GardenBanter.co.uk - Powdery mildew on squash

In article 31,
Zootal wrote:

Bud wrote in :

On 2011-08-21, Zootal wrote:
Once again it is mid/late august, and the squash plants are pumping
out zukes like crazy. And, right on schedule, the powdery mildew is
starting to appear. Has anyone had any success fighting or even
eliminating powdery mildew on squash plants?

Is it damp out there? Try some sulfer powder.

It's not damp at all - summers here (Wilamette valley, Oregon) are warm and
dry. Temps in the 80s. Comfortably cool at night. And I never water
overhead, but use the hose on the ground so the leaves don't get wet.

Interesting enough, I water the cucumbers overhead, yet never have mildew
on them - just the squash.

Where most organic gardeners use a baking soda, soap and oil solution,
milk may be substituted to combat the unwanted fungus.

Preparing a Milk Solution and Spraying Schedule
The*correct dilution and spraying schedule for garden plants depends on
the situation and takes some trial and error.

A milk fungicide solution can range*from 1 part milk to 9 parts water,
to a strong, milk-only solution. *A 1:1 dilution may work for a week,
but a 1:8 solution requires spraying every 3 or 4 days.
Skim milk may work better than whole milk, as the higher fat milk may
clog*a sprayer; even reconstituted powdered milk works.

Uses for Milk Fungicide

Milk was originally used in the garden to treat powdery mildew on squash
plants. It is*now also*commonly used on flowers such as rudebekia
(Black-eyed Susans) and Begonias to cure powdery mildew.
Milk has also*been used to cure Botrytis on a Cyclamen houseplant. This
was applied full strength every morning (leftover breakfast milk).
Rotten leaves were picked away and the plant pulled through with no more
Botrytis.

Black spots and rust on roses can be controlled but not cured with milk.
Fortunately, milk can prevent the spread of these fungi to other plants
and new leaves. This can be very useful when bringing home a plant from
the nursery and finding a black spot.
or

home made fungicide *
It consists of the mixture 2 tbs baking powder (baking soda), 1 tbs
non-concentrated dishsoap and 1 tbs vegetable oil/ liter.

or

Fungicide for Mildew and Black Spot
1 tsp. baking soda
1 litre water
1 tsp. soap flakes
Dissolve baking soda in 1 litre of warm water.

Add soap flakes to help solution cling to leaves. Remove infected leaves
from plant, then spray top and bottom of remaining leaf surfaces to
control spread of the disease.

Be sure to water at the roots, and not over the plant and leaves - if
the leaves get wet constantly, this will spread fungus.
--
- Billy
Both the House and Senate budget plan would have cut Social Security and Medicare, while cutting taxes on the wealthy.

Kucinich noted that none of the government programs targeted for
elimination or severe cutback in House Republican spending plans
"appeared on the GAO's list of government programs at high risk of
waste, fraud and abuse."
http://www.politifact.com/ohio/state...is-kucinich/re
p-dennis-kucinich-says-gop-budget-cuts-dont-targ/

[W]e have the situation with the deficit and the debt and spending and jobs. And it¹s not that difficult to get out of it. The first thing you do is you get rid of corporate welfare. That¹s hundreds of billions of dollars a year. The second is you tax corporations so that they don¹t get away with no taxation.
- Ralph Nader
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/7/19/ralph_naders_solution_to_debt_crisis