First of all, hello.
Second, I am getting powdery mildew on my very young vegtable plants. By Googling it says to cut away all effected areas. Because they are so small I assume I will have to pitch them and start over?
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
First of all, hello and welcome to the Forum! So glad you found us. I am in Cincinnati also, near XU.
I grow 500 or so plants from seed every year and I have never seen powdery mildew on the seedlings, though there is certainly some in my yard in the summer. Are you sure that's what you have? Pictures would help-- instructions for posting them are here:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3724
But yes, if your seedlings are very small and they have already a good case of P.M. going, you probably need to pitch them and start over. The most likely cause for this would be everything staying too moist and not enough air circulation. Were you using peat pots? They are seedling killers, hold too much moisture. If you start over, try plastic pots, even plastic drink cups with drainage holes added.
Browse around this section for pictures of how people start seeds indoors.
I grow 500 or so plants from seed every year and I have never seen powdery mildew on the seedlings, though there is certainly some in my yard in the summer. Are you sure that's what you have? Pictures would help-- instructions for posting them are here:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3724
But yes, if your seedlings are very small and they have already a good case of P.M. going, you probably need to pitch them and start over. The most likely cause for this would be everything staying too moist and not enough air circulation. Were you using peat pots? They are seedling killers, hold too much moisture. If you start over, try plastic pots, even plastic drink cups with drainage holes added.
Browse around this section for pictures of how people start seeds indoors.
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Handsomeryan
- Cool Member
- Posts: 95
- Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2011 5:57 pm
- Location: Mt. Airy MD, USA
Are you sure you are seeing powdery mildew and not botrytis? Botrytis or "grey mold" is not uncommon on seedlings that are kept too wet or do not get proper air circulation.
If it is indeed powdery mildew there are a vast number of things you can spray to treat the plants to avoid discarding them. Because this forum is very 'organic leaning' I'll skip all the chemical names and jump straight to the one most people will be comfortable with- Milk.
28g of powdered milk mixed into 32 oz of water.
Mix and put in a spray bottle; spritz plants to the drip point. Reapply as needed.
If it is indeed powdery mildew there are a vast number of things you can spray to treat the plants to avoid discarding them. Because this forum is very 'organic leaning' I'll skip all the chemical names and jump straight to the one most people will be comfortable with- Milk.
28g of powdered milk mixed into 32 oz of water.
Mix and put in a spray bottle; spritz plants to the drip point. Reapply as needed.