We grow neem trees in our yard here in Tampa area FL. Great for so many things. We got ours from a local Neem Tree Farm that carries a wide variety of neem products, including whole neem oil. Unfortunately, some of the big box neem oil has the azadirachtin removed so they can sell it for big $ rendering the leftover neem oil much less effective. We had to use Capt. Jack dead bug brew on the white flies infestation because the neem was slower acting on them. Thanks for the great gardening wisdom, as always!
I have found when you can't use neem (2 weeks before harvest and during harvest) spray the plants with water that had 1 tsp dish soap and 1 tbsp of the liquid from a jar of minced garlic. Aphids won't eat the plants because they hate garlic and I have culled a really bad infestation in as little as 3 days. Garlicky lettuce doesn't taste as bad as neem flavored lettuce. Lol!
I have so many bumblebees and often find them sleeping early morning right on my flowers and on all my plants so I'm not one to apply anything that will hurt them. Neem is no different. I've decided that using predatory mites is a better way in my opinion. Have you thought of trying that? Our bees and beneficial insects need all the help they can get. More and more growers are resorting other less harmful ways to combat the issue.
I live in Central Florida zone 9b and thank you Dan for giving us all the information. Everyone's Garden is different and everyone treats their Garden the way that they feel they need to treat it. It's nice that we can all share our ideas and take what we need and leave the rest. We have little guys called chameleons that we have to be careful of when spraying at night. They like to curl up in our leaves of certain plants that are attractive for aphids. I hate to wake them up but I don't want them to get harmed in any way just a thought about good little creatures that might be in the leaves of your plants. Happy planting and have a blessed day
@@Decoder2040 OH MY GOSH I can't believe it. I was wondering what you were talking about so I looked up Anoles and "SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE" that is what we have. Even Gomer Pyle is surprised that I've been calling these little creatures by the wrong name for all this time. Maybe that's why they don't listen to me when I talk to them. LOL but the internet calls them the American Chameleon. Thanks I always like to learn something new every day. I still am careful with them bcuz I see them eating the roaches when I am in my Bucket Garden. The Nanas from Central Florida growing in buckets
Very good points. I just today took photos and video of Lady bug babies hatching and then disbursing. They are VERY tiny. If you don't know what to look for they get completely overlooked, and sprayed 😢 (there was an odd lump on the underside of a leaf; my curiosity drove me to photo & zoom. Imagine my shock when I saw tiny alligators emerging😮) I had photos and videos of larger larvae and even pets last year, but hadn't seen them so small and hatching. I don't know what to do about my aphids now since I'm container gardening on a deck so my very few, crowded plants require extra diligence and protection.. It's very easy to miss beneficials! (And yes I use Neem with azadiractin intact, with care.)
Very helpful, Dan. I understand aphids develop when there’s an over abundance of nitrogen. Have had great luck balancing nitrogen in the soil of an affected plant. Nitrogen in balance, no more aphids. The excess nitrogen causes/calls aphids to come
That's definitely true. I had some arugula planted in with my other salad greens, lettuces et cetera. The lettuces were able to use up all the nitrogen but arugula isn't it had less developed roots as a result. That made the arugula unhealthy and aphids attack unhealthy plants.
Thanks! Nitrogen can be a factor as it creates lots of fresh new green growth tips. With that being said, I have a balanced approach when it comes to fertilization (NPK). Aphids come in every year whether I've fertilized or not. Sometimes we humans as part of nature need to implement controls to ensure an abundant harvest and minimize crop loss. Neem oil is effective and safe for organic gardening. Just look out for beneficial when applying. Cheers!
Aphids best friends and helpers are ants. Believe me, if you have ants in your garden you will have aphids too, guaranteed. Ants use to farm aphids like humans farm cows.
I always dissolve neem oil with same amount soft hand soap at a ratio of 1tbsp/1tbsp/ 1 pint hot water then add it to gallon container of water that has say overnight to reduce chlorine. It distributes the oil through the water better and doesn't clog up your spray nozzle. Plus always pull fresh water through the nozzle before putting it away. .😮
@@carolinewilloughby414 you're saying if you put in 2 tbsp of dishwashing soap, you're only putting in two tablespoons of water and two tablespoons of neem oil? Your comment is helpful but it's also a little confusing. If you have a moment, would you clarify that for us because we are going to be spraying for aphids and using neem oil 🙂
Because it is not aphids. It is a virus. And if you get it on a young tree, it will kill the tree no matter what you spray. I tried everything on my tree but sadly I lost it.
Isn't there a better way to get rid of the aphids that doesn't risk hurting the good bugs? How would we know for sure the Bees and Ladybugs, etc aren't being hurt after the fact from the residue?
Dan, what is that amazing purple blooming bush at 0.29? It looks like a lilac but it's way prettier than my lilac! :) Thanks for the video on the Neem.
What did you call the yellow flowered plant?? I have treees that look exactly like that, only get 5 or 6 ft high, and are so dainty. Nobody can tell me what plant/tree it is
How long do the bees have to stay away to keep from "beeing" harmed by the neem oil? They're in a tough place with all the chemicals being used in farming!
The bees do not need to stay away for any prolonged period of time. You just don't want any beneficial insects present at the time of spraying. Cheers!
@@plantabundance Thank you for replying to my question! It's so important to take care of all of God's creation that has been given to us such as these small ones that help pollinate our future abundance! I enjoy your videos. Thanks! 😎
@@Jay-tk7ib Neem oil effects the digestive system of bugs that chew on the leaves. The oil can harm bees if directly sprayed on them, which is why spraying is done in the early morning or late afternoon. Bees don't eat leaves, so they will not ingest the neem oil. Also, the whole plant isn't sprayed, only the infested areas. Attracting predatory insects to the garden helps, reducing the need to spray. However, neem oil doesn't effect caterpillars. For horn worms, caterpillars, and other harmful worms, (Pickle worm, cabbage moth) use Spinosad, using the same process. For squash bugs, use soapy water. Neem oil, and Spinosad are organic alternatives to using pesticides.
Really the only safe time to apply bug spray is when the sun goes down. The beneficials, being diurnal, have all gone home. The neem or whatever other spray you use has an opportunity to dissipate overnight so it'll be safer by morning. Just because I don't see these beneficials on the particular plant at the time I'm spraying doesn't mean that they won't visit that plant after I spray. By the way, using neem oil it's often suggested adding some dish soap as a surfactant to help spread it and make it stick to the plant. I found that the dish soap by itself is actually almost always just as effective as with the neem oil. And just as fatal for beneficial insects. The Millennial Gardener has a video on five pesticides and discusses this.
I agree the evening is the best time. However, if you are out in the garden early before the bees arrive and you notice an aphid problem, I believe it best to take them out rather than wait a whole day allowing further damage to occur to your crops. The neem I use does not recommend including a surfactant. A good spray setting and lukewarm water works a charm! I've tried just about every technique there is (see the "related videos" link below this video for 9 ways to get rid of aphids). Neem in an electric sprayer has proven to be the best approach for my garden size and time schedule. Cheers!
This winter we had an odd week w a super hard freeze in Texas... and currently the only beneficial bugs I am seeing is ladybugs and hoverflies. I will NOT be using any sort of insect control accept blasting water from the hose. We need all of our bees and butterflies.. and so far I'm not seeing any??! I would never spray Neem on blossoms... is that really safe for the bees and other pollinators after it dries??
I'm sure plain dish soap like Fairy or Dawn suffocates the aphid also, and doesn't smell so strong? But check out the ratio first! It's like 1 drop of fairy-up with 1 ltr of water or sumtin? ❤
Does the neem oil affect the pollinator bugs who crawl on leaves that have been sprayed? Do you know why aphids and other pests don't like neem oil? Do you know about how many different types of pests you can regulate with this method? And, finally, how many times a season would you spray your plants/trees down with this product ? ...Oh, and do you feel like you have to clean your produce really well when you harvest, or does the neem dissipate or wash off easily? -Sorry, I'm a bit of a question-asker. ;-)
But does avoiding spraying on ladybirds and bees even negate the harm, as surely if the beneficials come to land on a sprayed plant they will come into contact with the neem oil?
I good way of dealing with certain pests is to use sacrificial planting. Blue Hubbard squash for bores and some worms and this year I just learned about Peredovic sunflowers for stink bugs and leaf footed invaders which are big invaders for me. Just plant them a ways off from the veggies. The seeds are black oil seeds.
i found the best use of neem oil is as a very weak solution for seedlings. for people setting seeds away in a warm environment, check your trays at night with a magnifying glass. i discovered minute bugs eating the seedlings from their stiocking tops. bear in mind, i used a freshly opened bag of seed compost. quite often we think it's just bad germination. the neem oil cured the problem.......................brian
I sprayed Neem yesterday evening, and on my broccoli plants I saw grey dried what looked like ladybugs may have already eaten many of them!! I checked and washed away shell's as well as any new ones not seen!! Now, I'm dealing with Armadillos wrecking my garden! Trap set out last night! Nothing! Looked around the garden and ONLY the corner of one bed damaged! Maybe the age so much the food source is gone NOW? I will continue to try to catch and release for a week because I have rented it out! Free from the dept of animal control!!
So how long before it’s safe for the bees and ladybugs to come back or will they instinctively stay away. It seems timing is everything but overcast day, no rain and no beneficials is tricky to get the timing right.
Has anyone else had the problem with Neem oil that I had? I used it on my young fruit trees by label directions, and it burned the leaves on the trees. The leaves looked like burnt potatoe chips after a few days. 1 pear tree lost 100% of it's new leaves. I basically lost an entire season of growth due to 1 application of the Neem oil.
thank you I use neem oil myself , However I'm puzzled why you are spraying flowered brassicus, unless you are collecting the seeds. here in the UK we would never ever let Brassicus get to the flowering stage they're Are considered past their useful life span . If you are not collecting seeds why have you not dog these plants up and destroyed them .Sorry but I must be missing something, the flower brassicas look as if they're purple sprouting broccoli or maybe or some form of Sprouting broccoli. I know American names for things are different from the UK names such as your beans mentioned we call those broad beans in UK
Any permaculturat ways of dealing with aphids? I think one should really pay attention not to damage the part of the ecosystem that would work with us against these critters. Stands to reason that without allies, aphids will come back with a vengeance.
Have had success by balancing high nitrogen in the soil. I learned that too much nitrogen in soil causes the plant to call out for aphids which respond to the call. Bringing the nitrogen back into balance seems to have them move along as soon as the new messages reach the plant higher up. I agree with you that it’s more effective to work with the system if we can.
I've taken the "release beneficials approach" in the past with limited success. The few that stuck around almost ended up being in the way, as I could not spray, and they could not compete with the onslaught of aphids. Some of these type ideas are good in theory but lack in results. I speak to my own experience of course.
@@plantabundance I don't "release" beneficials, I cultivate them, plant what attracts them and let them do their things. When I see aphids I think "good - more food for the bugs I want!" It is a long range solution not a quick one but it works very well. Over the years I have almost no "pests." The only short term solution I've used is to aim a very strong jet (water) spray at the tips where the aphids congregate. Knocking them off where they congregate does a good enough job for me.