Ah, campanula, you are enticing me back to my old habits, lol! I too usually employ the "head-in-the-sand" tactic, (usually because I too get too overwhelmed/depressed by a certain situation, combined with my lack of time to do much about it!) but this year I am trying to be good! Partly because the amount of mildew is so alarming that I am worried for the long-term health of the plants. Otherwise I'd be very happy to stick my head back in the sand like most years, lol. This is garden phlox, not creeping phlox, and my trellised cukes are good, so far, so it's only the phlox I'm worried about. So, since the experience here seems to back up what I'm reading - that the milk and baking soda applications are really more of a preventative - does anyone have any other suggestions? Thanks, Dee

It is interesting that most of the research on the milk has been done in Australia. Some now is going on in California among the grape growers. If it works like a wonder cure....sure is a nice safe way to zap powdery mildew. You are so right...makes a person feel a whole bunch better spraying foodstuff with milk or baking soda than with something that has a skull and crossbones on its label! The above link and other sources I googled indicate a 10% solution of milk. But I didn't read a lot of the google results....just four or five. 10% would be one part milk to 9 parts water. Sierra came across a 30% recipe. The only thing I found at 30% was when using Whey. Yup, they found milk by-products to be effective too. Interesting stuff. I wonder if milk would work on Black Spot on Roses? Here is another link.... Here is a link that might be useful: more on milk and PM

rhizo: Housekeeping, as in, removing diseased dying leaves? I have been for pumpkins, not so much for my cucurbits because they are very dense. I remove what I can, but there are some dead leaves pretty buried within the vines. I am not sure the cause of the dead leaves (is there a natural amount of leaves that die on a vine from "natural" (i.e., non disease/pest) causes? I'm going to post another problem today with photos. Some of my butternut squash leaves are VERY chlorotic, and some dying, and I can't tell the cause, as others are healthy and green. (I don't think it's PM, but who knows?) I look forward to your expertise(s). rhizo ... if there's something else I'm missing as far as "housekeeping" is concerned, please let me know! :) Thanks for taking the time to be concerned and answer. -Veronica

I am looking at the photo from May 16th (I didn't notice it before) and that looks like some bugs. And you say they came back. Can't tell for sure what they are, but they look like scale. I am surprised, have not seen scale on jades yet (maybe just my luck?) and I have grown many of them over the years. Anyway, test if scale: take a q-tip or cotton ball or even soft tissue or rag. Moisten in rubbing alcohol and wipe over the 'thing'. Do not 'push' hard; if scale, it will die on contact and comes off very easily. Scale is quite regular in shape, circle or oval, just slightly raised in the center. Google photos of scale and you'll see how they look. They do not move, rather stay in same spot. Almost as they are glued to the plant. You could scrape scale off easily with your fingernails...I prefer the wiping. Don't like dead bugs under my fingernails, lol. If you try that, it also should come off easily. If you have to scrape hard to the point of damaging leaves, it isn't scale IMO.