Neem oil in soil?

[jedson]

Hi --

I read the sticky on neem oil with great interest. I think I heard someplace that you could soak the soil and it would kill off the larvae of cucumber beetles (which is my main concern). Is this true? If so, would you use the usual concentration? I grow squash and cucumbers from hills that might be three feet by three feet. Would I just dump a gallon or so of the usual mixture to cover an area this size? Would I include the soap that is recommended for spraying the plants themselves?

jedson

[cynthia_h]

You "heard somewhere" about neem in soil. Probably not a reliable source! Nowhere that I remember reading has talked about soaking the soil with neem; I'm pretty sure that such actions would kill most of the beneficial organisms I've tried so hard to encourage in my soil.

But [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=155473]here's[/url] a possibly useful discussion on cucumber beetles from last summer. There are links to photos and hints on useful control methods. I found this thread by doing a Search of the Forum, but it can be overwhelming with such a LARGE topic! So just go for this first thread I've found and jump off to the other links from it. No doubt other people will come here soon, too.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[jedson]

Good point. So I won't try that. Don't recall where I ran into the suggestion. It came up when I was Googling around. I'll just try neem oil as recommended by reliable sources, and diatomaceous earth if some beetles get past that. But the idea of getting the larvae before they become beetles seemed like a nice one. Probably you are right, though, and there is no way to do it without killing off a lot of other things you want.

jedson

[gardenvt]

The first 24 hours out in the garden and my eight ball zuchinni has cucumber beetles. DH sprayed with pyrethrin/rotenone on the squash and eggplants which are close to them. He also sprayed the cukes and melons that will be planted tomorrow or Friday.

I don't think I have seen the Safer 3 in 1 but I do have the Need oil and at least one other product.

Maybe we should use the Safer products first?

I lost cukes to the beetles last year so I was trying to be prepared by having the stuff that will wipe them out shold they arrive. they didn't waste any time.

[jedson]

I had a similar experience with those cucumber beetles. they appear with amazing speed. One day everything looks fine and the next day they are there in droves. Pretty well destroyed two small zuchinni and two cucumber plants plants before I could zap them with neem and diatomaceous earth. Know almost nothing about Safer 3 in 1. Is it safer than neem and diatomaceous earth. Will it work as well or better? I am going to spray all my cucumber and squash plants with neem to see if I can head off more attacks in the future.

Jedson

[NeedExperience]

I have heard many good thing about neem oil.javascript:emoticon(':)') The only thing I have read that resembles your soaking of soil. Is make a neem oil insecticide (or purchase one), then spray your plants on top, and under the leaves where the bugs hid. Add a little bit of the solution to the soil right around the roots! This is a natural way to kill the bugs, and it does'nt have lasting effects. So if you really have an infestation you wanna continue spraying every week. The thing to keep in mind when using neem as an insecticide, you wont get instant gratification. It's not instant, but it works if you give it time! javascript:emoticon('') I have faith in neem oil! javascript:emoticon(':D')

[cynthia_h]

I have heard many good thing about neem oil.javascript:emoticon(':)') The only thing I have read that resembles your soaking of soil. Is make a neem oil insecticide (or purchase one), then spray your plants on top, and under the leaves where the bugs hid. Add a little bit of the solution to the soil right around the roots! This is a natural way to kill the bugs, and it does'nt have lasting effects. .... I have faith in neem oil! javascript:emoticon(':D')

Have you actually *used* neem on the soil near the roots of your plants? Or is this something you...ah..."heard," perhaps on the Internet?

It seems unlikely that a substance which kills so many insects would have no effect on the organisms, macro and micro, in soil which gardeners and their plants depend on so heavily.

As to having "faith in neem oil," it's really not a religion. People in India have used products of the neem tree in their daily lives for thousands of years. It's a very useful tree, useful in ways that pre-industrial people in the West were familiar with in their own areas but which knowledge has now been almost entirely lost unless one seeks it out specially.

And as to being a "natural way" to kill bugs, well, yes it is natural. So are...

--poison oak
--poison ivy
--poison sumac
--toxic mushrooms
--venomous snakes (oops, not a plant; sorry)
--kukui nuts
--rye ergot (a mass crazy-maker in medieval and early Ren. Europe when the held-over rye crop went moldy and there was nothing else to eat)
--molds
--fungi of many kinds, not just mushrooms, many of which are toxic

Please don't believe that, just because something is natural, it is harmless. Mother Nature doesn't care about us individually, or as a species. She can do without us; it's we who cannot do without Her. So exercise caution at all times, even when using "natural" remedies.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[Mick58]

Howdy folks, I don't mean to hijack this thread but didn't see any point in starting another about Neem oil.
I'm new here and haven't searched for the answer so maybe you'll forgive me this time.
I've had to spray my Okra with neem oil today because of aphids....there are quite a bit of okra that will be ready in the next couple of days. Will these pods be safe to eat if washed throughly?