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Homemade fungicide

AdRockAdRock Posts: 241
in Problem solving
I’ve found a recipe for homemade fungicide which can be used on fruit and veg:

for 500ml water
use 4 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon organic vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon of eco washing up liquid

I wondered if anyone else uses a similar recipe, what the success is and if there’s any issue with the sodium causing leaf burning?


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  • AdRockAdRock Posts: 241
    pansyface said:
    It sounds like a recipe for disaster. All that oil bunging up the stomata on the leaves, all that detergent removing their natural waterproofing, and heaven knows what the effect of the soda bicarb would be. 
    Thanks for the reply, any ideas what I can use as an alternative? Really not keen on using any shop bought chemicals on fruit and veg 
  • TackTack Posts: 1,367
    Don't laugh but give milk a try and report back. It would certainly be easy to do. There are several articles if you search Milk for mildew. https://www.growingagreenerworld.com/controlling-or-eliminating-powdery-mildew/

  • AdRockAdRock Posts: 241
    Not mildew, mainly brown spot on the apple leaves. Black spot (i think, and hope it’s not blight) on the tomatoes which are outside.

    Ventilation doesn’t seem to be a problem, I’m blaming it on the wet start to the summer and maybe putting things out too soon! 

    I’ve got some seaweed feed which I was going to use as a foliar feed but didn’t really think that would help with any fungal problems.

    Would milk work with brown spot or just mildew?! 
  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    Horrible though it was and still is gardeners in large estates would put their cig butts into  one of the water butts. Over many months this would produce an insecticide that they then used to spray over the plants in the large greenhouses.
    Hopefully we have moved away from such chemicals.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited July 2021
    Indeed @bertrand-mabel … such practices may also have spread tobacco mosaic virus around our gardens as there is research revealing that it can remain viable in air-dried tobacco 🙄 
      

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    bertrand-mabel said:
    Horrible though it was and still is gardeners in large estates would put their cig butts into  one of the water butts. Over many months this would produce an insecticide that they then used to spray over the plants in the large greenhouses.
    Hopefully we have moved away from such chemicals.
    and yet people still smoke... :D

    I think if you put some photos of your tomatoes and apples on the thread, you'll get advice about the damage. It sounds like a cultivation problem more than anything, and certainly putting toms out too early and having them exposed to poor conditions won't have helped them. Apples are slightly different and will possibly be fine, but a few photos will get you some advice.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • AdRockAdRock Posts: 241
    Thank you fairy girl.

    Here are the tomatoes, they are Alicante which I was told should be blight tolerant:



    And the apple tree:


    Sorry, not sure why my pics are coming out on the side!


  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It does look like blight on the toms unfortunately. The black patches on the stems is an indicator.
    I can't advise on the apples as I no longer grow them ,but someone else can advise hopefully. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I think it’s all because of the weather. My outdoor tomatoes in SW France have all got blight and so have my son’s, because of the cold nights and the rain.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    That's why we can't grow toms outdoors here @Busy-Lizzie. That's the sort of weather we regularly have through summer. It doesn't mean we don't have spells of hot, sunny weather [we have this past week] but it's the inconsistency that's the problem, and then the autumnal temps from mid August. No use for them. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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