There are many products on the market that claim 'neem' as an ingredient. Often, the 'neem' is combined with other insecticides and a vehicle that makes emulsification and thus delivery/application easier. If these products have used neem oil that was altered or obtained by a process other than cold-pressing, the value or effectiveness of the essential ingredient azadirachtin has likely been reduced or negated entirely. I have read reports in these & other forums about growers using products like Bio-Neem by Bonide (and others) and having less than what they consider stellar results, while I continue to use the cold-pressed product, such as is produced by Dyna-Gro, with what I consider very safe and very good results. Remember that neem oil doesn't deliver a huge initial knockdown punch, but it IS a powerful antifeedant and chemosterilizer, rendering current generations unable to feed or progress through metamorphic stages to adulthood, and rendering adults sterile. Cold-pressed neem oil is excellent on mites & works initially in the same way as hort oils work, with the added benefits of the other properties already noted. This from a recent post @ another forum site: "As I consider the prophylactic use of any insecticide, including systemics, I guess I have to say that about the only compound that fits that description for me is neem oil. I over-winter around 100 tropical plants (most are normally grown as houseplants, but my focus is on bonsai) under lights in my basement. About 2 weeks before bring them in, I apply neem oil - then again a day or two before I bring them in. Normally these applications keep insect levels in check all winter, though I may see some scale or mite populations appearing toward winter's tail. If it gets too bad, I'll do a neem application & hold out until I get the plants outdoors where the increase in the plant's metabolism and thus natural defenses, along with the increase in beneficial predators, usually completely eliminates the trouble. The bio-compounds plants use to repel plants are a by-product of the plant's metabolism. Plants with high energy reserves and plants growing with good vitality are much better protected 'naturally' from insect predation, which is why plants in low light and those that are just limping along are far more likely to be troubled by insects. I very often diagnose the occurrence of insect infestations as the end product of poor cultural conditions, and the greatest, most frequent offender is a poor soil." I'm not implying you're using a poor soil; I know you're not, but others might wish to consider the corollary. Al

Well, it depends on which side of the tractor you think the diagram represents as to which way you think the arrows and direction of rotation is. I didn't bother to give a front or back of tractor reference in the drawing, but I guess if you are looking at the computer monitor, to your left would be the front of tractor (toward engine). For what you are doing at this point (trying to determine if engine is able to rotate) it does not matter which way you turn it. You may even have to turn it in both directions alternately. The term "Back turning the engine" means you are "turning the output to cause rotation of the engine (in this case, the wheels or hubs). You are essentially doing what happens if you start a gear transmission vehicle by rolling it down a hill and then letting out on the clutch. If you do that, the engine can be started even if it does not have a starter. The difference here is that you just want to rotate the engine, not start it. The purpose of putting it in the highest possible gear position is to make it easier for YOU to do this manually. Believe me it will work. Years ago when I worked for IHC, we would jack up one rear wheel, release the parking brake and put the transmission in 10th or 13th gear. Then one person would carefully "throw" the raised tire against the slack in the driveline in the proper direction. Each time the drivetrain was "nudged" by the impact, the engine would turn slightly. The technician that was watching the valves move or for timing marks to index would call out to the "tire slammer" to "Hold". After the necessary adjustments or checks were made the tech would call out "Again" and the process would continue until the engine had been completly rotated 720 degrees (2 turns of crankshaft, only 1 turn of camshaft) and all valves/injectors were adjusted. We would employ this method whenever an added Air Conditioner Compressor or Power Steering Pump made it difficult or impossible to turn the engine with a long ratchet or pull handle. Bumping the engine with the electric starter was a no no because of the risk that the engine would "catch" and start up. The old "back turn" method worked well for us.

what they said... and forget about the biosoil.. whatever that it ... INSURE ... moisture to a depth of the whole rootball planted ... take a hand trowel.. and FIND OUT ... and then let near dry before you water deep again ... i dont know your soil type ... and drainage is imperative .... but in any soil.. that drains properly[not bad clay] ... you might put a hose on a trickle.. and let it run for an hour ... perhaps moving it around the planting area ... and then dig those holes.. and find out.. how the moisture went down ... and then.. i bet you might not have to water again.. for 2 or 3 weeks ... until another hole tells you.. its drying out down there ... w./o sun.. and air heat.. soil down low.. doesnt dry that fast ... and dont be confused about the first inch or two ... that is not where the roots are ... so if it dries .. so what... and that is why you dig a 3 to 6 inch hole ... and.. if you tried to drown it at planting.. getting rid of air pockets.. you might not need to water it again.. for weeks ... dig hole .. see the theme .... and NO MORE FERT.. trees dont need fert.. and you should NEVER feed a stressed plant ... if a child is having a nervous breakdown ... you dont stuff his face .... lol .. you water him properly.. lol ... [i should have thought of that earlier today with my daughter .. lol] do you have any warranty on these???? i am surprised the seller didnt caution you ... also.. should you think of tree planting again ... you 'tag' the trees this time of year.. pay a deposit of the whole.. and take delivery in fall ... at leaf color change time ....which is also a great time to choose a tree that has good fall color .... and i think you just learned why i NEVER BUY A TREE BIGGER THAN 6 FEET ... lol .. you only make this mistake one time .... been there.. done that ... good luck ken

OK. Here's the update. I did check my manual and it said that I could use different blends of fuel but it said that the alcohol content should be no more than 10%. But, it did say I could use different blends so I think that is a plus. It gave a bunch of other requirements and numbers, but I'm focusing on the fact I could use different blends as a good thing. I am really confused by the bio-diesel or e-85 thing. I probably misread something on the pump but at newer Meijer stations they do have both sometimes. I checked their website and the one I went to does have both. But on the pump it said bio-diesel in green on top. But lower on the pump there was a sticker and I swear it had an e85 on it and said something about a low sulfer (I think it said sulfer) fuel. But, that was half an hour away from home and so I can't really be too sure which one I used since the station had both. I don't understand why the pump said bio-diesel and had a sticker with E85 on it. Like I said, it was late and I was obviously not focued too much since I pulled up to the wrong pump in the first place. But since the top of the pump said bio-diesel then I'm going to go with it being bio-diesel which I know means that it doesn't really matter that my car can use different blends. But, I drive a 2004 Beetle so it is fairly new and in very good condition. But, I did dilute it right away with half a tank of regular unleaded. Then I filled up and drove it the following morning for about half an hour. I got a bottle of fuel system cleaner and put in and drove it down to half a tank. I'm going to fill up again today and drive it down to another half a tank and fill it again and put in another bottle of the fuel system cleaner and then drive it until it's at about a quarter of a tank and then fill up and hope it's all out of the system by then. Good plan or no? And just to refresh, I did only put in a little under a gallon of whatever it was and immediately dillute it. And so far, there has been absoultely nothing out of the ordinary. No smoke, no odd sounds, no smells, no driving hard, starting up just fine. But thank you all for your advice! ps. Does anyone know if a bio-diesel nozzle is the same as a regular diesel nozzle? I'm hoping that you are right, John G, and that a diesel nozzle shouldn't have fit in my tank. But the nozzle looked like any other nozzle and went in the tank just fine. So, I'm glad I noticed the signage on the tank pretty quickly. I feel like such an idiot about this whole thing.