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Nova Scotia

looking for organic control of all problems but in particular powder mildew and black aphids

3/13/2007 1:59:49 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Milk at 10% worked very well for Powdery Mildew last year.

13 oz of any grade of milk - top it with water to make 1 full gallon & spray everything every week paying attention to the leaf undersides. I was very surprised at how well this worked. I even sprayed at high noon 89°F & no damage at all.

To control both PM & Aphids with the same spray you might try:

JMS Stylet Oil
Neem Oil
M-Pede Instecticidal/Fungicidal Soap

Do be careful using either soaps or oils during warm weather.

Garlic Barrier can be used to repell aphids but I'm not aware of any fungicidal claims.

Steve

3/13/2007 2:29:23 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

I second the milk...we sprayed Milk Replacer last season no powdery mildew.

3/13/2007 4:45:25 PM

ordinary,VA

chechk out www.gardensalive.com bunch of organic products for pest and disease.

3/13/2007 5:48:15 PM

Utah

can one use powdered milk ?
or should one just stick with the fresh from the dairy... umm... I mean fresh from the local grocery store.

is this a strictly milk regiment - if so how often? 7-10 days?
-or is milk used in rotation with others?

I'd much rather buy an extra milk than spend $60 for a pint of banner maxx or something along those lines... ever read the warning label on that... yikes!

3/13/2007 6:27:50 PM

Here's a link to Dramm Corporations listing for organic controls,,check out the info under the fruits and vegetable section:

http://www.dramm.com/html/main.isx?sub=70

Gordon a "yes" to the powdered milk that's what I used combined with neem oil,,worked well for me...

3/13/2007 8:18:18 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Gordon,

Not sure about evaporated milk but it would probably work. I used regular milk rather than fungicides at my son's elementary school for legal reasons.

The shortest spray interval last summer for me was 4 days - Monday & Friday. The longest was 10 days when we were on vacation.

I stopped spraying 2 weeks before harvest. The day we harvested PM was just starting to show up on a few leaves. A week later when I pulled the vines 75% of the remaining leaves were covered in PM.

3/14/2007 12:30:02 AM

Utah

ok thanks guys I think I'll try it this year. but I have a few more questions.
do you use a sticker spreader or surfactant?
do you spray the whole plant or just the underside of the leaves?

3/14/2007 12:16:39 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

I didn't use a surfactant but it would probablky help.

I focused on the leaf bottoms only & sprayed the leftovers on top. It's hard to do a good job on the bottoms without covering the tops however.

3/14/2007 3:24:44 PM

Nova Scotia

thanks all

3/14/2007 3:54:05 PM