I'm sorry you don't appreciate the point I was trying to make.
Spraying broad spectrum fungicidal oils while preaching protection of soil microbes makes no sense to me. These microbes matter, but this group is useless?
Shows your lack of any real experience in the field with these techs, reading about them does not make one an expert let me explain why.Not to mention wiping out any bug, beneficial or pest, smothered in oil, neem or other wise.
Your logic is defective. You don't understand IPM and your logic is specifically born from reading canna sites.One of the best (to me) arguments against "preventative" sprays of conventional or organic controls is that pest species are the first to repopulate in the now barren landscape. Nature abhors a vacuum. A sanitized landscape is the dream of the likes of Syngenta. A healthy microbe population above ground is as important as below.
I'm not refering to you specifically, just what I see among a large swath of organic growers.
Perhaps if I wrote practically irrelevant book length replies that would be to your style and approval.
The same people that go blue in the face about letting "nature take it's course" in the rhizosphere can't see the contradiction of enforcing their will in the phyllosphere. I love that word.
Hence I argue for cultural and environmental control (where applicable), an approach you mock as "newbish". One would think the organic community would be more receptive of a hands off approach, or is that only applicable on a case by case?
Come, step outside the box. It's open and breezy out here. The air is crisp.
neem cake/ meal/ etc....
So much that contradicts what we are striving for in soil, I dont even consider it. The cons outweigh the pros IMO. To each their own.
The chemical compounds that participate in biochemical interactions among plants are generally named allelopathic substances. Combined application of allelopathic extract and reduced herbicide dose, gives as much weed control as the standard herbicide dose in several field crops (Farooq et al., 2011). Allelochemicals are secondary compounds of plants, with small molecular weight, present in different organs of some vegetal species (leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, but also in stalks and roots), mostly perennial ones (Lingorski and Mitev, 2012).
I see no bonemeal in this recipe. I am wondering if it was left out because of Nitrogen clawing that it causes? Not sure I like that stuff.coot's mix is 1:1:1 base mix---peat, compost, aeration.
per cubic foot add
1/2 c neem seed meal
1/2c kelp meal
1/2c crab shell meal
1 cup rock dust
1 cup basalt
1 cup oyster shell powder
1 cup gypsum
if you follow this recipe to the letter you shouldn't need to cook it.
i use a modified coots mix and i plant seeds in the same soil i use to flower full sized plants.
for the OP's mix i would follow granger's advice and add more base to compensate for the things you added too much of.
i wouldn't consider op's soil a coot mix since several ingredients coot recommends against have been included.
Aeromicrobiology is the study of living microbes which are suspended in the air. These microbes are referred to as bioaerosols (Brandl et. al, 2008). Though there are significantly less atmospheric microorganisms than there are in oceans and in soil, there is still a large enough number that they can affect the atmosphere (Amato, 2012). Once suspended in the air column, these microbes have the opportunity to travel long distances with the help of wind and precipitation, increasing the occurrence of widespread disease by these microorganisms. These aerosols are ecologically significant because they can be associated with disease in humans, animals and plants. Typically microbes will be suspended in clouds, where they are able to perform processes that alter the chemical composition of the cloud, and may even induce precipitation (Amato 2012).
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=phyllosphere+microbes+and+plant+interactionshttps://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=polysphere+microbes+and+plant+interactionsMicrobial Communities
Many different microorganisms can be in aerosol form in the atmosphere, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, yeasts and protozoans. In order to survive in the atmosphere, it is important that these microbes adapt to some of the harsh climatic characteristics of the exterior world, including temperature, gasses and humidity. Many of the microbes that are capable of surviving harsh conditions can readily form endospores, which can withstand extreme conditions (Al-Dagal 336).
Many of these microorganisms can be associated with specific and commonly known diseases. Below are two tables. Table 1 below shows examples of Airborne Plant pathogens, and Table 2 shows examples of airborne human pathogens.
Bacterial
One such bacterial microorganism that can resist environmental stresses is Bacillus anthracis. It is a gram positive rod shaped bacteria that utilizes spore formation to resist environmental stresses. The spore is a dehydrated cell with extremely thick cell walls which can remain inactive for many years. This spore makes Bacillus anthracis a highly resilient bacteria, allowing it can survive extreme temperatures, chemical contamination, and low nutrient environments (Gatchalian 2010). This bacteria is associated with Anthrax, which is a severe respiratory disease that infects humans.
Fungal
Another such microorganism that can resist environmental stresses is Aspergillus fumigatus, which is a major airborne fungal pathogen (McCormick 2010). This pathogen is capable of causing many human diseases when conidia are inhaled into the lungs. While A. fumigatus lacks virulence traits, it is very adaptable to changing environmental conditions and therefore is still capable of mass infection. (McCormick 2010).
Viral
An example of a viral airborne pathogen is the Avian Influenza Virus, which is a single stranded RNA visur that can infect a broad range of animal species as well as humans and cause the Avian Influenza.
I use neem cause it works. I ran out of neem meal early last year, and went until mid summer and broke down and ordered more neem and karanja meal. It is expensive, especially shipping, but I like it as a tea bubbled with either kelp meal or alfalfa meal. Up to about week 5 in flower. With kelp later and alfalfa earlier.
It gives a nice N feed and I think sulfur helps terpene production. I get sulfur from neem/karanja meal/cake and gypsum. Because I also like diversity I'm only giving neem as a tea maybe twice in early to mid flower. As for soil bugs, idk, never really had any other than gnats once in a while.
Neem oil, as in a pest program? Hell yes. It's one of the few pesticides that plants seem to like, plus it works. And if you can spray weekly, you shouldn't have to spray once flowers form. And if i still get mites, I like lavender water for mites in flower. And gnatrol (BTI) for gnats.