Can i use neem oil on vegetables

Many gardeners may be new to using neem oil as an insecticide around vegetable plants. Neem oil, however, has been around for thousands of years. The bark, leaves and oil of the neem tree have been used in India for several millennia and are still used today.

Neem products are marketed aggressively — especially in the organic market. Fact 1 Neem oil is potent stuff. The primary active pesticide ingredient is Azadirachtin, which reduces insect feeding and acts as a repellent.

It also interferes with insect hormone systems, making it harder for insects to grow and lay eggs. The approval procedures are lengthy, complex and expensive, and only the agrochemical corporations have the means required to fulfill this obligation. Why is Neem oil banned in Canada? Neem Ban in Canada. In there was a ban placed on the import and export of Neem oil and related products due to the fact that Neem oil was never registered as a pesticide in Canada Celli, Does rain wash away neem oil?

Neem oil works from inside the plant Many insecticides break down quickly. They wash away with rain, or when irrigating, or the sunlight destroys them.

Can you water plants with neem oil? Neem oil as foliar spray Neem oil can be mixed with water and used in spray pumps to coat the aerial parts of the plants that come under attack from pests. As you know, oil and water don't mix, the oil remaining as a separate layer on the water surface.

Does neem oil go bad? Neem oil expires after about 12 months if it's pure, organic, cold pressed. What insects does neem oil kill? Neem oil can be used to treat a number of garden ailments, including: Insects: Neem oil kills or repels many harmful insects and mites, including aphids, whiteflies, snails, nematodes, mealybugs, cabbage worms, gnats, moths, cockroaches, flies, termites, mosquitoes, and scale.

How often should neem oil be applied? To control a pest or disease already present, they recommend an application on a 7-day schedule. Can neem oil kill plants? Neem oil might kill some plants, especially if they are young and if the oil is applied too heavily. Test a small area of the plant and wait 24 hours before applying it all over. Apply neem in the evening for outdoor plants and out of direct sunlight for indoor plants to prevent leaf burning.

Take the time to learn that there is not a "cure all" for every pest at every stage of it's life cycle. Some won't work if it's going to rain. Some don't work well if it's too hot, etc. Pest management is complex, if you wish to use chemical products, do so responsibly which goes further than reading the label. If you want to learn, a good place to start is here:. Integrated Pest Management This lecture is presented in two parts.

Each part is minutes in length. Education: B. Entomology, University of California, Berkeley. Research Interests: Integrated pest management of landscape, agricultural and garden pests; biological control of arthropod pests; alternatives to pesticides; adoption of alternative practices by practitioners; innovative delivery of pest management information.

Just make sure you have Real Player installed or download it free. Integrated Pest Management Part 1 90 minutes. Integrated Pest Management Part 2 90 minutes. I promise you'll learn one or two things to put in your gardening bag of pest management arsenals. Neem oil is most definitely safe on edibles! That's the only thing I used last year, as I go organic. I haven't had to use anything this year, maybe because of the abundance of ladybugs in my garden this time around.

So I got a fiddle leaf fig tree! Household pests - What do you have? Neem oil itself is certainly edible and safe on veggies, but the product may have other things in it that make it not edible or edible after a short waiting period. In the case of the product you mentioned it's label indicates it is safe to use up to the day of harvest, but there is no guarantee other neem based products will be.

Thanks everyone! The label indicated "safe until day of harvest" but under "precautionary statements it warned against getting the product on your skin, using while chewing gum, etc.

Strange that something could be safe on edible plants and unsafe on your skin! It's probably something in the 'inert ingredients' that mandates that label. Neem oil can be ingested if it's pure oil and it can be applied to the skin as well.

You have to take into consideration what it takes to get something labeled for sale in the U. Neem has been used for I do not know how many things for how many thousands of years in India? I think If your kids get lice it is also marketed as safe to wash thier heads with! However there is some controversy about Neem in other countries which is pure and what we do to it in this country to call it safe Also if you have small areas to do look at HD they had a one gallon sprayer that was battery operated with a nice wide strap to carry over your shoulder The product you name isn't just neem oil.

Per the manufacturer's site it also contains potassium salts, fatty acids, copper, and sulfur. Those ingredients, if used per label instructions, are safe for food use but some of them can cause contact dermatitis or respiratory problems for some people - thus the warning labels. As long as you stick to the directions there shouldn't be any problems but it is one of those products that claims to do all things for all problems for all the people all the time.

Let us know how it lives up to its claims. Native to India and Burma, Neem trees' products have been, for thousands of years, used as a cure-all. The tree is considered as "Sarva Roga Nivarini" meaning a universal cure for all problems, in Ayurveda.

It's actually a report prepared by an ad hoc advisory panel of National Research Council. The problem with neem oil is that it is very biodegradable, light sensitive and therefore unstable.

Even then, lifetime is limited. It solidifies at those temps so is not useful until it is warmed. Furthermore it is an oil which needs a surfactant for emulsification in order for it to be used as a spray. To put it on a shelf in a store, additional ingredients are required to stabilize it and provide emulsification so when shaken it can be easily be mixed with water.

Those ingredients are, one can bet, the cheapest the manufacturer can use. They are not always organic or safe. To avoid the unknown added chemicals make your own spray. Soapnuts do not have to be used; Ivory, Sunlight, The Neem Products site has info about most neem-based products sorting the seeds from the pulp, so to speak.

The Neem Resource site has neem oil in quantities from 8oz to 55gal drums. And would rinse or peel any edible that was picked on any day. Rem: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure --proverb. Neem is very effective but it has a funny taste and odor, like a mixture of garlic and peanut butter, that persist for several weeks. So I wouldn't immediately eat anything sprayed with it.

I also don't know what effects it has on beneficial insects. Neem oil is extracted by pressing the seeds of the Indian neem tree. The resulting oil concentrate can be purchased at quality garden stores.