How are you managing the mold on squash etc?

[CherA]

Hello,
I wonder if folks are managing molds on your squash etc well this year? I decidd to just remove some leaves and that is helping immensely from allowing the mold to spread. I also sprayed some fungicide in a blue bottle that is a triple action type. It works so well but I forget the name of it. I spray ever so little and only when absolutely necessary not near the edble parts whether tht matters or not am unsure.. But it seemd to be one of the better ones or safer ones. I tried to keep it all organic.
Anyway removing many of the leaves actually allowed moer sun to get in and let teh veggies grow better and larger and faster I think. It didn;t prove detrimental.
Some years it is such a battle that I give up. I know there aer different kinds of mold, this one is spot mold of teh grey type, not black and some leaves turn yellow. I forget teh technical names. I wonder if moving the veggies from one garden to the other every other year helps or just spreads the mold and if spraying a fungicide on the soil in the late fall would be of detriment in any way to anything in anyones opinion. I am thinkingof trying it. I don't want to kill the beneficial bugaboos etc.
Thanks for any feedback. Cher

[rainbowgardener]

The light colored spots on leaves that eventually turn yellow are most likely powdery mildew. A milk solution works pretty well against powdery mildew, especially if you catch it early. Type milk solution into the search the forum feature and you will find lots more about how to do it.

[garden5]

There is also a baking soda and water solution as well, though I've heard the milk one works better.

Good luck.

[CherA]

Boy, rainbow gardener, you're full of usefull info! Who ever would have thought that? I am very anxious to try it, quite frankly. I've kept it pretty low key since t=some of the leaves were so bad I just had to remove them. It helped but did not do the job entirely. That is the best idea I've ever heard.
I hope it neednot be cows milk or milk with lactose because i only drink rice milk or on occassion soy...but Mom drinks 2% cows. I;ll check that out right away and hopefully can get to spraying that this afternoon too. What a wealth of knowledge, guys, thank you so much, Cher

[garden5]

Also, I'm not sure if you found this in your forum search, but one member here has reported success with adding a tablespoon of yogurt with live/active cultures in it to the milk solution and allowing that to sit for about an hour. Supposedly, this increases the amount of organisms that attack the powdery mildew fungus.

[tedln]

I noticed some powdery mildew on my cucumber plants yesterday. It had appeared suddenly because it wasn't there the day before. We have suddenly experienced moderately high daytime temps. with night time high humidity which seems to be the perfect environment for the powdery mildew to appear. I sprayed the plants heavily with a ten percent milk solution in water on the plants and the mildew seems to be gone today.

Since I had the solution mixed, I also sprayed my squash plants as a preventative measure. This is my first year to use the milk solution and it seems to work well and quickly.

Ted

[SarahSarah]

I tried the milk solution remedy and it destroyed all my plants. Within two days they were all covered in mildew. Every single surface.

[rainbowgardener]

For Cher -- yes, the anti fungal ingredient is lactobacillus, so it does need to be real milk, not rice or soy. The idea of the yoghurt is to increase the lactobacillus culture.

For sarah - very sorry to hear that. We've been recommending the milk solution around here for years and no one to my knowledge has ever said that. Were the plants badly infected with the mildew to start with? Tell us a little more about the conditions when you treated them (ie temps, humidity, etc) What concentration of milk did you use, etc.

I personally have used it on squash with powdery mildew, on bee balm with powdery mildew, and on tomatoes with what may have been late blight and in every case it has been very helpful.

[garden5]

You could have used too high a percentage of milk. Generally, they say not to exceed 1/3 to 1/2 milk to water. Also, as RG said, the plants could have been too far gone to start with. The milk solution is best used as a preventative measure, then as an early cure. Once the plant is loaded with mildew, it may be too late.

I completely forgot about using this on my tomatoes this year . I'm definitely going to do an experiment next year and see if pre-treating some plants with is will prevent the onset of septoria, late-blight, etc.

[kgall]

I have been trying the milk solution as well. I use it 1/3 milk to water. I have saved one squash but the on rest of them the powdery mildew is spreading like wildfire. I'll get a few squash yet bit it is sad. It has been relatively dry here this summer with a hard rain once a week lately. I water with a soaker hose that is partially buried when I need to. Ugh, I lost the first planting to SVB and now this one to powdery mildew.
The good thing is that I certainly got quite a few squash out of them so all was not lost! I am just dissapointed that the milk didn't work for me!

[rainbowgardener]

Yeah once the mildew gets a really good hold the milk doesn't work so much. There's also a baking powder solution (type that into Search the Forum for recipes). I think it helps to alternate them, one one week and one the next...

[garden5]

Yeah once the mildew gets a really good hold the milk doesn't work so much. There's also a baking powder solution (type that into Search the Forum for recipes). I think it helps to alternate them, one one week and one the next...

OK, is it baking powder or baking soda. These are two different things, but I've heard both of them referenced to for fighting the powdery mildew.

I'm pretty sure it's baking soda, but maybe it doesn't even matter .

This would make for a good side by side experiment.

[CherA]

Hi FOlks,
Well my mold is taking hold in some areaas of the squash etc similar plants but not others so it wil lbe interssssting to see what happens...I forgot to tell Steve to make suer it is nto 100% but maybe that;ll work out better. LOL I dond't know but I wil ltell him in the am as he wanted to do that.
I found some moer mealy bugs on tomatoes and mostlsys on eggplants so sprayed a bit of dishwashiing liquid with a tad of canola and alot of water..will see.
Back to milk; I will let you know how it goes. And also will probably do the same and try it as a deterrent or perventative next yera,.. or maybe even over the winter.
Any idea what to spray thieves with who come in and rob you of every single graope (3 varieties) and blueberry etc?? Not the leaset of what they did nevertheless I'd like to smear those grapes next year with seomthing nasty as they got the llast yeasr the day before I was about to harvest them as well!!
Arrgh. Thanks for the help. BTW Baking soda and baking powder. Now I forgot I got so mad, one has moer soi=dium I think? That may be the difference...might have more of a detrimental effect on good bugaboos? Do not know for sure tho. Cher

[garden5]

[quote="CherA"]Hi FOlks,
Well my mold is taking hold in some areaas of the squash etc similar plants but not others so it wil lbe interssssting to see what happens...I forgot to tell Steve to make suer it is nto 100% but maybe that;ll work out better. LOL I dond't know but I wil ltell him in the am as he wanted to do that.
I found some moer mealy bugs on tomatoes and mostlsys on eggplants so sprayed a bit of dishwashiing liquid with a tad of canola and alot of water..will see.
Back to milk; I will let you know how it goes. And also will probably do the same and try it as a deterrent or perventative next yera,.. or maybe even over the winter.
Any idea what to spray thieves with who come in and rob you of every single graope (3 varieties) and blueberry etc?? Not the leaset of what they did nevertheless I'd like to smear those grapes next year with seomthing nasty as they got the llast yeasr the day before I was about to harvest them as well!!
Arrgh. Thanks for the help. BTW Baking soda and baking powder. Now I forgot I got so mad, one has moer soi=dium I think? That may be the difference...might have more of a detrimental effect on good bugaboos? Do not know for sure tho. Cher[/quote

For the grapes and blueberries, you probably have birds, possible deer, and that will take more than a milk spray. One of the best things would be to put netting over them, that should keep out both hungry birds and deer.

[rainbowgardener]

Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate. Baking powder contains baking soda/ sodium bicarbonate + other ingredients (cream of tartar and a drying agent). So either will work, but the baking soda might be a little more effective since it is the sodium bicarbonate you want, not the other stuff.