Hi everyone, I’m new here to the gardening forums :)

I have a Mystery Plant. It’s probably pumpkin or melon; at the moment we can’t tell.

Anyway, the leaves are starting to get powdery mildew on them. I’ve been removing the leaves before they get badly affected and have been spraying them with a milky solution (skim milk) but admittedly, I am not doing this every day, more like every second day. Does the milky solution kill the mildew or should I keep removing affected leaves? One plant is growing fruit so it kinda needs its leaves… All the stuff on the internet talks is from the US. I’m in Brisbane, Qld.

Thanks in advance.

Divine Angel said:

Hi everyone, I’m new here to the gardening forums :)

I have a Mystery Plant. It’s probably pumpkin or melon; at the moment we can’t tell.

Anyway, the leaves are starting to get powdery mildew on them. I’ve been removing the leaves before they get badly affected and have been spraying them with a milky solution (skim milk) but admittedly, I am not doing this every day, more like every second day. Does the milky solution kill the mildew or should I keep removing affected leaves? One plant is growing fruit so it kinda needs its leaves… All the stuff on the internet talks is from the US. I’m in Brisbane, Qld.

Thanks in advance.

OK well your problem is that you need full cream milk. Yes. Application of milk will kill the mildew. Remove leaves if it pleases you but it is more important to slow the growth of the mildew.

hi and welcome.

Powdery mildew is pretty common on pumpkins, which is what your plant looks like. I would be using whole milk, not skim, and I don’t think you need to do it every day if it is not getting washed off. Removing badly affected leaves is a good idea and you should try not to get the leaves wet when watering. A soaking under the leaves is better than a shower on top. Another thing which should help is to get some Sulphate of Potash and water in. This thickens the cell walls making them stronger and more able to resist the mildew. It will also encourage flowers and fruit production.

Hi Divine Angel,

Your pumikin looks healthy enough, but a little bit of well rotted down sheep manure will help it fight off the powdery mildew, and if you can, try to open up the garden to let a little more of the afternoon breeze in. A good airy patch will reduce the mildew. Oh and yes to the rest, including the full cream milk.

Bluegreen, how do you water your pumikin under it leaves, and not all over the top? I used to use Hessian sacks to slow water rates and watered by using furrows for tomatoes, but for pumikins, I just overhead and overhead and overhead until everything is “rain” like. Your thoughts?

painmaster said:

Hi Divine Angel,

Your pumikin looks healthy enough, but a little bit of well rotted down sheep manure will help it fight off the powdery mildew, and if you can, try to open up the garden to let a little more of the afternoon breeze in. A good airy patch will reduce the mildew. Oh and yes to the rest, including the full cream milk.

Bluegreen, how do you water your pumikin under it leaves, and not all over the top? I used to use Hessian sacks to slow water rates and watered by using furrows for tomatoes, but for pumikins, I just overhead and overhead and overhead until everything is “rain” like. Your thoughts?

I don’t have a lot of experience growing pumpkins actually, and am quoting what I have heard from others. But if you could set up a drip system, or a slow trickle from the hose, then you could avoid overhead watering. I figure if you get lots of options, then you can pick out the bits that suit you best. That’s what I do :)

bluegreen said:

painmaster said:

Hi Divine Angel,

Your pumikin looks healthy enough, but a little bit of well rotted down sheep manure will help it fight off the powdery mildew, and if you can, try to open up the garden to let a little more of the afternoon breeze in. A good airy patch will reduce the mildew. Oh and yes to the rest, including the full cream milk.

Bluegreen, how do you water your pumikin under it leaves, and not all over the top? I used to use Hessian sacks to slow water rates and watered by using furrows for tomatoes, but for pumikins, I just overhead and overhead and overhead until everything is “rain” like. Your thoughts?

I don’t have a lot of experience growing pumpkins actually, and am quoting what I have heard from others. But if you could set up a drip system, or a slow trickle from the hose, then you could avoid overhead watering. I figure if you get lots of options, then you can pick out the bits that suit you best. That’s what I do :)

Sweet

good looking pumpkin there d.angel and it is fruiting well so my bet is it will outrun the mildew.

i don’t bother fighting pumpkin diseases. usually my zuchinis, cueys and pumpkin will get the mildew and either outrun it or go under.

you can -
- plant a second melon well away from the first.
- use full cream milk if the problem is not too widespread (and yours looks minor)
- improve the ventilation of your site
- try extra fertilisation like seaweed to strengthen the plant

good luck and welcome

I“ve never worried too much about the powdery mildew, but as we all know I am a lazy gardener. The best bet is to get the vine growing where it will get plenty of breezes. I also overhead water, as in the pumpkin gets watered when the lawn sprinkler is going, but you could have a slow drip on the main plant overnight if water restrictions allow. This I would do once a week. Lovely looking fruit…

Sarah’s Mum used to swear by the milk spray…just saying…

Thanks everyone. The vine is already in full sun (although it’s a bit shady now due to the tomato plants around it) and it should get a good breeze there. Will continue with the milk spray and will get some full cream milk (I have limited supply because mashed potato just isn’t the same with skim milk…) Will also invest in some potash/potassium fertiliser.

Thanks :)

Divine Angel said:

Thanks everyone. The vine is already in full sun (although it’s a bit shady now due to the tomato plants around it) and it should get a good breeze there. Will continue with the milk spray and will get some full cream milk (I have limited supply because mashed potato just isn’t the same with skim milk…) Will also invest in some potash/potassium fertiliser.

Thanks :)

It is true about airflow and overhead watering.. The milk spray is used by farmers who grow cucurbits in trickle irrigation. So it is still about airflow despite being in full sun without tomatoes.

What I did.. I positioned a 5 litre water container with it’s little tap on drip at the base of the pumpkin and I filled it daily, except for big rain event days. Once a week/fortnight I mixed in some liquid manure and/or liquid potash and/or seasol.
I still had downy mildew happen because of many rainy days, but picked the worst leaves off.

“Without tomatoes” RoughBarked? Did I miss something?

Dinetta said:

“Without tomatoes” RoughBarked? Did I miss something?

From: Divine Angel
ID: 204173
Subject: re: Powdery Mildew

Thanks everyone. The vine is already in full sun (although it’s a bit shady now due to the tomato plants around it) and it should get a good breeze there. Will continue with the milk spray and will get some full cream milk (I have limited supply because mashed potato just isn’t the same with skim milk…) Will also invest in some potash/potassium fertiliser.

Thanks :)

>

get it now?

Yup :)

whilst i was planting out my toms i remembered how to water melons without getting the leaves wet.

back when i was 20 years old i researched how to plant melons by reading the back of the seed packet and it always said – “ dig a saucer-shaped depression and put 5 seeds around the edges”.
….which i duely did……. and which people always laughted at and said – “it (the saucer or mound as it was mysteriously called) is way too big!”

however, if you do plant your seed in a large (say 500mm circle) saucer-shaped depression, then watering is easy – just pour in a bucketful of water each week. it’s also a good idea to put a stake in the middle of the depression so, when the pumpkin starts to cover half your backyard, you still know where to pour the water.

justin said:

whilst i was planting out my toms i remembered how to water melons without getting the leaves wet.

back when i was 20 years old i researched how to plant melons by reading the back of the seed packet and it always said – “ dig a saucer-shaped depression and put 5 seeds around the edges”.
….which i duely did……. and which people always laughted at and said – “it (the saucer or mound as it was mysteriously called) is way too big!”

however, if you do plant your seed in a large (say 500mm circle) saucer-shaped depression, then watering is easy – just pour in a bucketful of water each week. it’s also a good idea to put a stake in the middle of the depression so, when the pumpkin starts to cover half your backyard, you still know where to pour the water.

I remember hearing that somewhere, now! A long time ago it was. Thanks for refreshing my memory :D

Egg-sellent tip, Justin!

Yes, jogged my memory too. I remembered my Pop making a special depressed bed for pumpkins, but using a tire. Then I remembered he used to make other raised beds for veges with logs, but they were underneath the bed. I used to get into trouble for climbing these piles of logs and whatever else he put in/on it. I just found out what that’s called. This is exactly what he did.
http://permaculturenews.org/2010/08/03/the-art-and-science-of-making-a-hugelkultur-bed-transforming-woody-debris-into-a-garden-resource/

Happy Potter said:

Yes, jogged my memory too. I remembered my Pop making a special depressed bed for pumpkins, but using a tire. Then I remembered he used to make other raised beds for veges with logs, but they were underneath the bed. I used to get into trouble for climbing these piles of logs and whatever else he put in/on it. I just found out what that’s called. This is exactly what he did.
http://permaculturenews.org/2010/08/03/the-art-and-science-of-making-a-hugelkultur-bed-transforming-woody-debris-into-a-garden-resource/

awesome! I might try that for my pumpkins. I have some woody material lying around…

I used to leave piles of prunings lying around and in time the soil underneath would become rich in biomatter.

bluegreen said:

Happy Potter said:

Yes, jogged my memory too. I remembered my Pop making a special depressed bed for pumpkins, but using a tire. Then I remembered he used to make other raised beds for veges with logs, but they were underneath the bed. I used to get into trouble for climbing these piles of logs and whatever else he put in/on it. I just found out what that’s called. This is exactly what he did.
http://permaculturenews.org/2010/08/03/the-art-and-science-of-making-a-hugelkultur-bed-transforming-woody-debris-into-a-garden-resource/

awesome! I might try that for my pumpkins. I have some woody material lying around…

I used to leave piles of prunings lying around and in time the soil underneath would become rich in biomatter.

I put everything back into the soil.

This sounds like a much more structured way of doing what I do anyway. When I prune, I generally just snip the prunings back onto the top of the bed the plants are in. It does, however, make a mess for the weeds to grow into, and the fumitory seems to rather like it as a place to thrive. Any larger bits go through the chipper and form the paths around my gardens.

roughbarked said:

I put everything back into the soil.

My chookens like to dig it up again, lol! Fortunately they make their own contributions…

Happy Potter said:

Yes, jogged my memory too. I remembered my Pop making a special depressed bed for pumpkins, but using a tire. Then I remembered he used to make other raised beds for veges with logs, but they were underneath the bed. I used to get into trouble for climbing these piles of logs and whatever else he put in/on it. I just found out what that’s called. This is exactly what he did.
http://permaculturenews.org/2010/08/03/the-art-and-science-of-making-a-hugelkultur-bed-transforming-woody-debris-into-a-garden-resource/

Could work for us. Heaven knows we get piles and piles of branches and twigs. Excessive amounts after storms like we had recently.

roughbarked said:

bluegreen said:

Happy Potter said:

Yes, jogged my memory too. I remembered my Pop making a special depressed bed for pumpkins, but using a tire. Then I remembered he used to make other raised beds for veges with logs, but they were underneath the bed. I used to get into trouble for climbing these piles of logs and whatever else he put in/on it. I just found out what that’s called. This is exactly what he did.
http://permaculturenews.org/2010/08/03/the-art-and-science-of-making-a-hugelkultur-bed-transforming-woody-debris-into-a-garden-resource/

awesome! I might try that for my pumpkins. I have some woody material lying around…

I used to leave piles of prunings lying around and in time the soil underneath would become rich in biomatter.

I put everything back into the soil.

That’s where we have been making a mistake. We just put old wood into piles. Now I can see that it should at least be burried. The piles of branches that we have are such an eyesore too.

justin said:

when the pumpkin starts to cover half your backyard, you still know where to pour the water.

sigh
Yes, that seems to already be a problem :) Apart from the fact I don’t eat pumpkin…

Bought some potash yesterday, will water it in today. No chookens though :(

Happy Potter said:

Yes, jogged my memory too. I remembered my Pop making a special depressed bed for pumpkins, but using a tire. Then I remembered he used to make other raised beds for veges with logs, but they were underneath the bed. I used to get into trouble for climbing these piles of logs and whatever else he put in/on it. I just found out what that’s called. This is exactly what he did.
http://permaculturenews.org/2010/08/03/the-art-and-science-of-making-a-hugelkultur-bed-transforming-woody-debris-into-a-garden-resource/

interesting but still needs manure and soil. i am looking around my place for a zuchinni planting spot. the limitation is availability of watering really.

buffy said:

This sounds like a much more structured way of doing what I do anyway. When I prune, I generally just snip the prunings back onto the top of the bed the plants are in. It does, however, make a mess for the weeds to grow into, and the fumitory seems to rather like it as a place to thrive. Any larger bits go through the chipper and form the paths around my gardens.

yeah it would be hard to weed a nest of sticks. we do bonfire a couple of big piles of sticks per year tho’.

Divine Angel said:

justin said:

when the pumpkin starts to cover half your backyard, you still know where to pour the water.

sigh
Yes, that seems to already be a problem :) Apart from the fact I don’t eat pumpkin…

Bought some potash yesterday, will water it in today. No chookens though :(

enjoy the success while you have it – pumpkins are usually good one year and notsogood the next.
surely you eat pumpkin soup or pumpkin scones?

No, I don’t like pumpkin soup or pumpkin scones.

Sad news: it looks like something has attacked the roots as they are now exposed. We did get some rain over the long weekend but not heavy as to wash away surrounding dirt. In any case, we also lost the fruit- it had broken off the vine and started to rot :( Perhaps I will have more luck with the other fruit on a different vine.

Divine Angel said:

No, I don’t like pumpkin soup or pumpkin scones.

Sad news: it looks like something has attacked the roots as they are now exposed. We did get some rain over the long weekend but not heavy as to wash away surrounding dirt. In any case, we also lost the fruit- it had broken off the vine and started to rot :( Perhaps I will have more luck with the other fruit on a different vine.

the rotting fruit is likely from two causes. No pollination or temperature/drainage problems.

The uncovered roots can be recovered. A pumpkin always takes up valuable space for low yields but if given its own space may give high yields.

If one isn’t fond of pumpkin, there is no real need to sacrifice garden space for them.

It was definitely pollinated. I did it myself (well, with the help of a male flower) and the fruit was as big as my fist. I’ll probably end up ripping that vine out anyway and concentrating on the other ones that aren’t in the way.

Just because I don’t like pumpkin doesn’t mean Mr Mutant doesn’t.

Divine Angel said:

It was definitely pollinated. I did it myself (well, with the help of a male flower) and the fruit was as big as my fist. I’ll probably end up ripping that vine out anyway and concentrating on the other ones that aren’t in the way.

Just because I don’t like pumpkin doesn’t mean Mr Mutant doesn’t.

They always make good compost. ;)

Divine Angel said:

It was definitely pollinated. I did it myself (well, with the help of a male flower) and the fruit was as big as my fist. I’ll probably end up ripping that vine out anyway and concentrating on the other ones that aren’t in the way.

Just because I don’t like pumpkin doesn’t mean Mr Mutant doesn’t.

LOL!!

Divine Angel said:

It was definitely pollinated. I did it myself (well, with the help of a male flower) and the fruit was as big as my fist. I’ll probably end up ripping that vine out anyway and concentrating on the other ones that aren’t in the way.

Just because I don’t like pumpkin doesn’t mean Mr Mutant doesn’t.

Mr Mutant! lol!

Divine Angel said:

No, I don’t like pumpkin soup or pumpkin scones.

Sad news: it looks like something has attacked the roots as they are now exposed. We did get some rain over the long weekend but not heavy as to wash away surrounding dirt. In any case, we also lost the fruit- it had broken off the vine and started to rot :( Perhaps I will have more luck with the other fruit on a different vine.

rabbits?
they have tried to ringbark one of my banksia trees and my new little walnut tree – and they love digging…