Once again it is mid/late august, and the squash plants are pumping out zukes like crazy. And, right on schedule, the powdery mildew is starting to appear. Has anyone had any success fighting or even eliminating powdery mildew on squash plants?
Is it damp out there? Try some sulfer powder.
A Bordeaux mixture will work most times.
Bud wrote in news:j2q637$ejm$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:
It's not damp at all - summers here (Wilamette valley, Oregon) are warm and dry. Temps in the 80s. Comfortably cool at night. And I never water overhead, but use the hose on the ground so the leaves don't get wet.
Interesting enough, I water the cucumbers overhead, yet never have mildew on them - just the squash.
Where most organic gardeners use a baking soda, soap and oil solution, milk may be substituted to combat the unwanted fungus.
Preparing a Milk Solution and Spraying Schedule The correct dilution and spraying schedule for garden plants depends on the situation and takes some trial and error.
A milk fungicide solution can range from 1 part milk to 9 parts water, to a strong, milk-only solution. A 1:1 dilution may work for a week, but a 1:8 solution requires spraying every 3 or 4 days. Skim milk may work better than whole milk, as the higher fat milk may clog a sprayer; even reconstituted powdered milk works.
Uses for Milk Fungicide
Milk was originally used in the garden to treat powdery mildew on squash plants. It is now also commonly used on flowers such as rudebekia (Black-eyed Susans) and Begonias to cure powdery mildew. Milk has also been used to cure Botrytis on a Cyclamen houseplant. This was applied full strength every morning (leftover breakfast milk). Rotten leaves were picked away and the plant pulled through with no more Botrytis.
Black spots and rust on roses can be controlled but not cured with milk. Fortunately, milk can prevent the spread of these fungi to other plants and new leaves. This can be very useful when bringing home a plant from the nursery and finding a black spot. or
home made fungicide It consists of the mixture 2 tbs baking powder (baking soda), 1 tbs non-concentrated dishsoap and 1 tbs vegetable oil/ liter.
or
Fungicide for Mildew and Black Spot
1 tsp. baking soda 1 litre water 1 tsp. soap flakes Dissolve baking soda in 1 litre of warm water.Add soap flakes to help solution cling to leaves. Remove infected leaves from plant, then spray top and bottom of remaining leaf surfaces to control spread of the disease.
Be sure to water at the roots, and not over the plant and leaves - if the leaves get wet constantly, this will spread fungus.
Ran across this today in some searches:
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