Powdery mildew advice please

[peebee]

Has anyone tried either the milk or baking soda treatment for powdery mildew on cucumber leaves? My zucchini leaves are also affected. I've had a great run on the cukes, tons of fruit daily so I can't complain if they are coming to their inevitable end but I'd like to get a few more weeks life out of them. Your thoughts please. Thanks.

[TXTravis]

I sprayed mine with Daconil, and while most of the infected leaves went ahead and died, it has done well in preventing further spread to new or uninfected leaves. Some of the infected leaves that weren't too far gone have somewhat recovered and lasted longer (presumably) than they would have otherwise, but their days are clearly numbered. My plan for the Fall crop and for next spring for cukes and toms is Daconil treatment at least every other week until plants are well established and off the ground, then we'll see after that.

[MissS]

Milk sprayed while the sunlight is bright has worked for me on Bee Balm, Lilacs, Peonies and sometimes tomatoes. I have not yet used it on zucchini or cukes. I would go ahead and try it and see how it does. Doesn't sound like you have much to lose and it costs you little. Please let us know if you use it and how it works out for you.

[Cole_Robbie]

I haven't tried either milk or baking soda. If it is just a few plants, hydrogen peroxide at 1 to 2% should beat it back. If it was a large patch and peroxide was not cost effective, i would probably try a light bleach spray. And i have not experimented on cucumbers, but cold pressed neem oil is supposed to have fungicidal properties.

[Mark_Thompson]

Milk worked on PM on my tomatoes

[AZGardener]

I use the milk spray for powdery mildew. The recipe I found called for 1 part milk 9 parts water. That mix wasn't effective
for me so I bumped it up to 3 parts milk 7 parts water. Be sure to spray the stems and under the leaves as well as the tops.
I've also used hydrogen peroxide spray (6TBSP per gal of water) and it works too,
but needs to be done very early in the morning in my very hot climate.
I've not had either burn my plants, but it's always best to test spray a few leaves before
using a new spray on the entire plant or garden.
I have not experimented with baking soda spray.
I've used milk spray on tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, zinnias, and chard with good results.
HTH

[peebee]

I have powdered milk I bought 6 years ago & never used. Do you think it's still good to use in the spray?

[MissS]

I have powdered milk I bought 6 years ago & never used. Do you think it's still good to use in the spray?

I do know that Marsha once tried using powdered milk on her plants and that it had no effect, so I'm not sure that powdered milk would work at all.

[Growing Coastal]

Hmmm. How about frozen milk? I have some and thought of using it this way on some flowers that have developed PM in all the humid weather.

Is the milk diluted with water or used straight?

[MissS]

I dilute my milk to about 1 cup per gallon. I have also done it 50/50. It works best if applied in the sunlight unlike most other sprays.

[peebee]

[mention]MissS[/mention] good to know I can do this during the day. I'm a night owl & wake up usually by 10. I consider 8 am to be dawn I know a lot of sprays & whatnots have to be done early in the morning so I've been hesitant about this but tomorrow I'll be out by noon spraying. Thanks!

[jmsieglaff]

I spray a mixture of water, potassium bicarbonate and a few drops of dish soap for powdery mildew. It works really well. Potassium bicarbonate can be found from wine and homebrew shops/online retailers for much cheaper than from garden related sources.

The mix:
1 gallon of water
4 tsp of potassium bicarbonate
a few drops of dish soap

[Paquebot]

Serenade. Organic and works great to prevent PM. Especially effective on cucumbers and cantaloupes. Like many other things, it prevents, not cures.

Matin

[rossomendblot]

Potassium bicarbonate has worked well for me too.

[Cole_Robbie]

The milk and the bicarbonate work by raising the ph of the leaf surface. Water with a ph of 9 to 10 should work similarly.