Mildew on courgettes

My courgette leaves have powdery grey spots on them which I assume are mildew. They have had a small amount of this for a while, without it seeming to affect the plant however this week it has realy increased (probably due to all the rain)

My plants are fruiting well and I don't want to lose them, My strategy at the moment is just removing the worst affected leaves. Is there anything wlse I can do? I assume fungicides are out as it is an edible crop.

Many thanks EGW x

 

Sounds like powdery mildew EGW, it's just starting on mine too, you could try googling 'baking powder cure for mildew', I'm not sure how effective it is. The normal treatment is Bordeaux Mixture, a copper based fungicide which is considered an organic solution but as you say it may not be a good idea to use with edible plants even on just the leaves.

 

Thanks T Digger! I did a bit of googling and I found articles which said spray a milk solution - sounds weird has anyone done this? I have some murphy's copper fungicide - maybe I could try this? Does anyone know?

 

Ellie, you could try Systhane or Diathane945. Check the instructions first, though.

 

EGW I read about using skimmed milk in another forum but was reluctant to mention it as I was not sure if it was a genuine cure, it actually said that it was more effective than baking powder, I'll do some googling on that as well. I'll see if I can get more info on daitheplant's suggestion too, he seems to be well clued up on most gardening subjects, the mildew does not prevent cropping earlier but it does get worse if not treated, good luck.

 

Just found this web site.

http://www.gardenguides.com/pests/tips/powderymildew2.asp


I'm going to try a bit of milk I think,It seems to work according to them.

 

i got mildew too i think had it a while now removed a few leaves, but its still going well loads of fruit.

 

If you get it on the fruit, don`t worry, it will wash off.:thumb:

 

Thanks to vegmandan for that link and to daitheplant for the commercial products, at least the diathane info does specify edible plants, I'll give the milk treatment a go first, then if I need to I'll try some diathane. Cheers , Digger.

 

Thanks everyone for your advice. I am going on holiday for a week in a couple of days and don't have time to buy any products but I'll try a milk solution tonight. We should report back our results!