All the Dirt on Gardening

Patricia Rorabaugh, assistant professor of plant sciences at the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center at the University of Arizona uses no chemical treatments on her plants. Purdue Plant & Pest Diagnostic Lab Her remedy for powdery mildew on plants is   "We typically only have problems with two types of fungi: powdery mildew and botrytis. With powdery mildew, which almost always appears on the cucumbers, we use a combination of water (3 gallons), vegetable oil (87 milliliters) and baking soda (9 rounded teaspoons). This is a contact spray and should be sprayed directly onto the powdery mildew spots on a regular basis (once or twice a week). We also get powdery mildew on the peppers which, unlike the cucumber powdery mildew, goes into the underside of the leaf via the stomates and is then untouched by the contact spray. To get to the underside of leaves, a trans- laminar spray must be used that goes into the leaves and kills the powdery mildew from the inside."...

Too Much Rain Causes Gardeners Pain Weeds, insects and diseases are enough to make a gardener sigh. This year, rain is causing our problems. Fortunately, gardeners are optimists. We will do what needs to be done to save what we can and replant some of the rest. What cannot be salvaged or replanted we will try again next year. Plant roots smother if they are in standing water long enough so move plants away from standing water, or create a line of drainage along the root line. Plant leaf or foliage diseases are caused by fungi that reproduce and thrive in wet conditions. Beth Phelps, University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension services said the most important activity for a gardener when we have cool wet spring weather is to go look at your plants every day. "Some disease problems favor hot dry weather and others thrive in cool wet weather," Phelps said. "By the time a plant is covered with powdery mildew or blight it is too late." According to Phelps, powdery milde...

ORGANIC TREATMENTS Powdery mildew is a constant problem this time of year on everything from asters to zinnias and cucumbers in between. In Brazil and New Zealand, growers are spraying skim milk on plants to control the problem. The recipe is 1-cup of milk, 9- cups of water, and spray plant leaves top and bottom. I read about it on a website called My Organic Garden . The scientists research originally appeared in a professional journal called "Crop Science" and reported that the milk serves as a germicidal, killing fungus spores and stimulates the plant to become more resistant to disease. Photo: Wandering Jew fell from a hanging pot and planted itself in the soil below the tree. The green leaves are a self-planted purple hyacinth vine that is climbing the tree.