A couple of questions about neem oil.

Hey guys, so I'm growing some outdoor plants at the moment but the pests are being particularly invasive this season. Mainly gnats and leaf hoppers.
So I decided to try out neem oil, it's the first time I'm using it so I just have a couple of questions.
Firstly: is it a bad idea to use it on younger plants, they are about a month old right now (most of them are a little under a foot tall at the moment) I don't know much about neem but I was thinking it may be a little too strong for the young plants and could damage them.
Secondly: Is it better to use it as a foilar spray, or as a soil drench? (I've heard of people using it as a drench so I'm not sure which method I should opt for)
Any tips or advice is much appreciated.

Mo9000 said:

Hey guys, so I'm growing some outdoor plants at the moment but the pests are being particularly invasive this season. Mainly gnats and leaf hoppers.
So I decided to try out neem oil, it's the first time I'm using it so I just have a couple of questions.
Firstly: is it a bad idea to use it on younger plants, they are about a month old right now (most of them are a little under a foot tall at the moment) I don't know much about neem but I was thinking it may be a little too strong for the young plants and could damage them.
Secondly: Is it better to use it as a foilar spray, or as a soil drench? (I've heard of people using it as a drench so I'm not sure which method I should opt for)
Any tips or advice is much appreciated.

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You can burn your plants if the neem oil is mixed too strong. I've used 2 tablespoons per gallon of water (leaf drench only) and had some burning of my fan leaves on 5-6 week old plants. If they are older they can handle that dose. I put a piece of cardboard over my soil when I spray to avoid the run off going into the soil. I used it for spider mites. I did 2 applications a week apart, no more mites. I did the spraying outside of the growroom so not to get the overspray all over or mist on my light bulb. Just my experience, you results may vary. I've heard that it could be harmful if you're in flower.

NEVER spray in Sun Light.. Use 1/2 of recommend dose. You can spray once a week.
When your in flower Captain Jack's Dead Bug is safe.

Always read the manufactures label for suggested application rates and possible photoxicity, the label will also have suggested application intervals as well.

A lot of people will say use less or use however much... but this is how resistances is created.

The dosage and application rates will directly correlate to efficacy of your applications which is very important. Always follow the labels instructions.

Drenches are great for fungus gnat control, drench as needed at rates on label.


Rango is a new neem product that works great. Really any neem will work great. It had 3 modes of action. Feeding blocker, repeleant and disrupts growth...great stuff

Mo9000 said:

Hey guys, so I'm growing some outdoor plants at the moment but the pests are being particularly invasive this season. Mainly gnats and leaf hoppers.
So I decided to try out neem oil, it's the first time I'm using it so I just have a couple of questions.
Firstly: is it a bad idea to use it on younger plants, they are about a month old right now (most of them are a little under a foot tall at the moment) I don't know much about neem but I was thinking it may be a little too strong for the young plants and could damage them.
Secondly: Is it better to use it as a foilar spray, or as a soil drench? (I've heard of people using it as a drench so I'm not sure which method I should opt for)
Any tips or advice is much appreciated.

Click to expand...

sorry for your trouble .........foilar spray effective areas and then make sure u hit upper and lower leaf........watch out for dense clusters of forming growing leaves to much pressure can stunt it .....fallow what others said spray at dusk and at the right dose reapply in 3 days

as for the soil a spray down will work 2 times a week until dead.......i liked to add some b52 and a fish based feed to the soil to make sure the micros and roots are happy...lower stress on plant

if u got a really issue there is a local source somewhere around u / wind can carry ........set up trap in a circle area the area with about 15 feet of dead space before hits plants ......the traps should save u effort later ......just rem fresh traps when your flowers start to stink pretty

Awesome, thanks so much for the info guys, sorry it took me a little bit to reply was having some internet issues.
But yeah really appreciate the help, thanks a bunch.

I had a small clone of Jilly Bean that was covered in spider mites and webs. I drenched it in Neem and put it in the sun every day. She ended up being one of my favorite plants:


These were small clones for crossing. I called her Jurple. I crossed her babies with Paki Punch and got a male I called Jaki. That male was the most stocky thick male I have ever seen.



He was crossed with everything.

The weird one was when I tried a different brand and used it on some aerocloner clones.



It turned the roots purple.

The only reason I stopped using it was because it seemed to harm my worms. Now I am 100% compost and worms.

Mohican said:

I had a small clone of Jilly Bean that was covered in spider mites and webs. I drenched it in Neem and put it in the sun every day. She ended up being one of my favorite plants:

View attachment 4412495
These were small clones for crossing. I called her Jurple. I crossed her babies with Paki Punch and got a male I called Jaki. That male was the most stocky thick male I have ever seen.

View attachment 4412496

He was crossed with everything.

The weird one was when I tried a different brand and used it on some aerocloner clones.

View attachment 4412493

It turned the roots purple.

The only reason I stopped using it was because it seemed to harm my worms. Now I am 100% compost and worms.

Click to expand...

Jeez nice, yeah wow I've never seen such a lush male in my life.