UGH, Powdery Mildew !!!

UGH!!! One of my pumpkin plants has been touched by some powdery mildew. It was just a few weeks ago where I marveled at how fast the pumpkins sprouted and how well they seemed to be doing.....and now this!


Oh well, at least it isn't all of my pumpkin plants, you guys all know I'm a newbie to growing pumpkins, and this would have been a really big disappointment, if  this was my first time dealing with powdery mildew. Fortunately, I already knew one way to stop the fungus from spreading, and the other day, I learned another way, to stop "the dew" from spreading too.


I'll share the technique I'm using and I'll also share the new technique that I recently learned about, but first....let's find out what  powdery mildew is, if you already didn't know.

Powdery mildew is a fungus that rears its nasty effects in very humid places that have experienced lots of rain and then very humid conditions.

Powdery mildew can affect a variety of plants, and if a gardener can't get it under control this fungus can kill your plants, by taking nutrients away from your plants. Some of my cucumber plants were   taken out by this fungus, and now one of my pumpkin plants has the fungus.

Lucky for me, this isn't my first time dealing with this fungus, and before the damage gets out of control where you might have to just pull up your plant/s: you can use a solution of 1 tablespoon of baking soda, 1tablespoon of  olive oil or vegetable oil, a gallon of water and 1/2 teaspoon of liquid soap. Stir the mixture very well, put in a spray bottle or whatever kind of container you want to store it in. This mixture is meant to be sprayed on the plants leaves and when you're ready to use....make sure you don't spray plants with the mixture in the heat of the day. Try to use mixture early in the morning because some people have said the combination of the sunlight( heat) and the mixture together at certain times of the day can cause the leaves to burn.

Also, remember to cut off any infected leaves that seem not to be getting any better, and throw those leaves away.....DO NOT COMPOST!!! You don't want to spread the fungus even more into your garden.

Now, the other remedy that I've just learned about for powdery mildew is, believe it or not......Milk.
Yesssss!!!! Regular old milk, like I said, I've never tried it, but a lot of other gardeners say it's The Truth!!! I would like to try this option out for myself, but with five kids and these high milk prices--remember that guy, the rent is to damn high---well, the Milk is too damn high and goes way to fast in our household for me to even think about trying!

I'll keep you posted about my pumpkin plants and I'll post some pictures to show the difference between the plant with the powdery mildew and the other pumpkin plants.

Until next time.....keep growing!!!!