Question on anti-fungal sprays for powdered mildew and leaf problems

[nao57]

So I wanted to pick your mind a bit on anti-fungal sprays for powdered mildew and leaf problems...

I've been experimenting a bit with these. I haven't had to use them much before because our climate is so dry the leaves on our vegetable plants stay very dry. In fact, too dry. So usually we're treating the vegetable plants for the leaves getting too hot instead of mildew. But when we do treat them for powdered mildew its always the usual plants; pumpkins, squash, stuff like that.

So there's 3 options. You can do hydrogen peroxide solution with water to spray them... that's option 1. Option 2 is the a solution using baking soda. And option 3 is using whole milk to spray.

I have the recipes for each so I don't really need to ask about that. But what I do want to ask is how they compare with each other on the results of these 3 options? The last one using milk against mildew also, I barely could even find any data on but no mention of results. And people say the hydrogen peroxide solution and the baking soda option work but don't state if they can be used together? And also how they compare with each other?

Well it seemed interesting to ask about. Happy Gardening! Also it looks like we'll all be getting early frosts this year for first frost of the year. That would imply more of us will be treating for powdered mildew and similar issues as the cool downs approach.

Links below;

How To Make Baking Soda Spray For Plants

Gardening is a delicate balance of various factors, including soil quality, water, and the presence of beneficial organisms. However, imbalances can lead to pest infestations and fungal outbreaks…

gardeningmentor.com

DIY Baking Soda Spray for Garden Fungus - How To Grow Plant

Fungal diseases are a major concern for gardeners, often appearing suddenly and spreading rapidly through flowers, vegetables, and shrubs. Powdery mildew,

howtogrowplant.com

Also, do you have to have vegetable in the baking soda spray versions or is that optional?

 

[oneeye]

Once a plant is infected with a fungus the chance of preventing a fungal spore bloom with fungicides is very low. Fungicides are good as a preventive but not as a cure.

 

[cpp gardener]

At least not those treatments. Funginex is great for treating powdery mildew on ornamentals. Chlorothalonil, mancozeb and copper are good for vegetables.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I never bother, I take off really bad leaves and the plants seem to do okay on what's left.

 

[Meadowlark]

I'd rather have the fungus than use copper, funginex, etc. etc. on my veggies.

 

[nao57]

Well I've tried this a couple times with the hydrogen peroxide version and it worked EXTREMELY WELL! I'm very surprised. Even just only a few hours after using it the powdered mildew much less. I did also try it more than once in a day and that helped more.

What I'm thinking is maybe its harder for you guys with very wet humid climates or places that rain all the time to get benefit from this? Could that be why it seems harder for you? I'm in a very dry hot climate. So for this kind of dryness and very low humidity it seems very beneficial.

Well, I'm curious what you think on this. Tonight I'm trying the baking soda version spray to see how it compares. The garden is big enough I couldn't get to everything last night when doing this.

 

[Meadowlark]

What I'm thinking is maybe its harder for you guys with very wet humid climates or places that rain all the time to get benefit from this?

My climate certainly qualifies as very humid...but interestingly I almost never see fungus. Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I had a fungus problem on my veggies. There is not one single fungicide product in my garden shed, not one.

What to attribute to that I'm not sure but continuous crop rotation, heavy use of organic matter both green and composted without any synthetics, and strict removal of any infected plants are all practices rigidly employed here.

Another factor is the lack of use of any insecticides or herbicides both of which tend to have negative residual effects in soil long after their use.

Just my thoughts.

 

[oneeye]

My climate certainly qualifies as very humid...but interestingly I almost never see fungus. Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I had a fungus problem on my veggies. There is not one single fungicide product in my garden shed, not one.

What to attribute to that I'm not sure but continuous crop rotation, heavy use of organic matter both green and composted without any synthetics, and strict removal of any infected plants are all practices rigidly employed here.

Another factor is the lack of use of any insecticides or herbicides both of which tend to have negative residual effects in soil long after their use.

Just my thoughts.

A man brother.

 

[Heirloom farmer1969]

My climate certainly qualifies as very humid...but interestingly I almost never see fungus. Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I had a fungus problem on my veggies. There is not one single fungicide product in my garden shed, not one.

What to attribute to that I'm not sure but continuous crop rotation, heavy use of organic matter both green and composted without any synthetics, and strict removal of any infected plants are all practices rigidly employed here.

Another factor is the lack of use of any insecticides or herbicides both of which tend to have negative residual effects in soil long after their use.

Just my thoughts.

I believe crop rotation is 100 percent why I never have issues, along with cleaning everything up at the end of the growing season and cover cropping.
I know for most with limited space it's hard, but crop rotation can be very helpful if you're growing in a area with fungus issues.

 

[nao57]

After about a week I thought to post more on following this for the week. I"m finding yes the sprays work, BUT it seems the powdered mildew surges back very fast every time you water. So unless you hit the plants at least twice a week (maybe 3) you can start to lose ground due to the speed of the spread. with maybe 2 or 3 sprays a week its holding it back, but you lose a lot of time working the plants.

 

[Meadowlark]

The best and most reliable solution to powdery mildew is sunlight followed closely by air circulation. Fixes the root cause, no pun intended.

 

[DirtMechanic]

The best and most reliable solution to powdery mildew is sunlight followed closely by air circulation. Fixes the root cause, no pun intended.

What if i have too much sunlight and the dew point is 79 degrees with a heat index of 105 and its the dog days of August with no wind unless its a thunderstorm?


OP:
In all seriousness, the most success I have with fungi of all forms is through fighting its seed. The spores are very specific in their chemistry. They do not have little beaks like some sucking insects, nor mouthparts like the beetles and other chewers. What they do is chemical, and like chemical reactions everywhere if one addition is wrong the whole thing fails. I therefore, mostly by listening to some folks here, really started using oils like the neem oil in a more aggressive way. It incases them it separates them from the plants surface it traps them from spreading by air.

Your spray program has to be just as relentless as the attack which is 24\7. You spray, you start the clock as to when you spray again or it fails. Why? Why is not one and done gonna work? Well its the spore and how it arrives by air, daily, how it lands on a leaf with the right moisture and warmth and decides to release the very little quantity of enzymes it carries to absorb nutrients from that leaf surface.

The more matte finished leaves have the absolute best nooks and crannies to land it if you are a spore. The waxy leaves like holly and magnolia are death and if you listen you might hear tiny screams as the spores slide off their hard slick surface to the doom of the dirt and the fungi eating denizens beneath our feet.

So yes there are myriad of fungi killers , contact killers like povidone iodine, acids like aspirin and mainstream chemistry in rows at the store. But you have to keep after it and any plant that gets the powder gets chased by bugs with their nasty ways, spreading their bacteria and viruses. So back to neem oil, which if you have every tasted it you try really hard to never taste it again. The bugs that bite plants feel that way too.

Spray away, but do not get too specific, its a time waster to not include the other pathogenic hopefuls in your spray program.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Your spray program has to be just as relentless as the attack which is 24\7. You spray, you start the clock as to when you spray again or it fails. Why? Why is not one and done gonna work? Well its the spore and how it arrives by air, daily, how it lands on a leaf with the right moisture and warmth and decides to release the very little quantity of enzymes it carries to absorb nutrients from that leaf surface.

You are right, the attack is relentless. When I had the operation for blood clots in my leg I had two deep cuts top to bottom in my lower leg to allow expansion as the leg swelled. The district nurses were horrified that I was washing them off twice a day with the shower over the bath and talked of infection, but when I told the doctor he said 'Yes , continue with that. Spores and bacteria are everywhere in millions per cubic foot of air, those sterile dressings they use are not sterile any longer the moment they break the seal, by the time they put it on your leg it will be covered in them.'
I would guess a variety would also help, those microorganisms reproduce so fast it won't take them long to become resistant if they are capable of it.

 

[DirtMechanic]

You are right, the attack is relentless. When I had the operation for blood clots in my leg I had two deep cuts top to bottom in my lower leg to allow expansion as the leg swelled. The district nurses were horrified that I was washing them off twice a day with the shower over the bath and talked of infection, but when I told the doctor he said 'Yes , continue with that. Spores and bacteria are everywhere in millions per cubic foot of air, those sterile dressings they use are not sterile any longer the moment they break the seal, by the time they put it on your leg it will be covered in them.'
I would guess a variety would also help, those microorganisms reproduce so fast it won't take them long to become resistant if they are capable of it.

Well if you feed them moisture (dry bandage) or food ( cloth material etc) it would be a party tray for nature I would imagine. Acid, alkaline, I wish I had more chemistry in grammar school. It would have shaped my thinking in high school and college. Too late my birthday is next tuesday and I am 60 so I can only offer a thought.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Acid, alkaline, I wish I had more chemistry in grammar school. It would have shaped my thinking in high school and college. Too late my birthday is next tuesday and I am 60 so I can only offer a thought.

I was about your age when I took up chemistry, I used to work in London and do an hour's journey each way on the train, bought chemistry textbooks in the charity shops I visited and read them on the train, still got a shelf full of them, and still read non-fiction and learn new things twenty years later. It's never too late to stop your mind from deteriorating.