NEEM Oil

[maupin]

One other thing--
I can't find Neem Oil for sale anywhere in this country (Thailand), but it so happens I have a stand of Neem trees. Anyone got a recipe for how to cook up some homemade Neem oil?

[bigtuna]

i bought some yesterday al lowes home improvement. it was a concentrate under the greenlight label approx 11.00 and if i remember right was 70% neem and 30% other. i thought that i read somewhere that neem was ok as far as organigs go. but i didnt read on there anything about that,oh well its on the plants now i just hope it works. good luck

[Timmah!]

Try this link: http://www.discoverneem.com/neem-seed-oil-extract.html

[parah]

If you visit Chiang Mai, Thailand you can talk to Khun Nong at the Ban Suan Pak health food store. Her English is very good. I have chatted with her about gardening and she mentioned she makes her own Neem spay from a Neem tree in her yard. She also said to avoid any commercial Neem products in Thailand because they all have chemical pesticides added to impress customers.

Here is the Ph # and a map to her store.
053-233-317
http://www.happycow.net/gmaps/get-ma...t.php?vid=6398

She is a really sweet lady, but she might be a little over cautious. She has her own little laboratory in the store and tests all the produce for pesticides and chemicals.

Personaly I ordered Dyna-Gro brand 100% Neem oil from Amazon and had it shipped to Thailand. Neem does help but Thai bugs are insatiable indestructible little buggers. Even spraying everyday just slows them down! I just ordered Spinosad from Amazon to fight the Thrips that are devouring my tomato leaves.

[maupin]

Hey Parah

I am living in Chaing Mai now in the dixie pig guest house I own on Moon Muang soi 2. Come see me and get a free Papaya tree start.

Seed startingmix is difficult for me here. Thecoir I used wsa so acidic nothing germinated. Now I am mixing 1/3 potting soil, 1/3 topsoil, and 1/3 well rotted coffee grounds. We'll see.

[dice]

You have a pH meter? (You could try mixing some wood ash with
the coir. How much to use to raise the pH of a given volume of coir
into the 6-7 range would be trial and error.)

I got some commercial packaged coir here last winter, called Beats Peat,
it was pH 6.5-6.7 (did not say it had lime in it or anything like that, so I do
not know how the packager achieved that, but it was convenient not to
have to adjust pH when growing seedlings in it).

Composted anything tends toward neutral pH, so I would not expect
the coffee grounds to give you problems.

[parah]

Originally Posted by maupin

Hey Parah

Seed startingmix is difficult for me here.

Seed starting mix was difficult for me too.
I have settled on peat moss mix imported from Germany.

I grow everything in pots. I tried some of the local "potting soil" that comes in a white bag with a picture of bamboo. Never again, it seems to be about 50% cow poop. Smells terrible if you get it wet.

So I use a 50/50 mix of Peat Moss and Perlite for everything.
Lots of Perlite so the containers drain well in the rainy season.

Thanks for the invite, I'll stop by if I am in the neighborhood