So you can fight powdery mildew with natural means and without chemicals! Especially on cucumbers and zucchini the fungus likes to spread in July / August. This is what you can do!
Every year the same game. First I'm happy that the cucumber plants sprout, and from June the leaves get white spots. It looks like a thin layer of flour.
Quickly asked the gardener and it was clear: I have to fight powdery mildew.
Powdery mildew is one of the most feared fungal diseases of crops and ornamentals. Fungicides are often used to control powdery mildew.
Yet nature offers so many tools against various plant diseases. The following tips I have taken from the "Handbook plant protection in organic garden*". It's one of my favorite books because it's very practical and the tips can be implemented immediately.
You will find a lot of tips for 100% biological approach. You can use the guide to prevent, detect and treat pests and fungi. You can order the guidebook from Amazon.
If you want to banish chemicals from your garden, I can give you the "Handbook plant protection in organic garden*" highly recommended.
But now let's look at what you can do about powdery mildew.
Table of contents
- How to recognize mildew
- What you need to do before you can fight powdery mildew
- How you can fight mildew with milk
- How to fight mildew with baking powder works
- What matters if you want to fight powdery mildew with algal lime
- How garlic broth helps against powdery mildew
- What helps with severe mildew infestation
- How you can prevent mildew infestation
How to recognize mildew
Fungicides do not have to be. Fight powdery mildew also works well with home remedies. Provided that it is real mildew. It is best to first clarify whether your plants have powdery mildew or downy mildew.
Powdery mildew is also called fair-weather mushroom, because it grows at dry hot weather occurs. You can recognize it by a white, wipeable coating on the top of the leaf.
Powdery mildew is very fond of roses, cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, strawberries, fruit trees, phlox, delphinium, sage and salsify.
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If leaves are affected with powdery mildew, they slowly dry up. The plant dies.
But now the good news: if it is true powdery mildew, you can get rid of it with home remedies.
Try to swing the chemical club as rarely as possible. There are many ways to get rid of pests with natural tricks.
Master gardener Fiona Kiss has written a very special guide. She is an expert in organic plant protection and gives you the best tips against absolutely every pest in her book "The handbook for plant protection in the organic garden".
You will find tips against fungi, viruses and insects that make your life in the garden and in the apartment difficult.
What you need to do before you can fight powdery mildew
The sooner you act, the greater the chance that you will quickly get the problem under control.
Remove affected leaves with garden shears and throw them in the trash. Do not put them in the compost heap, where the fungus will continue to multiply.
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You must clean the scissors quite thoroughly afterwards, otherwise you will transfer the powdery mildew to other plants later.
Once you have cut away all visible damage, it is now time to fight mildew. For this purpose, there are home remedies that work very well.
Four effective home remedies to fight powdery mildew
- Milk
- Baking powder*
- Algal lime
- Garlic broth
Tip: Apply this home remedy to the plants with a pressure sprayer. This way the decoction is evenly distributed on the leaves.
It is mega important that you really catch every leaf. The more precisely you work, the faster you will get the problem under control.
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Home remedies always help when the infestation is not yet so pronounced. The sooner you notice it, the better.
If you feel that it is already too late, a fungicide can help. There is a means for spraying, which helps against almost all fungal diseases. First of all, late blight, powdery mildew, rust and the like.
In years when my plants show a strong infestation or when I notice that many hot days with low humidity are coming, then I use this fungicide. But don't forget to wash the vegetables thoroughly before eating them!
How you can fight mildew with milk
The most famous home remedy for powdery mildew is a mixture of water and milk. You spray the mixture directly on the plant.
Helps against: powdery mildew
If your plants regularly suffer from the fair-weather fungus, then you can also use milk as a preventive measure. Milk works best against powdery mildew when the infestation is mild.
This is how it is done
- Mix raw or whole milk with water in a ratio of 1:8. So e.g. 100 ml milk and 800 ml water
- Pour the mixture into a spray bottle
- Spray the plants every other day until improvement is seen.
Why does it work? The lactic acid bacteria in the milk create an environment on the leaf surface that the fungus does not like at all. It retreats, so to speak, because it no longer feels comfortable.
The bacteria remain protectively on the leaf surface. Unless it rains. Then it is important that you reapply the mixture immediately the next day.
Milk strengthens your plants because it contains sodium phosphate. This strengthens the defenses of your plants in the long term.
You can also apply the milk-water mix as a preventive measure. It will not harm your plant.
Instead of milk you can also Whey or buttermilk use Fight powdery mildew with long-life milk, on the other hand, does not work!
Tip: If you have a large number of endangered plants, treat them all at the same time. Better safe than sorry.
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How to fight mildew with baking powder works
If you want to get rid of zucchini, cucumbers and roses from powdery mildew, you can also use Baking powder* use.
More specifically: Baking powder*rapeseed oil and water.
This home remedy for mildew helps with mild infestation.
Helps against: powdery mildew
This is how it is done
- Mix a packet Baking powder* with 20 ml rapeseed oil and two liters of water
- Apply the mixture to the plant leaves every two weeks
- Unless it rains - then additional treatment is necessary
You can also apply this mix as a preventive measure. Then you do not have to fret when fighting mildew.
Why does it work? At Baking powder* stuck Baking soda*. More precisely, sodium hydrogen carbonate. It triggers a weak alkaline reaction that the real mildew does not like at all.
The rapeseed oil contains lecithins. They are known as repellents and pesticides. You can alternatively use another vegetable oil.
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What matters if you want to fight powdery mildew with algal lime
Algal lime is a wonderful home remedy that every gardener should have at home. It helps against the boxwood borer just as against powdery mildew.
Algal lime helps with a medium infestation.
Helps against: powdery mildew
Algal lime is best ordered in a bucket that you always close tightly. It should not get wet. Do not apply it immediately after the rain and, of course, when it just begins to rain.
This is how it is done
- Put on gloves
- Sprinkle the lime very thinly on the plant. You can use a powder sprayer or a fine sieve.
- Make sure that each leaf is covered with the algae lime
Why does it work? Algal lime has a high pH value. Thus, the white powder prevents the fungal spores can continue to grow. Algal lime acts quite naturally and very effectively against mildew.
Not every plant copes with the lime. Sensitive to it rhododendron, azalea, heather, hydrangea, camellia and summer heather.
Strictly speaking, algal lime is a tonic for plants and not approved as a pesticide. But still works :)
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How garlic broth helps against powdery mildew
A homemade decoction of plants is a very good pesticide and can help fight powdery mildew. Attention: Garlic broth helps only with downy mildew!
Garlic is particularly effective.
This is how it is done
- Chop four cloves of garlic and pour over a liter of boiling water
- Put the lid on and let the brew cool down
- Pour the decoction into a spray bottle and spray the plants with it
- Repeat the procedure every 2-3 days until you see improvement
In garlic contain active substances that fight powdery mildew. However, only in the case of downy mildew. The real mildew this home remedy leaves completely cold.
What helps with severe mildew infestation
Immediately remove all affected leaves. You can try home remedies, but probably they will not help now.
You will have to resort to the chemical cudgel willy-nilly. But even here there are preparations that are not harmful to insects. For example Universal fungus-free from Compo*. You can use it on vegetables, fruit and ornamental plants. This product can be used to control aphids, curly leaf disease and mildew without killing bees.
If a plant is very heavily infested, remove it from the bed before it infects others.
That's why it's so important that you detect powdery mildew early and take immediate action against it. The longer you wait, the worse it is for your plants and their immediate neighbors.
How you can prevent mildew infestation
Much easier than to fight powdery mildew is not to let it arise in the first place. This saves a lot of trouble, time and the plant strength.
- Prevent with the milk-water mixture or algae powder
- Try to settle ladybugs - they are natural predators
- Place plant partners such as basil, chives, chervil or foxglove nearby
- Buy only mildew resistant plants
- Make sure that the plants are not too close together
Our conclusion
You can fight powdery mildew with home remedies if you act early enough. Every day and every hour you wait reduces the success. If nothing else helps, use natural preparations and, in the worst case, dispose of the plant.
All the best to your plants!
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