Powdery Mildew Takeover

[RoseQuartz]

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[Ultralight]

What would cause my entire garden area to get powdery mildew? I've never had the issue before. My yard does have quite a bit of shade, but my vegetables grow in the part that is sunny. I planted some heirloom Japanese squash last year in a container and they put out leaves and then got powdery mildew seemingly overnight. And then I noticed my tomatoes, which were prolific, get the mildew starting at the bottoms until they were just totally gross. The only thing that's remained untouched is my herbs, which were in touching distance of the tomatoes.

I haven't planted anything yet this year because I feel like my dirt is contaminated. Being in the rainy part of the state, I'm not sure what to do.

And I can't move my planting area because I have a postage stamp sized lot. The house is against the property line on the west side, the entire front yard faces north, and side yard faces east. The backyard faces south and has the garage and a carport.

Even if I could rotate crops, how do I make my dirt hostile to mildew?

This happened to me in my last garden (back in 2014). It was bad news bears, a real blight. Lo siento.

[RoseQuartz]

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[Ultralight]

Sometimes I feel like my intentions are at odds with my location. I've had chickens at one point and grown food with moderate success in my yard for over ten years, but it never goes quite as well as I'd hoped. I've always aimed to get it operating similar to the famous Dervaes urban family farm, but I think that's not going to happen ever haha.

What about nature's garden?

[iris lilies]

I wouldnt assume your soil is contaminated. The answer below from University of Cal at Davis says othwrwise:

https://s.yimg.com/wv/images/2abe69acb9e2fc9fe95ee5075af6d93c_96.jpg (https://answers.yahoo.com/activity/questions?show=TUDBC2KRIU4NNX7ARHSGNK27TA&t=g)

Best Answer: First, powdery mildew is not soil borne. It needs living plant tissue to grow on. Powdery mildew spores are air borne. That is how the disease is spread. Treating your soil will do nothing to prevent future powdery mildew infestations.

Second, fungicides do NOT kill spores. That is not how a fungicide works. Most fungicides work by interfering with a spores ability to initially infect a plant. A few can cure a mildly infected plant. None can kill spores. Apply protectant fungicides to susceptible plants before the disease appears. Use eradicant fungicides at the earliest signs of the disease. Once mildew growth is extensive, control with any fungicide becomes futile. Several least-toxic fungicides are available, including horticultural oils, neem oil, jojoba oil, sulfur, potassium bicarbonate, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), and the biological fungicides AQ10 and Serenade. With the exception of the oils, these materials are primarily preventive, although potassium bicarbonate has some eradicant activity. Oils work best as eradicants but also have some protectant activity.

Third, powdery mildew is NOT a disease of moisture. It is a disease of humidity, of warm moist air. Plant in sunny areas as much as possible, provide good air circulation, and avoid applying excess fertilizer. A good alternative is to use a slow-release fertilizer. Overhead sprinkling may help reduce powdery mildew because spores are washed off the plant. However, overhead sprinklers are not usually recommended as a control method in vegetables because their use may contribute to other pest problems.

The best method of control is prevention. Plant resistant varieties (or avoid the most susceptible varieties), plant in the full sun, and following good cultural practices will adequately control powdery mildew in many cases. Crop rotation practices have NO apparent effect on powdery mildew incidence and development.

Source(s): http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES... (http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7406.html#TABLE1)
A Well Lit Garden (https://answers.yahoo.com/activity/questions?show=TUDBC2KRIU4NNX7ARHSGNK27TA&t=g) · 9 years ago

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[RoseQuartz]

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[KayLR]

Also, if you're going to plant tomatoes, don't be shy about pruning them, hard. They really benefit from the air circulation and bear more fruit.

[RoseQuartz]

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[iris lilies]

Sometimes I feel like my intentions are at odds with my location. I've had chickens at one point and grown food with moderate success in my yard for over ten years, but it never goes quite as well as I'd hoped. I've always aimed to get it operating similar to the famous Dervaes urban family farm, but I think that's not going to happen ever haha.
The life of a farmer is very stressful. Imagine making your entire living based on weather, plant diseases, and viarious other factors of luck.

Just this week I was lamenting our early sprIng, the hot/cold/hot/cold weather, and the resulting leaf spot in iris and strange cholortic tops on the lilies.

[RoseQuartz]

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[Gregg]

KayLR is right about pruning...hard! We have PM and can't do anything more than manage it. The best defense is to grow everything possible vertically, which if you have a small lot (like us) only makes sense anyway. We regularly mist the plants with a 50% water, 50% whole milk mix. That helps. When we get into the real humid dog days of summer I will mist with a few applications of copper solution. That does more than the milk, but I don't feel good about using it very often. I've also tried putting a tiny amount of bleach in misting water. My mind says that should help, but I can't really tell what the garden thinks of it. In the end I just keep all our vine crops healthy enough to get a good harvest and then stop treating, pull them and burn the plants.

[RoseQuartz]

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