Hi Ralph
Get your fungicide and a wetting agent (dish soap) and spray several times. You won't hurt the bees.
Derryl snipped-for-privacy@shaw.ca
Hello again.
>
> We have lots of Monarda in large beds spread around a large garden. I have
> never had trouble with the fungus, or whatever it is, that I have heard
> about, until this year.
>
> I am in the area of PA that is seeing rain *every* day since it was snow
> every day and what was our most lush garden ever is now starting to turn
> brown with this fungus looking stuff. It started on the Monarda, but is now
> starting to spread to the coneflowers, shastas, rudbeckia, comfortplant and
> more... and at an alarming rate.
>
> The nursery has suggested something called Comdaconil (sp?) that I have
> never used. I'm not that concerned about using chemicals, if that's what it
> takes to stop this now (at this rate I may only have 2 or 3 days to act),
> but I am concerned about it's effect on bees... will it harm them? >
> I have a large vegetable garden on the other side of the property that is
> just now getting around to producing (as it took so long to get soil dry
> enough to work) and cannot afford to lose the bees. If it is not harmful to
> the bees... can I use it directly in the veggies, as I'm getting a bad
> fungus situation over there, too.
>
> In all my years of gardening, I've never dealt with this kid of persistent
> rain. It is not like it is way above our usual amounts... it's just that it
> is every day... the ground stays saturated constantly and I'm using boards
> to walk on when I get in there (as little as possible) as this much water is
> already bound to turn our heavy soil to concrete. The result is that
> everything in both gardens is getting sick, and I'm almost surely going to
> have to resort to chemical help.
>
>
>