Introduction
Some pretty incredible trees grow on this planet of ours, from Bahrain’s Tree of Life – which stands all alone in the middle of a barren desert, to the spiralling Silk Cotton Trees slowly reclaiming land taken from them by a Cambodian Temple. Ranking alongside these famous examples is the Neem Tree – a unique species of plant that’s playing an increasingly important role in the indoor gardening community. Here we aim to explore how Neem-based products came to the attention of growers all over the world and also throw light on the promising future of these organic alternatives to industrial pesticides.
The History
Over the course of thousands of years many people throughout South Asia have benefitted from the growth of Neem Trees close to their homes. Take a walk around the centre of a village in India, Sri Lanka or Burma and you’re almost certainly bound to find one. So it naturally begs the question, why? What exactly is special about them?
Traditional Uses
Neem Trees are still heavily relied upon for all sorts of applications in South Asia. Sufferers of fevers, diarrhoea, chickenpox, eczema, psoriasis and ulcers often scatter Neem leaves on their bed to help keep them fresh and drive out the infection. Concocting a remedial drink using the leaves also proves popular for these illnesses, as does eating dried Neem flowers. It’s not unusual either to make up a paste with Neem bark and/or seeds and then apply directly to skin for the anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and
anti-inflammatory properties.
The advantages do not stop there though. By taking a small twig, peeling off the bark and then chewing one end until soft, a very effective and organic antiseptic toothbrush can be fashioned. And at the end of summer and winter, when certain clothes are no longer suitable for present conditions, putting them into storage with Neem Tree leaves will deter moths from taking up residence. How versatile!
Neem for pest control purposes
There have always been strong signs to suggest that Neem Trees could positively contribute towards the indoor gardener’s battle against bugs. This is because – in addition to producing leaves, flowers, seeds and bark with medicinal benefits – Neem Trees planted nearby homes create spaces free from pests and cooler in temperature than surrounding areas.
Many insects cannot function properly after landing on a Neem Tree, eventually dying out due to complications regarding reproduction, growth and feeding. The process takes time to reach a conclusion but affected bugs won’t want to make a return – the Neem actually repels them. Fortunately it only seems to bring “bad” bugs to a halt (e.g. spider mites, aphids, white flies, thrips, mealybugs), whereas harmless and helpful insects like bees and ladybirds carry on as normal.
Unsurprisingly then, the fact that the Neem Tree represents a natural repellant helps it continue to draw interest from manufacturers of insecticides looking to offer an organic solution. Indeed there are already some very good Neem-based products available to indoor growers (e.g. Neem Repel), which, when used correctly, provide unparalleled levels of protection for your plants. However, you really must understand how they work to get the best results possible…
Neem-based products in use
Neem-based products are most effective when used as a preventative measure. That means spraying the chosen product over, under and around plant surfaces plus edges of your room/tent from the early stages of a crop (or even before then), regardless of whether or not bugs show up on your checks. Soil growers can also add a Neem-based product to the root zone by simply incorporating it into the regular feeding schedule. Completely covering your plants with spray gives insects no other option but to consume the Neem residue as they try to feed, whilst directly supplying the roots with Neem helps quickly treat internal areas (therefore any juices that emit from the plants will contain the repellant).
We recommend applying Neem in spray form every 3 days for 2-3 weeks and/or in root feed form every other main feed over the same period to effectively produce an invisible barrier that bugs avoid at all costs. Treating plants during flowering via foliar spray should only be done up to week 5 or 6, but root feeds are suitable until the final stages if desired.
For an emergency scenario where you haven’t been taking a preventative approach and an infestation breaks out, the best course of action involves introducing a Neem-based product alongside a faster acting pest control like Pyrethrum 5 EC. The latter product swiftly deals with the existing problem, meanwhile the Neem option sets up long-term plant protection… and both in a natural manner!
Optimum Conditions
Alongside the use of a Neem-based product, in the event of an infestation you should consider tailoring grow room conditions to create the most hostile indoor environment for bugs. This includes raising humidity to cause discomfort amongst bugs and dropping temperatures down to increase the time insects need to reach the egg laying stage.
Using Neem-based products will not negatively effect any aspect of your crop (i.e. appearance or fruit quality). As a matter of fact they actually contain some trace minerals that aid growth whilst simultaneously providing long lasting protection for plants.
One Comment
Good post.
I have dabbled with neem and found it very effective when used regularly. But, I would not recommend it as a soil drench, particularly when trying to build a healthy population of beneficial biology. In organic grows where neem was soil drenched, plants were noticeably held back for me.
Neem oils anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties are great in some respects, but if your aim is to build up colonies of beneficial foliar or root zone biology, as with the Soil Food Web approach, I would avoid neem altogether. Great for hydro and coco though.