bell7283
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Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 10:04 pm
Location: Rhode Island, USA

Mildew and/or mold on my summer squash and cucumber plants

I am starting to get mildew and/or mold on my summer squash and cucumber plants. Does anyone know any natural way to fight this.

I already avoid getting the leaves wet while watering.

Any help would be great since this is becoming a perennial problem.

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rainbowgardener
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Location: TN/GA 7b

Greyish white, powdery looking? Like this:

[img]https://www.portkellsnurseries.com/newsletters/sept08/images/B1179-9b.jpg[/img]

powdery mildew. Squash family veggies are quite prone to it. Type that into the Search the Forum Keyword box and find lots already written here about it.

bell7283
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Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 10:04 pm
Location: Rhode Island, USA

I have a picture I tried to post but I cant seem to get it to work. How did you get the picture uploaded?

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rainbowgardener
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That was just a picture I found on-line, Google images. But you can post your pics here. Thing is they have to be on-line first at some kind of photo hosting site like photobucket.com (free and easy to use and then your pix are backed up). You can't upload them directly from your computer to here.

Detailed instructions are under New to Helpful Gardener? in Helpful Tips and Suggestions for New Members.

But was I right? Is this what you have?

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rainbowgardener
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Oops... I just discovered search function still not working (or only for the new stuff posted since the Forum has been back).

So remedies for powdery mildew:

milk solution -- 50/50 (ish) milk/water. Maybe put a spoonful of yoghurt in it to increase the lactobacillus. Let it stand a few hours at room temp to culture. Strain and spray.

Baking soda solution -- 1 TBSP baking soda in a gallon of water. Add a few drops of liquid soap (preferably not detergent). Spray.

3% hydrogen peroxide straight from the bottle. Spray.

In any case, start by removing the worst infected leaves. Spray everything that is left, thoroughly, top and bottom of the leaves. Repeat about once a week or after it rains. You have to pick one, they can counteract each other if you use more than one of the above. But you can try a different one the next week.

The milk doesn't really have any possibility of burning your plants. I would test the others on a few leaves first, come back the next day. Should be ok, but different plants react differently. It's always good to test almost anything before you spray it all over something. I think the baking soda recipe is sometimes given as 1 TSP in a gallon, so if you are getting any sign of burning, you could dilute it more.

Tina_n_Max
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Joined: Sat Jul 28, 2012 10:20 am
Location: Zone 6-CT

Hi, All

I apologize for going off topic here. :oops:

Rainbowgardener, thanks for mentioning the search query problem.

I am trying to avoid asking the same questions.

I found this thread because I did a search query on "how to do a search query".

I was in the middle of a PM to the webmaster because every time I tried to do a search on certain topics this is what I get "No topics or posts met your search criteria". :(

There is a lot of great information in this forum. And, I love reading all the posts.

I was reading through a bunch of posts today for 3 hours! :shock:

However, I need to focus and find specific information.

Please advise.

Again, I apologize for posting this here.

Thank you,

bell7283
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Posts: 47
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 10:04 pm
Location: Rhode Island, USA

I had powdery mildew last year and it took out all of my summer squash very quickly (and also some cucumber leaves). This mold seems to be spreading much slower. I didn't know if it was a gray mold or maybe its just a less severe case of powdery mildew. Either way, thank you for all the remedies! I am going to try one of them this week, just not sure which one yet.


I did attach a few pictures. These leaves are not too bad as I already had removed the leaves that were the worst, but it will give you an idea.



[img]https://i1076.photobucket.com/albums/w447/bell7283/DSC_0033.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1076.photobucket.com/albums/w447/bell7283/DSC_0030.jpg[/img]



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