How do neem oil and a foliar compost tea compliment each other?

[VerdantGreen]

hi CT GUY

I.....

2. ..... In theory, if you soil food web is balanced, then there's no reason to have mite problems. With the neem oil, you're treating a symptom, not correcting that fact that something is out of balance in your system.

whilst this is one of the very cornerstones of organics, it doesnt apply to an indoor garden (because the thing that is out of balance is that you have taken some plants and crammed them under a light in a small room or cupboard ) there is very little we can encourage by way of an ecosystem that is beyond microscopic level indoors and the reason why you get mites indoors is that they got in there somehow.

as for foliar feeds, again - outdoors i wouldnt hesitate to used them - especially on vegetables etc, but indoors on weed i would be worried that the possible problems might outweight the benefits ( are there huge benefits to using ACT as a folar feed over just plain ACT watering??)
i dont like the idea of wetting the foliage, if you apply it when the lights are on then you risk burning, if you apply it when the lights are off you risk mold, notwithstanding the mess etc.

perhaps i've missed something...

 

[maryjohn]

I think the preventive version might be to keep predator mites. Kind of expensive.

 

[VerdantGreen]

yeah but without any mites to eat they will die off pretty quickly

 

[mountainNick]

you may want to read this thread about neem and how it works. dont draw conclusions from the one time you had mites. temps, humidity etc are all big factors.

lumping all substances that control insects into one category is over simplification. remember you are going to smoke this stuff!

http://icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=4485

V.

Great thread you posted on here bro, been using neem oil and it works like a charm, not sure how much longer I can use it for since one of my plants has started to flower, anyone got suggestions?

Peace to you all

 

[VerdantGreen]

mN i think it has some systemic qualities so should continue to protect your plants.

soma uses it up until 2 weeks flower i think and that sounds about right to me.

V.

 

[otherwhitemeat]

Bugs have a hard time building up resistance to Neem, it mimics a hormone that reliably (read generation after generation) inhibits a bug's ability to moult properly. They get stuck mid-moult or moult then fail to 'harden off'...it's this mechanism that makes Neem so effective against certain bugs.

It's also a VERY effective anti-fungal and is shown in some studies to supress and even eliminate certain soil fungi (good and bad).

There are many growers here that grow great weed with Neem seed cake/granules in their soil. So, whether or not the impact on soil fungi is bad or good, probably remains to be seen. Neem has been shown to increase leaf area in certain studies so it can be a good thing for some.

I would say to use the Neem as needed, as a soil drench--if you are having issues with soil borne bugs. As a foliar feed if you are having issues there. Too much of anything is going to be bad, IMO.

If, as I've been reading, Neem does have a suppressive effect on soil borne fungi...probably best to do your drenches and CT feeds at least several days apart, and apply only when necessary, relying on the tea's ability to repopulate the soil with good bacteria, well after the Neem has degraded (abt 72 hours)

Also, Neem is not known as a systemic. It degrades very quickly in water, air, and light. It can, theoretically, be applied up to 72 hours before harvest. I go with a week anyway...

 

[maryjohn]

yeah but without any mites to eat they will die off pretty quickly

that's what would make it so expensive...

 

[C21H30O2]

I have used ACT during late flower with no problem. I think the claim that light will burn wet foliage is for the most part a myth. If you have even decent air circulation water droplets dry within a few seconds. I just put the plant right in front of a fan b4 going back under the HIDs. I would also think that ACT would decompose anything on the leaf surface therby creating an ideal ambient environment, this includes Neem.