Neem meal (or ‘cake’) is the residue of neem kernels after they are crushed for their oil. It includes well over 100 bio active ingredients and has been proven to be effective against a spectrum of nematodes and other soil pests (but importantly won’t harm worms) so is a great natural pesticide.
Our neem meal is certified organic and sourced direct from a cooperative of farmers in Tamil Nadu, India. We mill this into a fine powder to ensure that it has a small particle size and uniform consistency for rapid mineralisation.
What are the benefits of using neem meal?
As neem contains an active ingredient called Azadirachtin this, alongside others, has been found to be effective at controlling pathogenic microorganisms with minimal impact to beneficial microbes.
In terms of plant nutrition, neem meal has a balanced NPK ratio of 2.1.1 and contains a wide range of macro and micronutrients, including:
- Calcium,
- Copper,
- Iron,
- Magnesium,
- Manganese,
- Sulphur, and
- Zinc
How to apply it
We recommend including neem meal when preparing your initial substrate mix at a rate of 2-4 ml per litre of substrate (or 1 tbsp/ gallon) if also adding Grow/ Grow Auto otherwise it can be upped to 3-5 ml per litre (or up to 2 tbps/ gallon).
When using as a top dressing we suggest 2-4 ml per litre of substrate (1 tbsp/ gallon) bi-weekly through veg & early flower. If you have an issue with fungus gnats, we suggest you use Neem with Gnat Attack, in combination with Diatomite.
For an indicative feeding chart showing how to use this product using a 20L pot, see our feeding page.