I was going to link you to a post on Neem Oil, but the search function is down today. I have it on file, so I'll just post again. I'm not sure I mention it in the article, but cold-pressed Neem Oil also has good antifungal properties. The info: Neem Extract as an Insecticidesize> In India mainly, but also Asia and Africa, grows a tree all plant enthusiasts should be aware of, Azadirachta indica, commonly known as the "neem" tree, and a relative of mahogany. Extracts from the trees seeds contain azadirachtin, a relatively safe and effective naturally occurring organic insecticide. Let me preface the comments following, by reminding you that the terms "naturally occurring and/or organic" do not universally mean safe. Pyrethrums, rotenone, and even the very dangerous nicotine are all organic insecticides that should be handled with great caution. Neem extracts, on the other hand are very safely used in a wide variety of cosmetics, as a topical treatment for minor wounds, as an insecticide in grain storage containers, bins, and bags, and a whole host of other applications. Neem is very safe for use around birds & mammals. I'll limit this discussion to its use as an insecticide. Neem works in many ways. It is effective both in topical and a systemic applications. It is an anti-feedant, an oviposition deterrent (anti-egg laying), a growth inhibitor, a mating disrupter, and a chemosterilizer. Azadirachtin, a tetranortriterpenoid compound, closely mimics the hormone Edison, which is necessary for reproduction in insects. When present, it takes the place of the real hormone and thus disrupts not only the feeding process, but the metamorphic transition as well, disrupting molting. It interferes with the formation of chitin (insect "skin") and stops pupation in larvae, thus short-circuiting the insect life cycle. It also inhibits flight ability, helping stop insect spread geographically Tests have shown that azadirachtin is effective in some cases at concentrations as low as 1 ppm, but some producers use alcohol in the extraction of neem oil from plant parts which causes the azadirachtin to be removed from the oil. Some products touting neem oil as an ingredient actually have no measurable amounts of azadiractin. I use what is referred to either as cold pressed or virgin neem oil. You may also occasionally find it referred to as "raw" neem or "crude" neem oil. Neem oil is most often used in an aqueous (water) suspension as a foliar spray or soil drench. Commonly, it is diluted to about a .5 to 2% solution, but the suggested ratio for use in container plant culture is 1 tsp. per quart of warm water. A drop or two of dish soap (castile or olive oil soap is best) helps keep the oil emulsified. The mixture is then applied as a mist to all leaf and bark surfaces and as a soil drench to the tree's root system. It should not be applied as a foliar spray on hot days or in bright sun as leaf burn may occur. Remember to agitate the container frequently as you apply and do not mix anymore than you will use in one day. Neem breaks down rapidly in water and/ or sunlight. Some users of insecticides feel the need to observe the instant results of their efforts in order to be convinced of the effectiveness of what they are using. The application of neem derivatives does not provide this immediate gratification. There is virtually no knockdown (instant death) factor associated with its use. Insects ingesting or contacting neem usually take about 3 - 14 days to die. Its greatest benefit; however, is in preventing the occurrence of future generations. It is also interesting to note that in studies it was found that when doses were given, purposefully insufficient to cause death or complete disruption of the metamorphic cycle, up to 30 surviving generations showed virtually no resistance/ immunity to normal lethal doses, so it appears that insects build no Âresistance to azadiractin. I have been using neem oil for at least 6 years as both a preventative and fixative and have had no insect problems on my container plants. Applications of cold-pressed neem oil are most effective for use on mites, whitefly, aphids, thrips, fungus gnats, caterpillars, beetles, mealy bugs, leaf miners, g-moth, and others. It seems to be fairly specific in attacking insects with piercing or rasping mouth parts. Since these are the pests that feed on plant tissues, they are our main target species. Unless beneficials like spiders, lady beetles, certain wasps, etc., come in direct contact with spray, it does little to diminish their numbers. Neem oil does have an odor that might be described as similar to that of an old onion, so you may wish to test it first, if you intend to use it indoors. I've found the odor dissipates in a day or two. As always, read and follow label instructions carefully. Neem oil can be purchased from many net or local sources. My favorite brand is Dyna-Gro, pure, cold-pressed neem oil. If you have trouble locating a source, you can contact me via the forum or directly. Al Fassezke

I've been reading a lot on spider mites this week. There is another excellent thread on spider mite control here on gardenweb somewhere. The Cal Extension blog also just put out a blog about soap use on mites, and how it doesn't interrupt. I'm trying to find it. I'm with Patty on feeding plants really well -- spraying with chemicals makes me fear that I've undone all the good work souping up the the good microbes and critters in the soil. On the other hand, the Calif extension just blogged about soap use NOT interrupting the work of good arthropods, worms etc. Go figure. (Trying to find that link too.) Below is a study -- both worm castings and aerated compost tea from worm castings have reduced spider mites. SUPPRESSING PLANT PARASITIC NEMATODES AND ARTHROPOD PESTS WITH VERMICOMPOST TEAS BioCycle December 2007, Vol. 48, No. 12, p. 38 Greenhouse trials confirm that the sooner a tea is used after it is brewed, the more effective it is in influencing plant growth and suppressing diseases. Part II Clive A. Edwards, Norman Q. Arancon, Eric Emerson and Ryan Pulliam PRODUCTION and use of aqueous extracts of thermophilic composts and vermicomposts, commonly termed teas, has expanded rapidly in the last two to three years, particularly since there is now a range of commercial tea brewing equipment available that can produce large or small quantities of teas. Unfortunately, there are relatively few published scientific studies which have reviewed the methods of production and uses of compost or vermicompost teas, optimal dilutions or application rates. These teas have been used extensively, particularly by organic gardeners and farmers, to promote plant growth by application to soils as drenches, and to suppress plant diseases by soil or foliar sprays. These uses are still increasing as their methods of application and effectiveness are gradually being established. Research in our laboratory at The Ohio State University has shown clearly that some form of agitation or aeration during production of vermicompost teas is necessary, if the teas are to be effective in promoting crop growth and suppressing pests and diseases. We have research under way into the shelf-life of vermicompost teas under different temperatures and in a range of containers. We have demonstrated the transport of microbial activity and diversity, key nutrients, and enzymatic activity from solid vermicomposts into teas. Additionally, all our experience of the use of teas in greenhouse trials has confirmed that the sooner a vermicompost tea is used after it is brewed, the more effective it is in influencing plant growth and in suppressing pests and diseases. We have tested vermicompost teas extracted from vermicomposts produced from a range of animal manures such as pig or cattle wastes, as well as paper and food wastes, and all have been effective in promoting plant growth and disease suppression, independent of nutrient supply. After many laboratory and greenhouse trials, we decided that the optimal quantities of solid vermicomposts to water ratios were: 1:5 (20 percent), 1:10 (10 percent) and 1:20 (5 percent). EFFECTS OF VERMICOMPOST TEAS ON PLANT PARASITIC NEMATODES We have demonstrated clearly that solid vermicomposts can suppress plant parasitic nematodes in the field (Arancon et al. 2003). Our experiments on the effects of vermicompost teas on nematodes were in the laboratory and greenhouse, in soils that had been artificially infested with the root knot of nematode (Meloidogyne incognita), which is a very serious pest of a wide range of crops all over the world. Six-week-old tomato seedlings were transplanted into 10 cm diameter pots containing a sand and loam (1:3 ratio) soil mixture to which the test tea treatments were applied. Drench treatments of teas were applied at seedling transplanting, and every two weeks thereafter. One week after transplanting 10,000 Meloidogyne hapla eggs were added to each plant pot in suspension in tap water. The eggs were collected from cultures maintained on infested tomato plants. Each treatment was replicated four times. Pots into which tomato plants had been transplanted were arranged on benches in a completely randomized design and the greenhouse was maintained at 25°C. Plants were watered regularly with tempered line water. Thirty days after infestation with nematodes, soil was removed from the pots and the roots were washed to assess the extent of root damage and the numbers of root knots. The washed roots were rated for numbers of root knot galls and the numbers of galls per unit wet weight of roots counted. The effects of the nematodes on plant height were determined by growth measurements, including heights, leaf areas, fresh and the dry weights of leaves from plant tops and the dry weights of all above-ground tissues at the end of the experiment. The relative growth of the tomato plants in response to the nematode infestations, after 30 days, are illustrated in Figure 1. The differences in growth between treatments, in response to the vermicompost teas were spectacular, and the reductions in numbers of root knot galls on the tomato roots in response to the vermicompost tea applications was considerable (Figures 2 and 3). These effects of vermicompost teas on plant parasitic nematode attacks were very similar to those in experiments that used solid vermicompost substituted into Metro-Mix 360 in the greenhouse (Arancon et al. 2003). EFFECTS OF VERMICOMPOST TEAS ON ARTHROPOD PESTS We have shown that solid vermicomposts can suppress spider mite, mealy bug and aphid populations in the field (Arancon et al. 2007). For our preliminary experiments into the suppression of arthropod pests by vermicompost teas, we chose two important groups of plant pests, aphids and spider mites. For the spider mite experiments, four tomato plants were placed into each 0.2 mm mesh cage (40 cm x 30 cm x 30), and 100 two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus sp.) were released into each infested cage, with four replicate cages for each treatment. The plants were treated with either water (control), aerated thermophilic 20 percent compost tea, or aerated 5 percent, 10 percent, or 20 percent vermicompost tea, produced from food waste vermicompost. The damage to the plants in these cages was assessed on a damage rating of 0 (no damage) to 5 (100 percent damage), eight days after pests were introduced into the cages. There were four replicate cages with no spider mite infestations, in order to assess any changes in leaf weights caused by the spider mite infestations. Because spider mites are so small we did not count them, instead we assessed the amounts of the distinct damage that they caused to the plants. All three soil application rates of vermicompost teas decreased the amounts of damage by the spider mites compared with the water control significantly (P < 0.05). By comparison the traditional thermophilic compost tea had no significant effect on the spider mite damage. We used the same experimental protocol in experiments on aphids. In these experiments, 100 aphids (Myzus persicae) were released onto four tomato plants, in each of the cages infected with aphids. A set of cages that had no aphid infestations was used to assess any changes in leaf weights caused by the aphids. The numbers of aphids on each plant were counted 13 days after infestation. The results are summarized in Figure 4. Clearly, all three dilutions of aerated vermicompost teas suppressed the aphid populations significantly (P < 0.05) compared with the water control treatment whereas the aerated thermophilic compost tea had no significant effects on the aphid populations. These results on the suppression of aphids and spider mites by vermicompost teas were very similar to those obtained from growing plants in the greenhouse in Metro Mix 360, substituted with a range of solid vermicomposts (Arancon et al. 2007). The suppression of aphids is particularly important since they are key vectors in the transmission of plant viruses. It seems clear that there is a good potential for suppression of arthropod pests by both vermicomposts and vermicompost teas using methods very acceptable to organic growers and farmers. The authors are in the Soil Ecology Laboratory at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. FURTHER READING Arancon, N.Q., Yardim, E., Edwards, C.A., Lee, S., 2003. The Trophic diversity of nematode communities in soils treated with vermicomposts. Pedobiologia 47, 736-740. Arancon, N.Q., Edwards, C.A., Oliver, T.J., Byrne, R.J. 2007 Suppression of two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae), mealy bugs (Pseudococcus) and aphid (Myzus persicae) populations and damage by vermicomposts. Crop Protection 26, 26-39.

The two purple tree collards I planted outside in the ground do seem to be in limbo since the Dr. Bronner's bath. They still seem to be alive, but not growing. Not sure what's happening underground with the roots. They were starter cuttings to begin with, so not established plants already. But I have a third inside in a pot with Mel's mix, and no Bagrada bugs inside the house... yet :-) That one is progressing well and actually doing good considering my normal purple thumb history with keeping any plants alive. A Ventura site is where I saw Dr. Bronner's mentioned - http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?nid=100493 And interesting that they skipped Tulare? http://cesantabarbara.ucanr.edu/Strawberry_Production/Bagrada_Bug_Distribution/ But it does seem like it prefers to move East, rather than North - http://entomologytoday.org/tag/bagrada-bug/ So Oregon might be okay on this one for a while(?).

HY, you are not alone! We've all soooo been there. And time after time, we go there again. And again. We persevere and find joy and beauty in our gardens before the next infestation or plague...which occurs right before another frantic forum post and more pest eviction or disease fighting strategies and then more joy and beauty. We gardeners are nothing if not resilient. For the record, your garden looks 1000x more glorious than mine during its low points. PAOK is gorgeous! Somewhere, I have a stack of really embarrassing photos of my garden at its worst. I'll see if I can dig it up so we can all shudder together. Ha, ha. I'm firmly in Jeri's camp where chemicals are concerned, but I also know that sometimes, one-big-hit before organic methods can produce immediate practical and psychological relief. IF I hit a few plants with something toxic, I'd be very selective and then water thoroughly after success. These days, I'm more likely to cut something way back, douse with the strongest but least damaging environmentally friendly solution (Safer products and others) and repeat while bulking up natural predators and plant nutrients. My current antagonists are cane borers that I'm battling with Elmer's Glue All. For #%}€*&$! aphids, I use insecticidal soap. For squirrels, I cage small plants and rose starts. For years of persistent blackspot or rust, I rip out the rose and choose a resistant variety. I (almost) never use toxic chemicals in my garden, but once or twice, I've been cornered into the unthinkable. There was once a ground wasps nest in the parking strip and under our sidewalk where oodles of kids run by and strollers roll by all day long. It couldn't be easily or safely removed, and the situation was looking very risky. My husband and I resorted to chemicals. I mourned each time I saw the straggling wasps trying to return to their poisoned and blocked nest. In TX, I know that fire ants can be a real danger in a garden. I once stepped in a nest. Enough said. I hope more forum members from your region join in with suggestions. I wish I could offer more in the way of advice, but my climate and my pests are temperate rainforest ones. In the meantime, know that you are not alone, and you and your garden will survive and thrive! Carol