Scott Burns

Leila Rich wrote:I was surprised at how much of what I consider 'misinformation' re pm is on the net. Naiive, I know!
I must have got most of my info from books, as consistent soil moisture and high fertility to combat pm seems to be kind of ignored online.

this fact sheet is kind of helpful

Thanks for your fact sheet link! I highly recommend everyone read it. I learned a lot from it.
One thing was this:
"Powdery mildews produce mycelium (fungal threads) that grow only on the surface of the plant. They never invade the tissues themselves. The fungi feed by sending haustoria, or root-like structures, into the epidermal (top) cells of the plant. The fungi overwinter on plant debris as cleistothecia or mycelium. In the spring, the cleistothecia produce spores that are moved to susceptible host tissue by splashing raindrops, wind or insects."

leila hamaya wrote:PM is pretty evil! ah ok maybe not, and thats my projection, but it is tenacious.

once you have it, you have it in the plant. it invades the cells of the plant, and by the time you see actual PM on the leaves its far too late to do anything about it except keep it at bay, cut the plants back.
or discard the plant, cause it will spread.

I agree it is EVIL!
I hadn't heard about it being "in" the plant. I thought it was mold that grew on the leaves, and then the spores float in the air from leaf to leaf?

Hmmmm. Interesting comments on the wet soil / dry soil possibilities. I water regularly so I don't think that's the problem, but who knows. I had read that shade and humidity are a problem. I am on the coast, and it has been humid lately. Also, some of the plants are shaded part of the day. Now though, the powdery mildew seems to be spreading faster and getting on everything in the garden! I'm wondering about the rest of this season...
Seems it's more important to keep it from ever getting a toe hold, and once it sets in, it's only a matter of time.

Adam Klaus wrote:Often times your plants will have powdery mildew but continue to do fine. Yes, it tells you something isnt optimal with your plants. But it doesnt sceam go grab the poison. On that note, what's with all the new faces showing up looking for advice on what to spray what to spray? Start with healthy soil, vigorous plants. Amazing how all your problems disappear. In time. Drive slow, homie.

I wasn't looking for poison advice. I was hoping for something like baking soda and water. I had healthy plants, but then got powdery mildew. And the leaves seem to be getting covered and dying about as fast as new ones grow, so the plants are kind of treading water. I wasn't expecting a solution, but was hoping nonetheless.

Thanks for the ideas. I've read about some other ones too, but I'm wondering if anyone has had any proven success with any of these concoctions?

Do you have any easy, effective solutions to powdery mildew? I'd love to just spray some solution of something on the leaves, but since moisture is part of the problem, that seems counter productive. I've got it on beans, tomatoes, and cukes. Arghhh!