Okiehobo,

It has been beautiful here in Marietta too, but the cold front is rolling in, so it is a little less beautiful now. : (

I have used neem oil although, over the years, I have used it less and less and less. In our climate, it tends to burn foliage and kill the very plants you're trying to protect, especially if you spray it at a high concentration or in temperatures over 80 degrees. In milder climates where the heat and sunlight are not so intense, it is less damaging to plants.

I don't like to spray it on the foliage of ANY plant because it burns the foliage in all but the coolest weather.

It is more effective as a soil drench if you have some sort of soil problem (insect, bacteria, virus in the soil).

Neem is generally recognized as safe for use around humans, but there are some exceptions. In parts of the world like India, neem has been used to prevent pregnancy and, sometimes, to terminate pregnancy. Thus, I wouldn't touch neem oil with a 10-foot-pole if I was pregnant and I wouldn't use it around a pregnant woman or animal.

We had a pretty good discussion about neem on this forum last spring or summer. I'll see if I can find it and link it below.

Neem is not at all hard to find if you want to buy it. You can find it in products by major manufacturers like Green Light and Safer in stores like Home Depot, Lowe's and Wal-Mart, during the growing season.

If insects are an issue, I don't think any kind of broad-spectrum insecticide is the answer. Why? Because EVERY insect has some other insect that eats it. When you spray to kill the "bad" insects, you also kill the "good" ones. In nature, the bad bugs always rebound first and, since you have killed off all the good predator bugs, the population of bad bugs quickly runs wild and out of control. Even after the good bugs begin reproducing and eating the bad bugs, there are fewer good bugs and they are so far behind the bad bugs, in terms of population, that they can't get the bad bug population under control. So, every time you spray a broad-spectrum pesticide, you are probably making your pest problem "worse" and not "better".

We discussed this whole bug thing a lot last year. I'll try to find a previous discussion and bring it back up to the top of the page.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Neem discussion from 2008

O.D. I am new to this forum, so I dont know my way around good yet, I had tried to find any discussions on neem oil but couldn't; guess I went abount it the wrong way.

I do appreciate your help and the 08 link,
I have always used cemicals in the past, but only when I had to, and for someone who is trying to make the change over to the organic type of gardning I am finding it slow going learning about composting, good fertililzers, and the new ways and means of controlling insects.
but I know I'll get there in time.

I read a lot about neem and thought I had found the answer, LOL, but they never tell you everything, the good stuf you only learn from experience.

The only insurmountable bug problem I have come up against
without using cemicals, is the colorado potatoe beatle and the squash bug.
In the 08 link you spoke of using perticular strains of Bt for certain bugs like Bt San Diago for the Cp, beatle, what does the Bt stand for, and where can you buy it, also what should I use for squash bugs ?
Life will be much simpler if I can get these two problems solved, LOL.
Again thanks a lot.

Dear Sir/Madam,Greetings! We are India based natural neem products supplier such as 100% Virgin Neem Oil , Neem Cake ,Neem Seed Meal, Neem Bark and Neem leaves. If you need any of these items for gardening purpose please kindly let me know and we are ready to serve you regularly very economically.

Thanking and with Regards,
Siva
00919842411555
kgeesiva@yahoo.com