“Big box” brands of neem oil are undeniably easier to use but “real” neem oil is worth the extra trouble. That’s because major brands of neem oil have removed the most important insect-repelling ingredients to sell as a separate, more expensive treatment — then they add in inert ingredients they don’t even identify. Those inerts make it easier to mix with water, but you no longer know what you’re spraying on your food.
NimBioSys is a cold-pressed, full-spectrum neem oil so you’re using it exactly as Mother Nature intended. But like any oil and water mixture, neem needs to be emulsified before it’s used on your plants. If not, you’ll end up with too much neem burning some leaves and not enough neem to control pests on others.
We’ve been using neem soap as an emulsifier for the last few years and have been delighted with the results. It’s easy and cheap to make!
Just put a bar of our all-natural neem aloe soap in a gallon of hot water and leave it overnight to
dissolve. (We upcycle milk cartons, so we slice the soap to fit it through the spout, which makes it dissolve faster.)
Shake the diluted soap mixture well and mix one cup in a gallon of water. We believe the soap makes the oil more effective so you can dilute it below recommended levels. Rather than a tablespoon of neem oil per gallon, start with a teaspoon and track results. You may increase neem oil to an ounce per gallon but that hasn’t been necessary here.
If you prefer to follow the EPA recommendations, add 1.3 tablespoons of neem oil to a gallon of water with ¼ cup of neem soap to emulsify it.
This is also the formula we use for soailÂ
Check out this neem oil package created especially for gardeners. Gardener’s Gift Package.Â
6 Comments
Thank you, hope to add Neem seedlings to our new Camillia sinensis tea farm…plan to apply Neem Oil with soap for pest and disease management. Currently use Harris Organic Neem Oil.
Sincerely,
James Fleming MD
Fleming Tea Farm of South Carolina Ltd Co
2515 Kingston Dr
Florence, SC 29505
USA
What an awesome farm! I’m not sure you’ll be able to grow neem trees there though. They’re more cold sensitive than camelias but we’d love to work with you on neem oil!
Vicki
How long does the dissolved soap last for? I usually don’t need to apply neem oil very frequently in my garden and worried the dissolved soap will go bad before I can use it all.
At least a year, probably longer but we use so much of it that it’s kind of hard to tell.
What is the shelf life of an 8 oz. container of neem oil and what’s the best way to store it for future use?
At least a couple of years, probably more like decades, judging my some of the oil that’s turned up in my life after a long time. Like any natural product, a cool, dry spot is the best place to store it.