Neem Seed Meal (Ecocert Organic)

Neem Seed Meal (Ecocert organic)

Neem Seed Meal is the pressed cake of neem seed, an Ecocert organic soil amendment with 5.05% nitrogen and 1187 mg/kg azadirachtin. Growers mix it into soil for slow release nutrients and for its azadirachtin content.

At a glance

• Type: single input amendment (pressed neem seed cake)
• Supplier certificate on file: Ecocert certificate. See the certificate and its dates.
• Analysis: 5.05% nitrogen, 4.3% phosphorus as P₂O₅ (1.86% elemental P), 2.3% potassium as K₂O (1.94% elemental K); azadirachtin A plus B 1187 mg/kg
• Use for: soil building and potting mixes, fruiting and flowering crops
• Rate: 150 g (240 ml) per 50 litres of media; mix in and rest the soil for one week
• Certification: Ecocert organic

What it is

Neem Seed Meal is what is left after the oil is pressed from neem seed (Azadirachta indica). The cake keeps a share of the seed's azadirachtin, the compound neem is known for, as well as the protein that carries the nitrogen.

The figures below are the Sun Bionaturals batch certificate (batch 105083), % by weight.

What it does

• Supplies nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulphur as the cake breaks down in the soil.
• Azadirachtin is the neem compound known as an insect antifeedant and growth disruptor. Growers use the meal in soil for fruiting and flowering crops with pest pressure; the meal is sold as a soil amendment, not as a registered pesticide.
• Feeds soil biology as a protein and oil rich organic matter input.

Analysis

NPK = 5.05 - 4.3 - 2.3 (N, P₂O₅, K₂O); elemental 5.05 - 1.86 - 1.94

• Nitrogen (N): 5.05%
• Phosphorus (P₂O₅): 4.26%
• Phosphorus (P, elemental): 1.86%
• Potassium (K₂O): 2.34%
• Potassium (K, elemental): 1.94%
• Calcium (Ca): 1.90%
• Magnesium (Mg): 0.87%
• Sulphur (S): 1.10%
• Iron (Fe): 0.10%
• Sodium (Na): 133 mg/kg
• Copper (Cu): 14 mg/kg
• Manganese (Mn): 49 mg/kg
• Zinc (Zn): 55 mg/kg
• Azadirachtin A plus B: 1187 mg/kg

How to use

• Soil building: mix in about 160 g per 50 litres (3.3 kg per cubic metre) and let the soil rest for one week before planting.
• Modified media or potting soil: 3.3 kg (about 5.3 litres) per cubic metre. The meal weighs about 0.63 kg per litre.
• Smaller batches: 150 g (240 ml) per 50 litres of media.
• Soil top dress or incorporation: 50 g (80 ml) per square metre.

Learn more in fifteen seconds

• Nitrogen: what it does
• Every amendment brings passengers
• Carbon decides when N shows up

Handling and storage

• Wear a mask to avoid inhaling particles and open in a well ventilated area.
• Wear gloves and eye protection, and wash hands after use.
• Once opened, keep sealed and dry.
• Rest the soil for a week after mixing it in; fresh neem cake is strong and the pause lets the first flush of breakdown pass before roots meet it.
• It is a soil amendment. Do not use it as a spray or in place of a registered pest control product.