Discover the wonders of neem oil

The warm weather brings out insect pests on your tomatoes; sometimes you have to pull out an organic treatment. One I use is neem oil.

Neem oil is extracted from the nut of the neem tree (Azadirachta indica). The neem tree has many uses in traditional medicine, hygiene and as a source of natural insecticide, miticide and fungicide. Neem oil insecticides exhibit very low mammalian toxicity and have many uses for control of pests of food crops as well as on landscape and greenhouse pests. Neem oil affects insects in many different, ingenious and subtle ways. Neem oil does not take immediate effect; it does work but is not a knock down kill everything pesticide. Neem oil's complex active ingredients are like the hormones the plant produces. Insects take up these ingredients just like natural hormones and block the real hormones from working. Bugs forget to eat and mate, they stop laying eggs, or the larvae doesn't molt. Every insect species reacts differently to neem oil. Insects too confused to eat or breed will not survive; the cycle is broken. Neem oil does not hurt beneficial insects; only chewing or sucking insects are affected. Neem oil works at very low concentrations, in the parts per million range. A little neem goes a long way. Remember give neem oil time to do its job! Neem oil breaks down quickly and is especially susceptible to UV light. Neem oil is also systemic - dilute it to the instructions on the bottle and pour it into the soil. The plant will absorb it. A bug may take a couple of bites, but that's it! However, this does not work for all insect species. The neem ingredients accumulate in the tissues deeper inside the plant. The phloem, the outermost layer contains hardly any. Aphids feed from the phloem and cannot penetrate deep enough to get a dose of neem. Leaf hoppers, grass hoppers or other chewing insects will be incapacitated quickly. Neem oil works as a suffocate, like horticultural oil controlling soft-bodied insects like aphids, thrips or whiteflies.

Remember beneficial insects are not affected by neem oil because they don't eat plants; however they can be suffocated by the product. Our garden center offers neem oil under the brand name of Bonide Tomato & Vegetable 3 in 1 Insecticide, Fungicide, and Miticide in a 32 oz. ready to spray and also in 16 ounce concentrate called Rose Rx 3 in 1. These products kill eggs, larvae and adult stages of insects, prevents fungal attack of plant tissues, and can be used up to day of harvest.

I'll be picking tomatoes soon, how about you?

Tremendous Tomato Contest Rules

•Tomatoes must be grown by entrant. Purchased fruit is ineligible. All entries must include a photo of the submitted tomato growing on the vine shortly before harvest.

•Entries must be brought into Pesche's Garden Center for weighing.

•Tomatoes must be a minimum of 2 pounds for entry. Winning tomatoes will be determined by weight and size.

•Entrants will agree to have their names and images used for publicity by contest partners Pesche's and the Daily Herald and will agree to share their techniques for success, including soil condition, fertilizers and other growing methods.

•Contest ends Oct. 10

Prizes

•First place: $100 Pesche's Gift Card plus more than $100 worth of organic products determined by Pesche's.

•Second place: $75 Pesche's Gift Card plus more than $75 worth of organic products determined by Pesche's.

•Wally Schmidtke has been a manager at Pesche's Garden Center for 20 years. Wally is a horticulturalist, an expert in plant pathology and insect problems. His hobby is raising organic heirloom tomatoes.