20 Reasons Why Neem Oil Is A MUST HAVE In Your Organic Vegetable Garden

Neem oil is an extracted vegetable oil that is pressed from the fruits and seeds of the neem tree (Azadirachta indica) and it has several beneficial uses in your vegetable garden and it has several different benefits that make it worth using in your garden.

Let’s take a look at 20 reasons why you should start using neem oil in your vegetable garden today.

20. Don’t Panic, It’s Organic!

When I was looking for something organic to use in my garden,  that could help combat the pests, I had tried several different DIY soap mixes and I eventually came across neem oil.

The best part? It’s considered safe to use for organic gardening and is an excellent way to control pests in your garden and protect your fruits and vegetables without the need for toxic chemicals. Just make sure you get a brand that says it’s organic. Check out my recommendations here.

19. It’s Biodegradable

Besides getting organic, make sure you get a brand that is cold-pressed, as this will ensure a high quality oil that is certified organic and is also biodegradable, which is great news for our planet.

Some neem oil brands that aren’t cold-pressed used other processes to extract and refine the oil and sometimes this involves chemicals that aren’t considered biodegradable. For this reason, it’s important to always get an organic cold-pressed neem oil, check out my recommendation on the resource page.

18. It Doesn’t Harm The “Helpful” Bugs

Another really cool thing about neem oil is that not only is it a great way to naturally get rid of pests in the garden, but you can also rest easy knowing that it won’t harm the “good bugs” in the garden such as bees, ladybugs, butterflies, etc.

Neem oil only attacks the harmful bugs (such as aphids, leaf miners, mealybugs, etc.) and should not affect your beloved little “good bug” friends from helping you out in the garden.

While the good bugs help to pollinate or protect your garden, in combination with neem oil applications, you should have a good solid protection plan.

However, as with most infestations, prevention is always key, so don’t be afraid to spray some neem oil mixture before you start seeing any critters on your plants.

17. You Can Use It Year-Round As A Foliar Spray

The great thing about neem oil is, not only can you spray neem oil as a natural and organic pesticide, but you can actually spray neem oil year-round as a protective foliar spray.

Using neem oil preventatively before the bugs come is an great way of protecting your plants and ensuring that the bugs don’t make your plants their home in the first place!

16. Your Earthworms Won’t Be Harmed Either

Earthworms work hard in your garden to produce some of the best soil that we like to call “black gold”. They are a vital part of organic gardening and provide your plants with an array of nutrients to help your garden thrive with lush green leaves and produce luscious fruits and vegetables.

So the last thing we want to do is to harm these little helper friends of ours.

Unlike traditional pesticides, which leach harmful chemicals into your soil that can harm your soil-borne little helpers like earthworms, neem oil is completely safe to use in your garden and won’t harm your precious earthworms.

So if you’re having trouble with pests in your garden or just want to spray preventatively, but you don’t want to disturb your earthworms buddies, grab yourself some neem oil and start using it in your garden today.

You can buy it premixed and diluted or get the concentrated oil and dilute it yourself for making some custom DIY organic pesticide sprays.

15. It’s Safe To Use Around Kids and Pets

Since we’re still going on about the safety of neem oil use in your garden, it’s important to note that it is also safe to use around the little ones, both kids and pets.

If your kids, dogs, cats, chickens or any other pets have access to your garden, you might want to avoid spraying it up with harmful chemicals that can cause serious illnesses to them, this includes weedkillers.

Spraying harmful chemicals is just not worth the risk, especially if you have natural alternative methods to deal with the problem.

It’s good to know that neem oil is a safe alternative to use in the garden to control your pests while ensuring the safety of your children and pets. Sure, it won’t suppress your weeds, but they can always be pulled by hand or you can find other natural ways to control the weeds.

14. It Can Be Used For Hair and Skin Care

Neem oil is also safe to use on the hair and nails and actually helps to promote skin health. Of course, make sure you use 100% pure and unrefined, organic cold-pressed neem oil, which has no harmful additives.

Neem oil also has an anti-inflammatory effect, that makes it perfect for soothing mild skin disorders. Of course, you always want to seek the advice of your health professionals before attempting to treat any sort of skin conditions. However, it has been shown to help as a natural anti-inflammatory topical.

Neem oil is also highly moisturizing and is loaded with Vitamin E, making it great for topical hair, skin and nail health. Who knew?

13. It’s Safe To Use Indoors

Since neem oil is safe to use around children and pets, this means, it’s safe for use indoors as well.

Spray your indoor plants with neem oil to protect them from pests and diseases without having to worry about your kids or pets touching any harmful chemical residues that other pesticides leave behind.

12. It Helps To Control Hundreds Of Garden Pests

Pest control, pest control, pest control!

As if I didn’t mention it enough already. Neem oil is approved for organic use and is an excellent natural pesticide that helps to control a lot of the bugs that do damage to your fruits and vegetables.

So what sort of pests are we talking about here? Here’s a list of just some of the most common insects that neem oil can help to control or completely get rid of:

• Aphids
• Ants
• Leafhoppers
• Mealy bugs
• Leaf Miners
• Whiteflies
• Spider mites
• Caterpillar larvae/eggs

11. Controls Pests At Any Stage Of Development

Neem oil can be used to control pests at either the egg, larvae, or adult stages. Azadirachtin, the active ingredient in neem oil, can act as a hormone disruptor and prevent insects from changing into their next stage of development.

Neem oil also helps by stopping garden pests in their tracks and smothering them in the oil, which they find repulsive.

10. It Helps To Control Grubs

Surprisingly, neem oil can also help to control lawn grubs and Japanese beetles.

The use of neem oil helps to control the grubs by inhibiting their growth and also helps to keep adult beetles from laying eggs on the treated areas in the first place.

Make sure that you apply your neem oil during the night for best results.

9. Neem “Cake” Can Also Be Used As A Fertilizer

I recently came across what are called “neem cakes” and I honestly had never heard of them before.

Essentially, neem cakes are the byproduct from the neem fruits and kernels, when extracted in the production of cold-pressed neem oil.

Neem cake is organic matter and can act as soil amendment with the added protection of natural pest control.

8. It Can Also Be Used As A Fungicide

There’s a lot of talk about neem oil being used as a natural pesticide but did you know that it also serves as natural fungicide?

When powdery mildew or other plant fungal disease come attacking your plants and you want to avoid spraying harmful chemicals on your plants, use some neem oil to help control your infection.

Better yet, use it preventatively and spray your plants regularly to prevent fungal infections in the first place.

7. It’s Also A Bactericide

Neem oil is an organic triple-threat. We know it works as a pesticide and as a fungicide but neem oil also acts as a bactericide.

Plant diseases caused by bacteria, such as fire blight, can also be prevented by using neem oil while your trees or plants are dormant, or before you see any signs of infections.

Spraying neem oil regularly, before your plants are infected by any pests, fungi or bacteria is the best way to protect your plants and prevent disease and pests from spreading and causing damage to your plants.

6. Great For Fruit Tree Protection

Your fruit trees are probably the most susceptible to insect damage due to the fruits being thin-skinned and easy for the bugs to penetrate through.

Whether you have a few fruit trees in your yard or a huge orchard, you can use neem oil to control pests that can ruin your crops. Apple trees and berry bushes are some of the most highly attacked fruits.

Spraying your fruit trees and bushes with neem oil every 2 weeks will help to keep the insects at bay and will allow you to protect and enjoy more of your harvest.

5. It Keeps Mosquitos Away

WAIT! Don’t go spraying neem oil all over your body now! At least not yet…

Although, neem oil can be sprayed directly on your plants to help deter mosquitos from hanging out in your yard, you should never apply neem oil sprays directly on the skin due to potentially harmful inactive ingredients.

However, if you have pure raw cold-pressed neem oil, you can safely apply some to your skin directly.

Here are a few plants you can add to your garden that also help to deter mosquitos:

• Planting citronella – Why buy citronella candles (mosquito repellant candles) when you can simple plant citronella plants one time and have they guard your garden year-round? You can also use the leaves to rub on your skin as a natural topical mosquito repellant.
• Lemon balm – Not only does lemon balm attract pollinators, but did you know it can also help to ward off annoying mosquitos? If you don’t know, now you know.
• Lavender – Mosquitos also hate the smell of lavender, as fresh and pleasant as it may be to us. Now, lavender has another purpose in your garden.
• Marigolds – Contain a compound called pyrethrum, which is used in many insect repellents. A study showed the repellent action of oils that were derived from Marigolds and Myrtle, compared to DEET, were much higher and therefore, more effective.

4. It Comes In Many Different Forms

I always thought neem only came in one form, that being oil. I’ve recently learned (when I learned about neem cakes) that neem comes in a variety of forms including concentrated oils,  powders, cakes, and granules.

These other forms of neem are great ways to use neem in your organic garden in a variety of ways and find the best form of application for you and your garden.

3. Bugs Don’t Become Immune To Neem Oil

This is probably my favorite reason to use neem. Unlike traditional pesticides, which loose their potency over time as the insects become immune to them by building a tolerance to the pesticide, bugs don’t build an immunity or resistance to neem oil.

This is what makes neem a powerful tool for organic gardening and some might even say, superior to traditional (and harmful) bug control methods.

2. Doesn’t Pollute Water

Another reason that neem oil is a great tool to use in your garden is because it won’t pollute the groundwater.

Chemical pesticides and herbicides leach into the soil and end up in our ground water, where levels of glyphosate and other chemical pesticides are now at an alarming rate.

Besides, with neem oil, you don’t have to worry about handling and properly storing and disposing potentially harmful chemical. Neem oil is just a more worry-free pesticide solution.

1. Apply Neem Up Until Harvest Day

Did you know that neem oil is approved for organic use, up until harvest time?

The labels on pesticides usually specify a “PHI” (pre-harvest interval), which tells you how much time needs to pass between the application of the pesticide and the crop harvesting time, to make sure that the crop doesn’t have chemical residues that could exceed the safe limits.

With neem oil, there is no PHI, which means you can use it right up until the morning before you begin to harvest. The usual wash used to take off any dirt from the fruit should suffice in removing any neem oil anyway. However, any resides left of neem would not harm you if it was consumed and some people even consume it for it’s health benefits!

Conclusion

Well, there you have it! 20 great reasons to start using neem oil in your garden today.

Not only is it helpful to keep the bugs at bay, it also helps to keep the fungus and bacteria infections off your plants, while keeping your helpful bug friends safe around your garden!

Now, what are you waiting for? Go out there and get your hands on some form of neem oil and start using it in your garden today!

Not sure where to get neem? Check out the Pest Control section of our resource page for more information.