Jozikins
Well-Known Member
What I'm currently using: "Mildew Cure" by SaferGrothank you for the informative post, woodsman, we strive to keep our rh in the 60s this time of year, we're finally going through the big season change, yaaaay! pretty much between winter turning into summer, which usually doesn't take as long as it has this year, growers and farmers of all things are martyrs to pm and botrytis. (my personal theory is that our proximity to the okanagan valley <- wine country doesn't help with the spore problem, not to mention the sea of singlecrop fields we're surrounded by. superbugs and all that.)
i'm hoping to become better versed in rh/vpd; my gardening hobby has just taken a turn towards succulents and you know how they are about rh.
so here's the million dollar question: what do you do when milk doesn't work?? (been using it since i got the tip about it in 99/00ish, but this year's pm has been different, it's like the fucking hydra, just sucks it back and comes back worse... never seen anything like it, milk hasn't ever failed me before.... )
What I've used: "Serenade" by Agra Quest
What my boss uses: "Green Cure" which is self produced
What I really should be using: Ozone generator
Mildew Cure works great, but on extreme cases, like my lousy inbred Strawberry Cough, you may need to apply 2 days in a row on sites that are harshly effected. Milk never really worked for me, it made my mildew spots fade, but never disappear. Mildew Cure smells like rotting pasta sauce, and it is unpleasant and oily. But it does work really good and you can use it a day before harvest. It says the same day is possible but I've gotten a very faint smell of it once in my jar when I did that, so I do not anymore, but I have done it withing 18 hours of harvest without issues. Saved me at least 5 grand already in rot. I am 5800ft up, so I live in the clouds. It is almost impossible to pull a full crop here without PM coming through the garden at the worst time.
Serenade is great, but it smells like bad feet. It works really well but it doesn't give me the concentration I need. I like being able to fill my hudson sprayer up and have a supply for 2-3 weeks. I know they make a concentrate of Serenade, but I never gave it a shot because it relies on bacteria to kill the fungus, but I don't know if all my Serenade bacteria would die in my hudson sprayer before I use it all. So I just stopped using it. Might pick it up again to switch it up between Mildew Cure treatments.
Green Cure works fantastic! But don't breath it in! I don't know what's in it, but it is poisonous as hell to get a whiff of the powdery dust. Apparently it is safe for food crops, I don't know if you can use it on the day of harvest, haven't ever needed to yet, not in his garden at least. He lives in the dessert so PM isn't a huge deal out there with all the heat. But it is cheap, concentrated, and gets the job done, fresh clones like it just as much as fruiting adults. It's also a mom-and-pop product, so more reason to support them.
Ozone Generator was already explained by woodsman, and that is the best advise. It would save me a lot of money in product if I just bought one already, which is why I have a little stash I am stuffing with cash at the moment. This is by far the most effective way to control disease in the garden and prevent other farmer's pollen out of your garden. This is probably the best route, as far as I understand.
And fuck sulfur. Sulfur is fucking nasty and acidic, and nobody wants to try and relax and grow in a room with a film of sulfur over it. So forget that stuff. I don't suggest using a sulfur vaporizer unless it is an emergency!
I used to grow on the other side of the Temecula Valley wine country, luckily we had a off-shore breeze coming in from San Diego all the time and kept all the PM against the mountain side where all the Native American's lived. Lol. "Noble Rot" lolololol, couldn't twist my arm far enough to get me to drink anything made with that.