Lat year I had terrible problems with downy mildew on my onion bed.It
was a fairly wet summer (Herefordshire)and I tried to spray the onions
with a copper solution in late June when I observed the mildew,but
found that it didnt work.I think that one of the problems was that I
sprayed too late-some of the older gardening books suggest May or when
the onions are 8" or so high,so I will be trying that this
year.Another problem was that the spray (however fine the nozzle was
set) did not stick onto the smooth onion,but gathered in circular
globules.
So I am looking for a wetting agent. Some have suggested using washing
up liquid,but I do not know in what concentration and someone else has
advised me not to use it anyway.I went to our local garden centre,and
they told me that it is not available in the retail trade,since one
has to have a licence to use it.
So how do other gardeners get their sprays to stick to prevent their
onions getting downy mildew?
Michael

Only a tiny amount of washing up liquid is needed. Far less than you
would use to wash up - if anyone remembers how to do that!

Bob

michael wrote:
Lat year I had terrible problems with downy mildew on my onion bed.It
was a fairly wet summer (Herefordshire)and I tried to spray the onions
with a copper solution in late June when I observed the mildew,but
found that it didnt work.I think that one of the problems was that I
sprayed too late-some of the older gardening books suggest May or when
the onions are 8" or so high,so I will be trying that this
year.Another problem was that the spray (however fine the nozzle was
set) did not stick onto the smooth onion,but gathered in circular
globules.
So I am looking for a wetting agent. Some have suggested using washing
up liquid,but I do not know in what concentration and someone else has
advised me not to use it anyway.I went to our local garden centre,and
they told me that it is not available in the retail trade,since one
has to have a licence to use it.
So how do other gardeners get their sprays to stick to prevent their
onions getting downy mildew?
Michael

Bob Minchin wrote:
Only a tiny amount of washing up liquid is needed. Far less than you
would use to wash up - if anyone remembers how to do that!

Bob

Yep, only a drop or two. Strictly speaking, as washing up liquid isn't
'approved' by whoever, it's illegal....so I didn't tell you to use it
--
Pete C
London UK

michael wrote:

. . .I am looking for a wetting agent. Some have suggested using washing
up liquid,but I do not know in what concentration and someone else has
advised me not to use it anyway.

I use non-biological washing powder rather than washing up liquid. It's
designed to help the water penetrate fine materials and it doesn't
lather as much as the liquid so one can use more, though the amounts are
still small. I use about 1/4 teaspoon per litre, but one can
experiment. Try adding measured amounts of powder to water and testing
how it feels on your fingers. You should be able to feel when the water
becomes silky without becoming soapy, then you can scale that up to the
amount you need to spray.
HTH

brian mitchell

"michael" wrote in message
Lat year I had terrible problems with downy mildew on my onion bed.It
was a fairly wet summer (Herefordshire)and I tried to spray the onions
with a copper solution in late June when I observed the mildew,but
found that it didnt work.

Hi Michael, I'm in Cornwall and having suffered potato blight for 2 wet
summers, I also thought about wetting agents, after seeing Richard (?) on
QVC. However the salesman with Richard, waxed lyrical about the benefits of
WA to flowers, baskets, tubs and lawns but made no mention of fruit and veg.

I googled around and found Viresco :-
http://www.viresco-uk.com/index.asp
In response to my email, they didn't try and flog me their WAgents, but John
M suggested -
"One thing that should help against potato blight is our microbial
programme. This is the application of a microbial product in solution -
Viresco Soluble - on to the soil once or perhaps 2 times per season. In
conjunction with that a solution of a second product - Viresco Foliar - is
applied to the leaf roughly every month during the growing season. This
programme suppresses plant bacterial and fungal diseases. Potato blight
(phytophthora infestans) is a fungal disease."

I have no fiscal interest in horticultural or gardening products. I also
ordered their Humate feed (granular and foliar). I don't want onions and
leeks that compete with the Harrogate Allotment Comp, but crop quantities
have been pp for a few years.