Does anyone have any tips/opinions/suggestions for using neem oil/buffalo loam (obviously other than "Follow the manufacturer's recommendations")? Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Crap. I'm not sure. I bought it act a hydroponics store by my house. $40 and it came in a white bottle with black print. I just got to work, but I can check when I get home. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
$40 for a bottle of neem oil? That's a rip off and a half. Next time buy your stuff at a nursery instead of a hydro store.
Noted. Actually, it's a pretty embarrassing noob story. Everything was perfect until I found a yellow leaf and overreacted. A friend told me to get neem oil, and I panicked and messed up the mixture. A few plants began to dry out and discolor horribly. I flushed about 13 falling of water through them and most of them have improved dramatically. I still have a few that require a bit more flushing and will be doing that tomorrow morning. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum The hydro store was the first place that I thought of. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
I don't, but if it's something that I need to look into, I will. What are they? Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
In order to use neem oil correctly the oil must be emulsified in order to mix with water. Liquid silica (potassium silicate) is a good way to go. You can also use a pure liquid soap like Dr. Bronner's but what you do not want to use is dish soap from the grocery store because many contain perfume agents, anti-bacterial compounds which will impact the compounds you're wanting in the neem oil itself. You have to mix the neem oil with an emulsifier like this...... 1 tablespoon neem oil 2 teaspoons Dr. Bronner's liquid soap Mix these two together using a wood stick (a bamboo stick is perfect) and you want to mix that until the oil turns opaque and is completely mixed. Add this to 1 gallon of water @ 80F and mix completely. Now it's ready to spray on the leaves, branches and stalk. You cannot store this at all because the compounds (pesticides & fungicides) will degrade quickly in water. You must spray as close as possible before the lights go out. Do not spray at the beginning or middle when the lights are on. Light degrades the pesticide and fungicide quickly - as in 3 or 4 hours but by spraying at the end of the light cycle that will keep the compounds intact for several hours allowing them to work as you're hoping. HTH CC
Unfortunately, using dish soap is exactly what I did. I read in a book that liquid dish soap is a good wetting agent and should be used when foliar feeding. Also, the bottle said to add a mild detergent. I used dawn, and I think I used a little too much as well. I flushed them quite a bit on Sunday and they are looking a lot better. I'm going to flush some of them again before I head to work. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
I appreciate the info, and will definitely not be using dawn again. What about the buffalo loam? Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
BuffaLoam is a top of the line compost product. People like me who mix their soils from the ground up start with premium compost and/or vermicompost materials and this is one of the best you can choose to use. HTH CC
The can that it came in said to dissolve it into a tea, but I have had zero luck figuring this out since I have been trying to keep up with a swarm of other problems. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum