Holy Neem, Batman!

I was introduced to neem oil as an organic insecticide for my plants some time ago after I did some personal research having seen it at my local mom and pop garden store an OMRI safe insecticide. (This stuff is never at Home Depot or Lowes, phbbt!)

So, after finding it to be relatively effective on my plants, I started noticing its presence at the local Indian grocery store in all things beauty and hygiene like soap and toothpaste. Cautious of quality, and no offence (<-- Brit spelling!) to India, but contamination issues have occurred before and I was a bit nervous to purchase any neem oil stuff that I might leave for long periods on my body, as it felt weird put what I use to rid myself of plant bugs on my actual person. AND... the fact that the expiration dates on some of the beauty products were off by a year or more sometimes. Hmm.

(I'd like to note too that I do not buy anything made in China too that involves ingesting or stays on my body... THAT quality control feels nearly non-existent)

All this background info finally brings me to my actual point that I walked into Whole Foods today in search of some sort of relief for my bug bites. I get terrible reactions to mosquito, spider and tick bites, but mosquitoes are the majority of these bites and in my case the itchiness and redness and SWELLING (the size of grapefruits I tell you) can last for a week or longer. Aggravating it further is when I get bites behind my knees and I wear pants. Ooooh, rubbage.

After speaking with the holistic-essential oils-extracts-supplements lady (who cooed about the hotness and coldness of things, and how mosquitos are repelled by "cold," which I ignored) she mentioned neem oil and I decided to give it a try as I had heard so many positive things on it earlier. I felt as a commercial store, and having many different brands of neem oil made me more comfortable with the idea of putting it on my body.

(What I got: Alaffia brand neem oil, $8 for 8 ounces. Ouch, but if my jojoba/tea tree oil is proof, this stuff lasts. This was initially oddly difficult to find their website too, more shea butter than neem)

http://www.alaffia.com/index.php/balms-creams/alaffia-basics-unrefined-neem-oil-0-8-oz
(interestingly enough too, shipping is more expensive on the site than the actual neem product I got!)

Later when I got home I decided to make Indian food with my husband and I needed to harvest some malabar spinach. This is where I never learn and usually get the majority of my bites. I think to myself/am lazy, "I'll just be out for a couple of minutes, I won't get bit... no need to change completely into long sleeves, socks and pants..." but invariably do get bit, literally 8 bites in the 5 minutes I'm out there. *face slap* Everytime...

When I get inside, within seconds I am itching like crazy and the bumps are getting all welty and spreading fast. I take the neem oil and dab and rub it on everywhere bumpy.

There is no instant relief and I start cooking to remind myself of the bites and keep my hands busy from wanting to scratch.

The smell, warning, is an odd mixture of strongly peanut with some garlic undertones. If you like thai/indian/asian food then you're good?

Later, I TOTALLY forgot about my bites until hours after dinner and think, "I wonder how my bites are faring?" Looking around at my legs and arms there's a "waitaminute?!?!" moment.

I CAN'T FIND THE BITES. I don't ITCH.

WHOA. This is a total breakthrough for me as I've tried tea tree oil, baking soda, benadryl, soap, toothpaste, laundry detergent, and anti-histamines in all my prior years. Everytime I use these things and get any relief at all either it's brief and the itchiness comes back with a mere brush against the bite, or the redness/swollen-ness is present for a long time.

I am currently running my hands on the areas where the bites were and I can't find them. It's so weird and relieving that it's mystical.

So, HERE's the apparent SCIENCE: (all taken from memory after some further research)

Neem has been used for centuries in India as a medicinal and insect repellent and is considered to be a near panacea for ailments from hair loss/graying to acne to potential aid in cancer treatment. (While I am not in total agreement with all those claims, bug bites get my A+)

The major chemical in neem is azadirachtin, which impairs many insect pests from breeding, eating or changing into their next phase of metamorphosis. Neem also has many beneficial chemicals and acids that aid in skin disorders such as eczema and also traces of sulfur-like chemicals which help its anti-bacterial properties. It is also anti-fungal and anti-viral to an extent.

And it's been shown to be safe for humans/larger creatures, like your pets, though warnings to wait to allow children to use it until they are 12 or older is due to the potency of neem and also that women who are trying to become pregnant or are pregnant should avoid it as it can be an abortificant like pennyroyal and juniper berries.

I am most curious about the claims of skin effectiveness and will be diluting it in my jojoba oil for my face. More excitement if it clears all blemishes up, gives me minor plastic surgery to my flat nose, and increases my IQ to 200.

Just kidding :) But hey, more updates when they come!

LINKS:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neem
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neem_oil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azadirachtin

Mini rant on Lawns and possible solutions

So it's been raining gloriously all day, a day without having to water the garden (yes!), a day where the rain barrels get filled (YES!) (and remind me that I really need to get that 3rd barrel up), a day where I have to walk a stupid scared bitch (dog, really) in rain, amidst thunder and a leetle lightning and get my flip floppy toes ankle deep in what I am sure is chemical awashed puddles.

Man, suburbia. Land where all the lawns must be tidy and trimmed, green and lush, pumped up with fake goodness. I got a beef with pretty lawns, just like I got a beef with plastic surgery, it's faaaaaaaaaaake.

Unless you happen to use one of those lawn care services that states and you can attest to researching their practices that they are eco-friendly, most likely you are creating a desert like ecosystem with your lawn.

I don't know if it bothers you, like it bothers me, but those little yellow and white balls that go 'crunch-crunch' underneath your shoes/the dog's feet when you walk REALLY lose their charm especially as the PAVEMENT does not need any fertilization. It's all just going down the drain and polluting the water, y'know? I shudder to think as to what my dog must be picking up as she marches over those things or through the puddles and lush grass she does her biz in.

Lovely lawns also mean chemicals to kill weeds--- and grubs. No weeds, while less to deal with means fewer flowers for bees to survive on. As I overheard somewhere once, immaculate lawns look like deserts to bees, no flowers mean no food. Bad for survival, and aren't we lacking in bees already? (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/introduction/38/)

Also, many of these same chemicals adversely affect the larva of lightning bugs! CAN YOU IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT LIGHTNING BUGS?

To quote what many a politician have invoked:
Think of the children!!! (!!!)

Ahem. Not only are lightning bugs helpful little critters in producing some lovely natural mood lighting (joke), and are entertaining reminders of youth, the larvae are predators of snails and slugs, the bane of many a gardener everywhere.

So, if you see a lil' guy like this:


And you start to raise your hand, HEAR MY VOICE IN YOUR HEAD, "DO NOT SQUISH!"

Here's a helpful site about the buggers:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/Galveston/beneficials/beneficial-40_lightning_bug.htm

So, despite my husband and I letting the lawn go to hell, I will NOT say that you must too. I provide (yes, I am a provider!) some helpful links and a helpful summary as to how to keep you lawn in good organic condition DESPITE being a vegetable gardener and not caring in general a squirrel's behind for lawns (and your mother smells like elderberry!)

SOME ORGANIC LAWNCARE TIPS:

1) Weeds- don't like them? Hand pull! This is the most effective method of getting rid of weeds. You get some great some exercise (work them abs!) and learning about the deliciousness of dandelion wine, dandelion leaf greens, lambs quarters and more.

(Lambsquarters! Steam like spinach!)If you REALLY don't want the exercise, you can spot treat specific weeds by using this concotion: 5 parts white vinegar, 2 parts water, 1 part dish soap (http://www.eartheasy.com/grow_lawn_care.htm), or some people reccomend straight vinegar or boiling water, choose your poison.

Further prevention of weeds can be done using corn gluten meal which can easily be bought in some feed stores to be used as a weed pre-emergent preventer. Sadly this is not CORNMEAL, the stuff that your mama makes her famous bread and stuffing with, but that stuff from the store can coincidently be used as an anti-fungicide, good for gardens and lawns too actually. The stats on cornmeal gluten are fascinating too (see prior eartheasy.com link)

Also, if you thought Roundup was a safe method, please reconsider:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=weed-whacking-herbicide-p

Yeah, let's stop being a society of simple convenience. It's not always worth it.

2) Grubs- We all hate those Japanese beetles and their nasty grub babies, but an awesome way to prevent for a VERY LONG TIME their existence on your lawn (and from munching on your veggies) is milky spore. This is a natural bacterium that affects only Japanese beetles and after a few treatments is known to last for potentially decades in your soil speciding (word?) the critters for years!
When a grub is infected by the bacterium and dies in the soil, it's a gift that keeps on giving to the other grubs! It's SELF SUSTAINING, whoo!



3) Fertilization- As mentioned before, cornmeal is good, though a super easy method to refertilize your lawn is to leave the grass clippings on the lawn. Remarkable eh? No bagging needed! All that work the grass went into to get tall goes back into the lawn to replenish again, oh Nature, you are brilliant!
Clover is not the enemy. Please repeat that. It's nitrogen fixing, like beans and peas, and that means it self fertilizes and those around it. (It also makes a snazzy green manure for you vegetable gardeners out there).
(thanks to Bruce Lynn, lovely pic)
Those are a few tips, but obviously there is more to learn in the wide world of the internets.

Some interesting articles:
About the background of herbicides:
http://www.emagazine.com/view/?2476&printview&imagesoff

On fertilizers and Michael Pollan (author of "Omnivore's Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food"):
http://www.michaelpollan.com/press.php?id=49