I don't have milk, do you think soy milk would work?

I can't recommend this yet until I've tested it for awhile though. It might burn the plants if it's too strong.

Shar, I'd just be guessing with the soy milk... I'd think animal milk is what you would need though. The thought being that mothers naturally pass anti-bodies, anti-bacterials, and anti-fungals etc... through milk. Soy milk isn't really milk.

Testing this on one leaf first and then adjust the strength if needed is probably the smart way to go..

Wow, there are a lot of powdery mildew spray recipes around the web and they vary quite a bit in the quantity of each ingredient.

Several sites mention 2% baking soda being the maximum before you start seeing leaf burn. 16 cups to a gallon, so 1/3 cup = 2% of a gallon. I'd prefer it not be so close to the max. I'm going to try a weaker mix, at least for the regular prevention spray. Also, many recipes use less liquid soap and more milk, so I'll tinker with those also...tinker, tinker, bang, hammer, tinker, saw, scratch head, tinker, tinker and drumroll... new experimental recipes

Prevention spray-
1 tablespoon liquid dish soap
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 cup milk
1 gallon water

The war is on spray-
2 tablespoons liquid dish soap
4 tablespoons baking soda
2 cups milk
1 gallon water

These will likely get adjusted some too. Luckily I have some spotty 30ft birdhouse gourd vines I can test on.

Sounds like a lot of dish soap. Didn't it burn your plants? Even using the spray in the early morning might not help. What did you experience with this? Thanks. Sheri

I have used milk,soap and baking soda.No stink from the milk at all just dulls the foliage. Have to keep it up though.
tanya

Sheri,
The original recipe I tried on a birdhouse gourd leaf at dusk, it killed the powdery mildew without burning the leaf. Since leaves burn more easily during the day, I tried it on a sweet potato, turk's cap, and hibiscus leaf during the day, without burning. Out of curiousity, I made a batch 50% stronger which did burn a cantaloupe leaf during the day- which worried me, so I weakened the recipe which I'm testing now. I don't want anyone to burn their plants, I'm just noting what I'm experimenting with.

Cathy, glad you had some success with the first recipe. I'd probably try the weaker one on what's left of my beans and cukes. I'll try it on my potato and bell pepper, too. By the way, did it clog your hose end sprayer, if you used one? Thanks. Sheri

Neem oil is a natural anti fungal that is very effective and a bit easier to calibrate .
Cow's milk works against some fungi such as Podosphaera xanthii . They think it works possibly through salts, amino acids, or an antimicrobial agent present in milk that might be effective in supressing the disease.

Baking soda works as a salt action - bicarbonate of soda . So does potassium , sodium , ammonium bicarbonate and mono-potassium sulphate . Tricky ground here getting the formulas just right .

Nice to have so many natural and non-harmful chemicals available for our home grown foods .

My one gallon pump sprayer didn't clog.

Know that when the white spots die they turn brown, not green unfortunately. You'll end up with a leaf with a brown spots. If you want the plants to look good a mild prevention spray is the way to go. Also the plants are supposed to be well hydrated before spraying so be sure to water them first.