Powdery Mildew

[DickWilson]

Just found the best cure I've ever found for powdery mildew. 100% organic. Milk; 1 part milk to 9 parts water and spray the leaves to dripping. Works overnight, cost about 10 cents per gallon to make and beats copper or baking soda hands down. Try it, you'll like it. Can be done weekly and also foliar feeds. Increasing concentration above about 30% does no better and can get smelly.

dick wilson
"Nothing is idiot proof,because idiots are so ingenious!"

[jade]

Thanks for sharing. I will have to try it.

[DickWilson]

I was skeptical myself, but the empirical evidence is a cucumber plant totally free of PM. I admit to being astounded, but I now have all our outdated milk frozen in 1 cup containers.[]

dick wilson
"Nothing is idiot proof,because idiots are so ingenious!"

[EightFingers]

What plants are getting the mildew?
How did you find out about this?

Makes me wonder what's in the milk [:0]

[DickWilson]

I had PM on my melons and cucumbers. I actually found this on the internet while searching for a PM treatment that did not involve either copper or sulphur, both of which I would prefer to keep out of my garden. copper also being expensive when used in the concentrations required to be effective. Milk was used in South America to treat PM, they were using whole milk fresh from the cow, however further testing found that skim or 2% milk was also effective. The theory is that milk contains a natural defense against mildew. Not a biologist, but I figured it was worth a try and was delighted to find it worked

dick wilson
"Nothing is idiot proof,because idiots are so ingenious!"