Karanja and Neem Cake
- Thread starter Northern Boxer
- Start date
smokinokie
Member
I would like to know this as well. I have ground some up in blender and mixed into top inch of soil and topdressed just a tad. Maybe someone else who uses it will chime in. @ShLUbY @MustangStudFarm you guys know?
ShLUbY
Well-Known Member
if you're looking to do a soak, no need to grind as it will rehydrate and fall apart once it absorbs water. if you use hot water it will do that much faster. if using in soil, i would grind it up or at least bust it up a little bit; it's still gonna fall apart once it absorbs moisture. but using it in the soil is not going to be IPM on the plant surface. but honestly, if you're a small grower, i wouldn't spray anything if there is no problem. that's always been my approach. but that's because I spend a lot of time in my garden and when I see something small going on then it can be addressed quickly and easily. IPM is far more important when you have large gardens that have areas that do not get inspected on the daily, so it's better to just treat the whole garden rather than allow something to go unnoticed. just my personal philosophy.I'm on my 3rd organic grow and luckily up to this point have never had a pest infestation. However its inevitable that I will at some point and would like to start using Neem / Karanja Cake as part of an IPM. Im trying to determine whether to apply in a top dress or going the water in tea approach. However the only local supply I was able to find in in a pellet form. Will I need to grind this to a meal like consistancy or can I use in its current form. Thanks for any and all feedback.
Northern Boxer
Active Member
Thanks ShLUbY, it's a small grow that I inspect daily so I am inline with your thought process. You had mentioned previously that your soil is a modified Coots type mix. Did you include Neem Cake in your initial soil build? NB
ShLUbY
Well-Known Member
yup been using neem cake ever since I got started with organics. great amendment. microbes love it, shit breaks down really fast!
MustangStudFarm
Well-Known Member
Man, I'm going through a mite infestation right now. Feeling kinda dumb, like I am unworthy of answering questions right now... My order for predatory mites came in today, time to cross fingers.
MustangStudFarm
Well-Known Member
Coots uses it in his mix. If you like podcasts at all, he is on here 3x and he goes in detail on how he uses it.
https://www.kisorganics.com/pages/podcast
kratos015
Well-Known Member
Grinding will just ensure that the product decomposes faster. if you make it into a tea then you won't need to grind it up.I'm on my 3rd organic grow and luckily up to this point have never had a pest infestation. However its inevitable that I will at some point and would like to start using Neem / Karanja Cake as part of an IPM. Im trying to determine whether to apply in a top dress or going the water in tea approach. However the only local supply I was able to find in in a pellet form. Will I need to grind this to a meal like consistancy or can I use in its current form. Thanks for any and all feedback.
That being said, I personally don't make a tea/spray with the stuff because it isn't as potent that way in my personal experience.
I incorporate a lot of it into the soil, and top dress with the stuff every 2-4 weeks depending on the need. Neem has an NPK high in Nitrogen, so I don't use Neem in flower. Karanja doesn't have much NPK, so I use that in flower.
The thing to consider about Neem/Karanja is that they're mostly used as preventative measures, neem will not save you if you already have a pest infestation.
If I have pests for some reason, despite the neem being in place that usually tells me there's something wrong with my soil and/or the plants themselves. Once I troubleshoot the problem with the plants and/or soil, I alternate between using a Spinosad spray and a habanero pepper spray.
Boil a grip of habaneros in some water, strain the liquid and spray your plants with it. That will deal with a good amount of pests immediately. Then in a day or two, hit them with spinosad. Rinse and repeat until the problem is dealt with. If either of these pest solutions aren't enough for you, the grow is likely finished as you have too many issues going on at that point.
Don't be so hard on yourself dude, mites happen to the best of us. Ever try making a habanero spray? Works wonders and can be used up until the last week of flower.
Northern Boxer
Active Member
Thanks for all of your responses. I have been dialled into the podcasts from KIS for a several weeks now and make for excellent listening on the road, Tad Hussey is awesome. It was Coots podcasts on Neem that got me exploring further, seems to also be a big fan of malted Barley. Yesterday I flipped to 12/12 and top dressed with a 1/4 cup Of MBP and watered in with aloe and fulvic acid. I'm just going to monitor for the next couple of weeks and apply no further amendments unless I see an issue arise. What quantity are you using for the Karanja top dress during flower kratos015? I'm currently using 10 gallon fabric pots. Also interesting organic approach with the pepper spray vs. the neem oil approach. I assume you would limit its application in mid to late flower? NB
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kratos015
Well-Known Member
I go by whatever it says on the box for the application rates, the exact amount slips me but I want to say somewhere in the neighborhood of 1/4 cup for every 1cu.ft/7.5g of soil is what it recommends.
I use the pepper spray all the way until the last week of flower if that's what it takes. The smell won't remain on your buds at all and will completely dissipate within 48 hours.
I stopped using Azamax and Neem Oil years ago when first finding out about the pepper spray. The habenero pepper is capable of making some grown men tear up, so imagine what happens to a tiny spider mite or a caterpillar that munches on leaves covered in habenero spray? They die in pretty short order
ShLUbY
Well-Known Member
we've all been through it dude. I fought PM for a year. I've had mites. I've had (and will continue to have) thrips because the fuckers just show up outta no where all the time lol.
hyroot
Well-Known Member
If in veg or within first 2.weeks of flower use citrus ferment or dr zymes. If in flower after 2 weeks get some andersoni predator mites.
Northern Boxer
Active Member
Top dress how far into the flowering stage hyroot? Thanks
hyroot
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't top dress after mid flower. Top dressing at the beginning of flower or just before flipping should be enough to get you through flower and the next round of veg if doing no till
MustangStudFarm
Well-Known Member
I was thinking about starting citrus ferments. I'll look into it more. It was already too late for this round, so I got predatory mites.
I'm just getting over an infection in my intestine, so I'm going to be looking into ferments for myself too.
hyroot
Well-Known Member
Lab / lactobacillus may help.
Northern Boxer
Active Member
Perfect, that's exactly what I did, top dressed 4 days ago and flipped the following day.