Yesterday the garden was sprayed with sulfur, water and soap. This morning there was a significant reduction in the white spots on the leaves. As a small side benefit, three ripe tomatoes and one cucumber were accidentally found while the garden was being sprayed. So far all of the tomatoes ripened are early girl.
As usually happens about this time of year, the grass growing between the beds and even in the beds is starting to become unmanageable. The leaves picked up by the road are being used for mulch. The fallow beds are being reworked and mulched. The bags are laid in the pathways and covered with mulch. The garden is about ½ done at this point. It is difficult to find bagged leaves this time of year.
Two days picking of okra yielded enough to furnish the okra for a large batch of jambalaya. Boy was it good. There should be enough to do something else tonight. The speckled limas are starting to fill out as well. They will probably start being ready in another week.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Showing posts with label powdery mildew. Show all posts
Showing posts with label powdery mildew. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
Powdery Mildew
This annual visitor has raised its ugly head in the garden. This is a problem in most intensely planted areas as it loves dense plant growth. If not treated, it will kill the infected plants. Powdery mildew starts as little white spots on the plants. While it enjoys high humidity, it does not particularly like rain. It is also fairly easy to treat with solutions of sulfur or baking soda. The baking soda solution tends to kill the leaves of the treated plant. The sulfur can affect the ph of the soil.
The soil in our garden has a relatively high PH. It is almost neutral in most places, so the sulfur is a more attractive alternative for us. 1 tablespoon of sulfur in a 1 gallon sprayer works well. Add the water after the sulfur and then put a squirt of dish soap. If the dish soap goes in first, it is hard to add the water. The water coming in from the garden hose helps to dissolve the sulfur. If the sulfur is not fully dissolved it will stop up the spray nozzle.
Spray the underside of the leaves as well as the top. The mildew is more visible on the top, but the spores like to hide on the bottom so that they won’t be washed off when it rains.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
The soil in our garden has a relatively high PH. It is almost neutral in most places, so the sulfur is a more attractive alternative for us. 1 tablespoon of sulfur in a 1 gallon sprayer works well. Add the water after the sulfur and then put a squirt of dish soap. If the dish soap goes in first, it is hard to add the water. The water coming in from the garden hose helps to dissolve the sulfur. If the sulfur is not fully dissolved it will stop up the spray nozzle.
Spray the underside of the leaves as well as the top. The mildew is more visible on the top, but the spores like to hide on the bottom so that they won’t be washed off when it rains.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Friday, July 9, 2010
Powdery Mildew
The powdery mildew has made its annual visit to the garden. It seems worse this year than it has ever been. A part to the sprayer was lost when spraying started Sunday. Today the spraying needs to be finished up. There are two good organic remedies for powdery mildew.
A sulfur spray works well and fast. Just put about 3 oz of powdered wettable sulfur in a gallon of water and go to it. A little dish soap helps it stay in solution and stick to the leaves. The good thing about the sulfur is that it does not seem to damage the leaves. It also stays visible on the plant until the next rain. The sulfur will increase the acidity of the soil.
A baking soda spray works equally well. About 4 tablespoons of baking soda in a gallon of water with a little dish soap does the trick. The baking soda spray does seem to kill the leaves on which it is sprayed. It increases the alkalinity of the soil. Because it is invisible in the solution, it is difficult to tell if it is still there. For this reason we normally use the sulfur. We add cayenne to the solution to deter the deer and rabbits at the same time.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
A sulfur spray works well and fast. Just put about 3 oz of powdered wettable sulfur in a gallon of water and go to it. A little dish soap helps it stay in solution and stick to the leaves. The good thing about the sulfur is that it does not seem to damage the leaves. It also stays visible on the plant until the next rain. The sulfur will increase the acidity of the soil.
A baking soda spray works equally well. About 4 tablespoons of baking soda in a gallon of water with a little dish soap does the trick. The baking soda spray does seem to kill the leaves on which it is sprayed. It increases the alkalinity of the soil. Because it is invisible in the solution, it is difficult to tell if it is still there. For this reason we normally use the sulfur. We add cayenne to the solution to deter the deer and rabbits at the same time.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Glory of Dirt
After weeks the tiller finally came home with a new cable. It worked for about 5 minutes. Finally duct tape to the rescue and the dirt was flying. The soil was pretty dry. I did not apply the meter; because this was unplanted ground. Even where there was a cover of mulch the ground pulverized easily. If it is not too hot this afternoon, the new raised bed will be built.
A trip to Renfrow’s wonderful store yielded seeds for mesclun mix, arugula, spinach, Tokyo cross hybrid turnips, curly mustard, kale and chard. The spinach and the chard were planted Sunday morning. The late crop cucumbers are starting to run so they got a good dose of compost. Powdery mildew has raised it’s ugly head. The sulfur mix has done better than the baking soda did so this afternoon, everything gets a dose of sulfur.
The first tomato was subjected to the taste test last night. It is perfect. Nothing can beat a really good home grown tomato. This was a marglobe and had a very high acid content, rich red flesh and a nice firm texture.
Michael Swol took some of the peppers I have been giving him and made some Jalapeño poppers wrapped with bacon. Awesome!!!
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
A trip to Renfrow’s wonderful store yielded seeds for mesclun mix, arugula, spinach, Tokyo cross hybrid turnips, curly mustard, kale and chard. The spinach and the chard were planted Sunday morning. The late crop cucumbers are starting to run so they got a good dose of compost. Powdery mildew has raised it’s ugly head. The sulfur mix has done better than the baking soda did so this afternoon, everything gets a dose of sulfur.
The first tomato was subjected to the taste test last night. It is perfect. Nothing can beat a really good home grown tomato. This was a marglobe and had a very high acid content, rich red flesh and a nice firm texture.
Michael Swol took some of the peppers I have been giving him and made some Jalapeño poppers wrapped with bacon. Awesome!!!
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Monday, July 28, 2008
An Old Evil Returns
An Old Evil Returns
No, we are not moving to the science fiction genre; but it would be fun. The old evil is powdery mildew. It has come back with a vengeance. At this time of year there are two major challenges with cucurbits. 1) is dealing with the surplus production. 2) is keeping them alive. 2) will take care of 1) if we are not diligent.
Cucurbits suffer from a wide variety of ailments as the season progresses. The worst is a little worm that hollows out the stalk and causes the stalk and leaf to rot. This eventually kills the whole plant. Another big problem is the little worm that gets into the fruit itself and causes it to rot. This one can be dealt with by planting enough for you and the worms. The rotten fruits can go into a hot compost pile. This ends the worms life and contributes to next years produce.
Powdery mildew is disastrous if not caught early. The cure is to spray the leaves with a solution of baking soda and dish soap in lots of water. The first time I did this I thought I had killed my plants. The infected leaves all died. They are going to die anyway. The spray keeps the mildew from spreading. The healthy leaves do not seem to suffer from the spray. I sprayed this morning. I think I caught the mildew in time. I will let you know.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
No, we are not moving to the science fiction genre; but it would be fun. The old evil is powdery mildew. It has come back with a vengeance. At this time of year there are two major challenges with cucurbits. 1) is dealing with the surplus production. 2) is keeping them alive. 2) will take care of 1) if we are not diligent.
Cucurbits suffer from a wide variety of ailments as the season progresses. The worst is a little worm that hollows out the stalk and causes the stalk and leaf to rot. This eventually kills the whole plant. Another big problem is the little worm that gets into the fruit itself and causes it to rot. This one can be dealt with by planting enough for you and the worms. The rotten fruits can go into a hot compost pile. This ends the worms life and contributes to next years produce.
Powdery mildew is disastrous if not caught early. The cure is to spray the leaves with a solution of baking soda and dish soap in lots of water. The first time I did this I thought I had killed my plants. The infected leaves all died. They are going to die anyway. The spray keeps the mildew from spreading. The healthy leaves do not seem to suffer from the spray. I sprayed this morning. I think I caught the mildew in time. I will let you know.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
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