Nursery notes: for Dads who like to garden, our nursery is the

perfect place to find a gift before Sunday. We have mushroom-grow-

ing kits for $12.50 (reg. price $24.99); raised beds for $60 (4' x 4'

cedar); forest faces for $17.99, and gift certificates. Metal art on

sale - 20% off . / Stop by to pick up the latest wondrous issue of Edible

Austin; the focus is on summer beverages... but as usual there

kids over the summer months are suggested by Meredith O'Reilly, 

including some ingenious milk-jug birdfeeders.  On tour, a wildlife

haven designed by Bridget Lane: Sat. noon, 4 p.m. or Sun. at 9 a.m

www.klru /

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Help Save Bastrop, one seedling at a time. The Wildflower Center

and Treefolks plan to grow 900,000 Loblolly pines to reforest this

amazing park. Volunteer at the Wildflower Center  Tuesday - Friday

8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday  9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

No special skills required. Just show up and the nursery staff will

show you what to do. More info: loblolly  

 

Back in the early to mid 70’s, when I was an avid vegetable gardener-

chef, I heard about a tree called the Neem tree, which sounded like a

miracle plant to me. A little background research was revealing: it

was native to India and Pakistan, was very drought resistant, and use-

ful in myriad ways.

 

Its root system was great for anchoring loose soils (the UN had a pro-

gram in the Sahara using neem trees to reclaim desert sands), the

leaves increased soil fertility, while the seed cake was great as a cattle

and poultry feed.

 

The twigs are used by millions as a natural toothbrush, and because of

high oil content, the fast-growing wood resists termites and rot, and is

used for all kinds of construction, including houses, fence posts, boats,

piers, docks, etc. Book repositories made of neem wood preserve paper

for millennia.

 

The oil makes an effective industrial lubricant and lamp oil. Bitter

tender leaf shoots are eaten all over SE Asia and the Subcontinent (excel-

lent in Thailand with chilled raw oysters and green chile sauce, or with

fried fish and sweet sauce).

We all know about its effectiveness as an insecticide, working system-

ically as well as on a contact basis. It’s one of the few products that dis-

courages feeding on a crop (many pesticides have to be consumed

before they are effective).  It works as an enstar inhibitor, and as a dig-

estive tract blocker, and has been tested as efficacious on over 200

different insects. (Most nurseries stock neem oil for use in the garden.)

 

Due to its antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral properties neem oil

has been used in Ayurvedic holistic medicine for thousands of years.

(Ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional alternative medicine

used in the Indian subcontinent.) 

 

Neem kills internal parasites in humans and animals, and is a very

effective spermicide.  It’s also used for the treatment of ulcers, burns,

leprosy, and skin lesions, and for internal ulcers and digestive prob-

lems in the stomach.

 

It is used to beautify hair, skin, and nails. Villages planted them to

reduce mosquitoes and ants in the area. The list is almost endless, so

much so that it is called “the village pharmacy” in India and “the

miracle tree” in Muslim countries, and it does all of this while being

completely non-toxic to humans.

 

New research indicates it is effective as an immune-booster, a liver-

protector, a possible diabetes treatment, and a rich source of anti-

oxidants when used as a dietary supplement. It is being tested in anti-

aging compounds and treatments for dry, itchy skin. Western resear-

chers are just starting to scratch the surface to discover what the Sub-

continent has known for thousands of years.

Jim Hightower, the Texas Agriculture Commissioner before Rick Perry

succeeded him and took credit for all of Jim’s progressive programs,

was a regular at the restaurant where I was a chef.  I talked neem up to

Jim when he came in, and Jim got me some seeds from the USDA

Research Station down in Florida, where they were conducting trials.

 

My theory was that if Chinaberry (Melia azaderach) was a first cousin

of Neem (Azidirachta indica), and Chinaberry grows like a weed here,

there were two things to consider.

 

1. Does Chinaberry contain enough azadirachtin in its seeds to be use-

ful? (dunno; I’ve never been able to get any eggheads interested in

finding out) or, 2. Would Neem prosper down in the Valley, ensuring

a local Texas source for oil extraction? (turns out that it doesn’t appre-

ciate temperatures much below 36°F).

The neem tree is nothing short of a miracle plant, providing so many

benefits they are almost too numerous to list (and I’ve only scratched

the surface in extolling its virtues). I would so love to be able to grow

neem trees here, but I think it gets too cold in the winter. Still, if you

were really dedicated, you could probably pull it off.  And maybe after

we globally-warm a little more, the neem will become an adapted

plant. Texas’s new miracle tree!

 

(For organic pest control, the nursery stocks neem oil concentrate for

$17.99, and a ready-to-use combo of neem and pyrethrins for $15.99.)

 

consultant. Read Mick’s blog at http://gustidude.blogspot.com/  - his