Neem Cake

[Microbeman]

You'll also see I'm correct, and fully 'qualified' to tell people to use full notification for their users when growing with neem meal.

I'll look forward to this. I think growers and dispensaries ARE obligated to give full disclosure on how products are grown. For years I disputed that products were grown 'organically' just because the prepared fertilizer was labeled organic. I do not agree with using pesticides.

To be clear, I do not argue that you have a sensitivity, I just disagree that it is presented as factually caused by neem cake.

 

[wetdog]

IDK about CHS but tend to agree with heatherlonglee's take on it.

However, from sad experience I can tell you that you CAN turn your soil mix toxic from overuse.

This was not overapplication, I never got heavy handed with it, but I did do long term, light top dressings over several seasons as both a IPM and a N source. Like, 1cup/cf in the initial mix (never more than that), and light top dressings once or twice a month during the season, mainly in outdoor no tills.

I was well aware of the warning in the neemresource site about seeds, seedlings, and young plants and neem cake causing problems like, poor germination, deformed growth and such. I was very careful about how much I added. Apparently it also builds up over time and doesn't go away. I also had toxicity issues with soil that had no neem added for OVER a year.

It first showed up in container grown garlic (no till), where the entire crop failed and this was like my eighth year growing garlic. Pepper plants grown later in the same season did fine and no neem was added that season. The next year I again planted garlic in the same no tills figuring the pepper plants would have consumed what neem was in the mix. I was wrong. The crop didn't totally fail, but what did grow was terribly deformed and pretty much useless. Other plants showed issues also which got me to the conclusion that ALL my soil was toxic, pretty much a CY in total. It ranged in age from ~3 years old to ~5 years old.

What a pisser!

Anyway, the good news is, from people who know like Coot, is 1/2cup/cf in the initial mix is plenty for soil pest deterance and well below any toxicity issues. This is all that *I* will be using in the future, along with no additional top dressings.

You should also be fine with your 1/2cup/cf amount.

Wet

Thank you MM!!

Makes perfect sense with what I was trying to explain just before the whole thread went off the rails.

What was added in the initial mix would have been fine, but using it as a N source over several years = toxicity.

Downloaded the article for closer reading, but the gist felt right to me and explained a lot.

Wet