It usually doesn’t kill plants, but it can weaken them and lead to poor growth and yield.
Keeping your plants healthy will help minimize damage, but sometimes you need the aid of a fungicide.
However, that doesn’t mean you have to use chemicals.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
For powdery mildew, try a milk spray.
But it’s still uncertain as to exactly how milk works against the fungus.
The protein is in the milk fat, though researchers have experimented with both whole and skim milk.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
it’s possible for you to try experiments for yourself with whatever you have on hand.
For accurate testing, spray the solution on only some plants while leaving others untreated.
But when it arrives on plants, powdery mildew is a fast-spreading problem.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
So you must promptly remove diseased foliage if you want to control it.
Through experience, you might already know the times of year when the disease is likely to show up.
But you might want to experiment with different solution ratios to judge their effectiveness.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
Mix the milk solution in an ordinary pump spray bottle.
For large applications, you’re free to put the solution into a garden sprayer.
Spray the Plants
Spray the milk solution onto the plants, lightly coating all surfaces.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
Moreover, this treatment is often most successful as a preventive measure.
So don’t hesitate to spray any plants near your diseased foliage to keep them from developing powdery mildew.
Repeat
Reapply the milk treatment every 10 to 14 days.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
With regular treatment, unaffected plants should remain free of powdery mildew and affected plants should improve.
Certain types of plants also seem to respond well to the milk solution.
Besides, the odor of the milk is really no more unpleasant than that of commercial fungicides.
And the solution is safer to use than many chemicals.
Keeping Ahead of Powdery Mildew.University of Vermont Website
