I’ve been noticing spots forming on the squash plants. At first I ignored it, thinking it was just one leaf with funny looking white spots, but after it spread to a couple of the squash I decided to go into Plant Protector mode. Plant Protector to the rescue! The spots, I was informed via the worldwide web, are powdery mildew, a mildew that affects many squash plants if they are planted late in the growing season. Well given that we planted the squash super late in the season, I’d say it makes sense that the squash is being attacked by this mildew. Luckily it is not harmful to the fruit/vegetable of the plant, but it can become harmful if it kills all the leaves on the plant! No leaves=no photosynthesis=no food for plant=DEATH. And with death there will obviously be no vegetables.

No vegetables!? Faced with this dreary prospect I have completely thrown myself into the world of organic farming. Battling the powdery mildew organically is the only choice since I don’t want to spray nasty chemicals on the things that I will be eating. After searching through farming advice websites, I found a solution! Apparently the experiment was first completed in South America, and it was proven that spraying a milk/water solution on the affected plants will generally get rid of 90% of the problem. Not a fix-all solution, but when is something EVER a fix-all?

So today I tried the milk/water treatment. I found a spray bottle, filled it with 3/4 water, 1/4 milk and sprayed it on the leaves and stems of all the squash and pumpkin plants. I will repeat this in a couple of days–they say 2 treatments weekly should do the trick! This treatment was super easy to do. Now the only thing to do is wait. AND to take a shower because my hands and arms smell like warm milk. Ewwww!

Our community garden is funded in part through material donations and a collaborative grant awarded by The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo