Does milk solution work for Powdery Mildew on Squash?
kristimama
15 years ago
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icyveins
15 years agojustaguy2
15 years agoRelated Discussions
Recipe for baking soda/milk powdery mildew spray?
Comments (2)one quart water, one teaspoon baking soda, 1 or 2 drops dish liquid. good air flow helps keep away powdery mildew, so removing nearbly plants, raising or trellising the vines, and keeping the grass cut might help....See Morewill powdery mildew kill butternut squash on the vine
Comments (2)Yes I think it is downy mildew. It was confusing at first because the leaves all looked covered in white. So it looked like powdery mildew. Then the white completely disappeared and there were yellow spots, so I thought maybe this was stage 2. But looking online it says that the dark spores under the leaves is a sign of downy, not powdery. Anyway, it just shrivels the leaves to brown crackly paper, which is worse than what I was reading about powdery mildew. And the cucumbers have had it for the past several days, with heavy foliage death and cucumbers stuck at half size. But I was out there with more dilute milk solution this afternoon spraying the cukes, pruning like crazy, taking off all the half-size cukes, and it seems to have worked, at least tonight the leaves look like their normal after-dark selves, perked up again. Will have to wait and see how the butternut and cukes do now....See MoreSolution for Powdery Mildew
Comments (3)I've never tried the recipe you desribed, but I recently experimented with a solution of very diluted bleach on a few areas of a Hydrangea Nigra that was just completely overrun with powdery mildew and it actually worked really well. I used about a tsp. of bleach with a quart of water in a spray bottle. I sprayed the affected leaves, then carefully wiped the leaves down with a soft cloth, then sprayed them again and left it. The rest of the plant I applied an over the counter product specifically designed for powdery mildew (got it at Lowe's). The section of plant I treated with bleach water is almost completely mildew free and (believe it or not) the leaves look healthy and green. The section of plant that I used the stuff from Lowe's, is still covered in mildew and looks awful. I'm not recommending anyone do what I did, so please don't send me hate-mail if you try this and your hydrangea dies. Just letting you know what worked for me....See Morepowdery mildew and milk
Comments (3)Couple of points - powdery mildew is a surface issue only. It does not penetrate plant tissue and on smooth leaved plants, you can actually wipe or wash it off. But if left in place, it can alter photosynthesis and transpiration, which can cause both foliage and flowers to wither and die off. And milk has been shown to be an effective fungicide for control of powdery mildew in a number of scientific studies. Part of the effectiveness is attributed to lactic acid which alters the pH of the leaf surface to a degree that is inhospitable to the development of the mildew spores. It also has antibacterial and antiviral properties that seem to be effective against a range of plant pathogens. But like most fungicides, especially those addressing PM, it will work best as a preventative, spraying before you see the symptoms. Virtually all fungicides, even home remedy ones, are prophylactic in nature, not curative. As commercial chemical fungicides tend to be some of the more toxic home pesticides, I don't care to use these indoors (I seldom even will resort to them outdoors!!). If you don't find the milk working for you - and it should, remembering that it is only preventive - then try something like neem oil...See Morekristimama
15 years agoicyveins
15 years agoKimmsr
15 years agokristimama
15 years agoarwmommy
15 years agoadirondackgardener
15 years agoKimmsr
15 years agotsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
15 years agoadirondackgardener
15 years agoKimmsr
15 years agotsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
15 years agoadirondackgardener
15 years agoembarnet
15 years agoKimmsr
15 years agotsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
15 years ago
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