, Pakistan, Indonesia, etc. because it can be mechanically applied on large agricultural operations using air hoses. One material mentioned in Chunk's link is Celite - this is a brand name for diatomaceous earth from World Minerals which has 4 or 5 commercial products. CC
Thanks, Chunk! Gave it a quick scan and will settle down for some serious reading later. Got all my canning stuff together and only 3 cukes this season. Not gonna happen next year. Thanks again. Wet
Well, what I had in mind was using neem oil for the above ground stuff, like the vine, leaves and so on. But the CB also lays eggs in cracks in the soil and the larvae do a number on the roots. Thus my interest in both the neem meal added to the mix along with the top dressing of neem. I grow these in 5 gal containers and I will use fresh made mix to eliminate any possibility of old eggs or whatnot. Guess I have about 9 months to develop a strategy. Wet
Wet, Do you use neem cake in your worm bins? If you're strategizing 9 months ahead, using neem / karanja cake in your worm bins would be of great benefit to your IPM program.
I haven't yet .... but it's on the schedule. I fed them a big wad of frozen Comfrey just before the neem blend arrived, so as soon as they clean their plate. I was going to leave off the bokashied alfalfa meal and use the neem/karanja instead, or alternate. We'll see. I saw that bit about the worms where neem meal had been applied and took it to heart. Wet
What worked for me was letting a big drum of neem cake tea fester out in the sun for a couple of weeks. I splashed and poured it on everything, including myself. It certainly kept my wife away from me for awhile. j
Man, I was just gonna ask you how in the heck you dealt with that without gagging or puking! I took that page from your book (as I've already told you I'm sure) and I did a container that I kept kelp/alfalfa steeping in all summer. I tried it with neem cake once and said the hell with that! :lol:
Neem is certainly in a class of its own as far as stinky teas go! *lol* The dog somehow came up with a light case of the fleas recently. The wife picked up some crap Hartz Flea Shampoo but I said the hell with that and added a good whankin' dollop of Ahimsa Neem Oil to the shampoo before we gave him a good scrubbing bath. Now whenever he climbs up on our bed at night to sleep all we can smell is neem... lol - but the fleas are g-o-n-e gone.
Is it worse than that horrible comfrey tea deal? Hard to imagine that anything could be worse but who knows? LOL
No, I'm in the city limits, so no po-tree. I have the 50/50 blend of neem/karanja and something has a pleasant, almost nutty aroma. Haven't tried steeping any yet though. Wonder if the steeped stuff would be of any benefit to the mix the cukes were grown in? Destroyed the cuke vines, but pretty much left the containers, still full, off to the side, till I decide what to do with it. It was fresh mix, and I really don't want to toss it. Of course it would never get used for any sort of vining plant, but perhaps, something like garlic? Wet