Hi all, I've gotten a moderate to serious case of powdery mildew on my squash and cucumber plants. Production for most of the plants is comming to an end, so I'm not too stressed about it. But, my pumpkins are most affected and the fruits are still very green. If I let the PM go will the pumpkins still turn orange? Also, I've just started spraying the leaves and stems with a baking soda and water mix (1/2 tsp. per litre). Is this an effective organic treatment, or is there something better? I've been growing on this land for 5 consecutive years now and have never used a chemical, I really want/need to keep any treatment organic. Any feedback/suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thank you. Saw Scale
Sound normal to me. My plants have grey leaves too. I ignore it & my winter squash crop looks great this year. The hot weather really helped them along.
Thanks for the response, The heart of my inquiry is, will my pumpkins mature and turn orange? I've been spraying the bs/h2o mixture but I still have shitty looking leaves. If the answer is maybe, then I will hold on and see. But, if there is no way the pumpkins will mature then it is time to replace them with winter veg. Thanks for taking the time to respond, hopefully I didn't come off like a douche. Saw Scale
Hey, squash & pumpkins are worth worrying about! I just leave them in the beds till about the end of September then fill-up my wheelbarrow & store them in a cool corner of the basement. However if you look at the pumpkin patches in the Valley, they leave the pumpkins in the muddy, cold fields till the pre-Halloween rush in mid October. Just let yours alone, I suspect they will ripen - they know what they are doing. Can you post & let us know in a few weeks?
Thanks, That's what I was hoping to hear! I will definately post again when my pumpkins are finished.
Squash and pumpkin are among the most resilient ground crops. So unless you have an infestation of insects, just leave them alone, they’ll most likely ripen soon. How’s the weather in your area by the way?
