The latest casualties, four tomatillo plants fell to the white soot. I tend to panic when I see disease or infestations of any kind in my garden. My instinct is to yank out ailing plants. You don’t have to do the same.
What I did correctly: Crop rotation. Don’t plant in the same spot more than once every 3 years. Doing so prevents disease organisms from building up in the soil and controls pests in the garden naturally. Except in my case.
I'm melting!
What I did wrong: Overcrowded plants. I confess I crammed four large plants in a space big enough for two; making for poor air circulation. I also blame Southern California’s recent erratic weather.
Organic solution: Baking soda fungicide. However it’s a preventative measure offering minimal benefit after plants have become infected.
Mix:
1 tablespoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of liquid soap
1 gallon of water
Before you burn the leaves off of your plants read more here.
this is so helpful – my squash plants have powdery mildew, too, and I’ve been like, “what happened? I’m being so careful!” I’m sure it’s because I overcrowded them.
Bummer! It is so frustrating to work hard at growing something only to have it get sick. I tend to pack plants in too, so I’ve had my fair share of mildew. Thanks for the recipe, I’m going to give it a shot.
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I’ve had powdery mildew on my squash before.
A garden book we have also suggests 1 part milk to 9 parts water as a preventative spray—this is what we use, though I’ve never been 100 percent sure if it works. (It does seem to slow the infection, but by the end of the summer our squash plants, which we plant VERY densely, are generally covered anyway so it may just be my imagination!) Still, one of the most frustrating garden pests…ugh.
thanks for the tip adriana! i too just discovered some powdery mildew on MY tomatillos. so lame. so far it hasn’t taken over the entire plant. i’m going to try your OG solution.
Like Artemis, I use a diluted milk solution on my veggies, especially the squash, melons, and cukes. I start it early, so it is working as a foliar fertilizer and helping to build the immune systems of the plants. It helps. It doesn’t eliminate the problem, but it really slows it down.
I just read that the baking soda recipe for powdery mildew doesn’t get rid of it once it’s established. It only prevents it. Has anyone used it on mildew already present with success?