Milk Fungicide

Powdery mildew is one of the few serious problems that begonias face. It is also a problem for growers of zucchini, cucumbers and squash and in fact all of the cucumber family, as well as some roses and grape varieties.

In warm humid conditions it develops as small powdery spots on the leaves, but these can rapidly cover the whole of the surface, causing the leaf tissue to collapse and defoliate.

Recently and just by chance, Brazilian researchers have found that 1 part of milk and 19 parts of water sprayed twice weekly is six times more effective than conventional fungicide, which is good news for organic minded gardeners.

If plants are already affected it will arrest it, but prevention is always better than cure.