Mildew on Zucchini Plant

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easter_lily Greentown, IN(Zone 5a) Jul 09, 2008

I know this has probably been discussed time and time again, so please pardon my ignorance! Could someone give me the formula for that milk and water mixture to spray on my zucchini leaves? I can't remember the appropriate ratio. Also, how often should I spray the leaves? Is there anything else I can do to help save my plants?

Thanks for all your help!!!

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easter_lily Greentown, IN(Zone 5a) Jul 11, 2008

I thought I would re-post since I'm not getting any responses! :) I've been spraying the foliage of my zucchini plants morning and evening with a milk & water mixture for the last few of days and am not seeing as much of an improvement as I would like. I'm still not sure if I am using the most effective ratio. Does anyone have firsthand experience with this? What works best and how long does it take to start seeing the powdery mildew decrease? Has anyone tried using a cider vinegar and water solution for this problem? Thanks again for any help!

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ivytwine Cape May, NJ Jul 12, 2008

I had a similar problem with my Zucchini about a month ago. I used a water, baking soda, dish soap mixture that worked well. I can't remember the exact mix but I believe it was 1 gallon water/4 tbs. baking soda/2tbs dawn dish soap.
Good luck.

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David_Paul Clinton, CT(Zone 6b) Jul 12, 2008

Baking soda works but too much can burn the plant (I burned a row of zinnias last year), Potassium bicarbonate is a little safer and doesn't put sodium in the soil. Information on both here:

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/bakingsoda.html

I use Ortho Garden Disease Control (29.6% Chlorothalonil) on tomatoes and squash. It prevents fungus from attaching itself to leaves.

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easter_lily Greentown, IN(Zone 5a) Jul 13, 2008

Thanks to both of you for your replies. The milk solution just doesn't appear to be working, so I'm out to try your suggestions. It wouldn't be such a big deal if the powdery mildew had come on later in the year, but this year it started before I even began harvesting the zucchini. Between the mildew and the squash bugs, these plants are keeping me quite busy!!!

Maybe one of you (or some other helpful reader) can help me with something else. I am absolutely terrified about using anything that could harm the environment, my children, or those precious bees and other beneficial insects in my garden. Even though many of our homemade remedies use common kitchen products or "natural" ingredients, how do I know for sure that their unnatural concentrations or the use of them in conjunction with other things is not going to be harmful? What about store-bought fungicides? Can they be harmful to beneficial insects? Does anyone know of a good resource to help guide me in making decisions about what I use in my garden?

Thanks again to all of you helpful gardeners!!! :)

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