High humidity and elevated air temperatures are favorable conditions for the appearance of powdery mildew on plants in the garden. You can recognize it by a white coating with drops of liquid on the leaves and shoots. If left untreated, fungi infect the entire plant, which eventually dies, the fruits crack and rot. We invite you to familiarize yourself with an excellent folk remedy for this dangerous disease. A solution of baking soda or soda ash will help get rid of powdery mildew on gooseberries, currants, roses, cucumbers, zucchini, phlox, grapes, apple trees and other plants in the garden.
Why use soda against powdery mildew on gooseberries
Gooseberries are the berry most susceptible to powdery mildew. There are many ways to get rid of the disease, but before buying expensive and harmful chemicals, we advise you to try a time-tested, inexpensive and accessible remedy prepared at home.
Ordinary baking soda, which is found in every home, will help cope with this fungal disease. Another advantage of the folk remedy is the possibility of using it in the summer, when the berries are already ripe, while the use of chemicals can destroy the crop and harm the human body.
The principle of operation of the product
Baking soda is the simplest soft alkali, and such an environment is destructive for powdery mildew pathogens. Soda is a universal, natural and inexpensive means of combating many plant diseases, available to everyone.
Important! To preserve the healing effect of soda, do not use metal or contaminated containers, and do not heat above +55°C. The solution is used within 3 hours after preparation, otherwise the beneficial effect will decrease. A sprayer with a sprayer may be needed for treatment.
Deoxidizing the soil with soda
Sodium bicarbonate copes well with soil deoxidation, so it will be useful in areas with acidic soil.
Regular application of powder to the soil will, over time, reduce the pH level, making it closer to neutral. And most plants love this kind of soil, so when planting flowers it is recommended to add a little dry powder to each hole. This will not only normalize the soil acidity level, but will also protect the plant from root rot.
Recommended for you:
How and why to use soda for cucumbers
What soda to use
For powdery mildew, use both baking (kitchen) and soda ash (household) soda. The latter is 2 times stronger than food.
Food
Sodium bicarbonate (the scientific name for baking soda) is an alkali that has virtually no effect on plant tissue and does not injure them.
The simplest remedy against powdery mildew is a soda solution. Experienced gardeners get rid of white plaque in 2-3 treatments.
Calcified
Soda ash began to be calcined back in the 19th century. The result was a substance that was not suitable for human consumption, but was widely used in households.
Solutions with soda ash can be used to treat bushes before flowering.
Application for roses
Baking soda and soda ash are used to care for the garden. With the help of the first, they successfully fight against any type of fungus and provide protection against pests. Calcined is used in the fight against weeds.
Every gardener at least once encounters diseases of roses: aphids and powdery mildew.
Sodium bicarbonate is one of the old and proven remedies for these diseases. The advantages of alkaline treatment are the quick results, and especially important - the benefits for flowers. Spraying with such solutions provides flowers with reliable protection from diseases, fungi and pests.
What else will spraying be useful for:
- Normalize the acidity of the plant leaves;
- Prevents the development of spores.
How to prepare the product
Experienced gardeners maintain the following proportions:
- Take 4 liters of water, dissolve 1 tbsp. l. table soda and 1 tsp. liquid soap. The bushes are treated 2-3 times in 7-8 days.
- For 5 liters of water take 25 g of soda ash and 5 g of soap. It is recommended to treat bushes with a cold solution 3 times every 10 days.
Adding soap or other detergent is necessary so that the solution does not flow off the leaves and branches like rainwater, but sticks to the shoots for a stronger and longer-lasting effect.
Recipes
To combat powdery mildew, there are many soda-based recipes.
Baking soda + soap
You need to take:
- baking soda – 4 tbsp. l.;
- liquid soap – 2 tbsp. l.;
- water – 10 l.
Soda and soap are dissolved in water. Gooseberries are treated with this solution every 5-7 days. This composition is suitable for the prevention of diseases of all garden and vegetable crops.
Soda + aspirin
Ingredients:
- baking soda – 1 tbsp. l.;
- aspirin – 1 tablet;
- any detergent - 1 tsp;
- vegetable oil – 1 tbsp. l.;
- water – 5 l.
All ingredients are thoroughly mixed. The solution is applied to the affected plants once every 2 weeks throughout the season.
Soda + iodine
There is another good composition for getting rid of not only ash (powdery mildew), but also aphids.
To prepare it take:
- soda – 2 tbsp. l.;
- iodine – 10 ml;
- liquid soap or other detergent - 2 tbsp. l.;
- water – 10 l.
All ingredients are mixed and diluted with water. The bushes are treated with a freshly prepared solution.
Soda ash + soap
Compound:
- 50 g soda ash;
- 10 liters of water;
- 10 ml liquid detergent.
Soda must be poured into 1 tbsp. boiling water, dilute to obtain a volume of 10 liters. Pour 10 ml of liquid soap into it. The bushes are treated 2 times - before and after flowering.
Important! Although baking soda is considered safe for plants, overdosing should be avoided. Too much can slow down the development of greenery.
Weed control
Small weeds spoil all the beauty of flowers growing in the garden. To get rid of weeds, you need to prepare a strong composition from calcined powder: dilute 3 tbsp. spoons per 1 liter. water. It is recommended to water weeds with this solution.
Do the procedure carefully, making sure that the liquid does not get on nearby flowers. Repeat treatment with sodium bicarbonate after 4 weeks.
How to properly process gooseberries
Processing rules:
- Infected leaves and peduncles (yellow and lacking turgor) are picked off.
- Having discovered powdery mildew on the bushes during the flowering period, you need to cut off the crown and clean the bush from diseased areas. It is necessary to remove infected branches and leaves as much as possible so that the disease does not spread to the rest of the bush. This increases the chances of recovery.
- The top areas of soil from under the gooseberries are removed from the garden plot to avoid re-infection.
- Then the plant is sprayed with soda solution. The bushes are treated for the first time in early spring - before sap flows and buds open. This is done again at the beginning of flowering. Plants are treated in dry, windless weather. First you need to spray the top of the gooseberry bush, then the sides and bottom. It is necessary that the solution gets on all shoots and foliage. You can pour the medicinal solution into a large basin and immerse the branches of the plant there.
- They also water the ground under the bushes to destroy any remaining spores after replacing the top layer of soil.
When soda powder interacts with metal or plastic, harmful chemical reactions sometimes occur, so it is recommended to use only glass or enamel-coated containers to prepare the solution.
A few words about prevention
In conclusion, I would like to say that powdery mildew, like other fungal diseases, loves moisture, thickened plantings and soils poor in organic matter.
Therefore, for the purpose of prevention, we regularly cut out old, poorly fruiting branches so that air can freely penetrate inside the bush. And, of course, we heal the soil and enrich it with organic matter. Instead of digging under the bushes, pulling out all the weeds and removing the litter (what if there is a fungus lurking there?), it is better, on the contrary, to put straw, mown grass, and tops under the gooseberries (the tops of nightshades are especially good: potatoes and tomatoes). From time to time it would be good to pour all this on top with a solution of EM preparations or compost tea or herbal infusion. Beneficial microorganisms will quickly get down to business and “chew” organic residues along with pathogenic fungi.
We wish you success and great harvests!
Preventive measures
Preventive measures will prevent the development of the disease:
- Shrubs are planted at a distance of 1.5 m in well-lit areas, since the fungus does not tolerate sunlight and heat.
- Gooseberries are systematically thinned out, injured, dried out and diseased branches are regularly cut off.
- Fallen leaves are removed to prevent the spread of fungal diseases.
- Plants are treated with soda solution (2 tablespoons per 8-10 liters of water).
- They loosen the soil next to the bushes, trim the branches or lift them using various devices so that they do not come into contact with the ground.
- It is undesirable to use manure as a fertilizer due to the risk of containing fungal spores.
- Use mineral fertilizers with a minimum nitrogen content. The trace element makes gooseberries more susceptible to fungal diseases.
At the first visible signs of disease, diseased branches and leaves should be removed. This prevents the development of a fungal infection and infection of other plantings. Removed branches are burned, while observing fire safety measures.
The harm of soda in the garden
There may be an opinion that soda is unusually good for the garden, but many homeowners warn against using this powder. Their arguments are very reasonable.
Since soda is sodium, an element that is conditionally necessary for plants (to a greater extent - spinach and tomatoes, to a lesser extent - legumes), its excess can lead to disastrous consequences, including the death of green pets.
Another disastrous result of using soda is soil salinization, which is called soda or carbonate salinization. As a result of such salinization, the soil ceases to be fertile (the structure is damaged, useful substances are washed out), therefore the yield is significantly reduced (from 25% in slightly saline soils to 75% in highly saline soils).
As you can see, the consequences of uncontrolled use of soda can be catastrophic. *** So is it worth using baking soda in the garden? Perhaps every summer resident will find the answer to this question himself through research. However, we can say for sure that you should not thoughtlessly scatter the powder all over the area.
Before using baking soda in the garden, remember the main safety rule. Do not cover all your land or plants with it at once. First, try the product on a small piece of land or a separate green pet. Watch what reaction follows. If the result satisfies you, continue. As with other gardening experiments, the key with soda is moderation and common sense.
Tell us in the comments if you used baking soda in the garden, and what was the result?
How does food work?
Baking soda is used to treat currant bushes and the benefits are obvious:
- Fruiting of plants is prolonged;
- The solution has disinfecting properties, which prevents the occurrence of diseases characteristic of currants. And this is rot, powdery mildew and so on. The alkaline environment prevents the appearance of pathogenic fungi;
- A bush treated with soda repels various pests, and they do not settle on it. This applies to aphids, bud mites, weevils;
- The use of soda increases the yield of shrubs by 20–30%;
- Processing increases disease resistance.
Find out about planting and caring for Aflaut onions at this link.
When a soda solution gets on the body of garden pests, it causes irritation of their top cover. If you add soap to it, preferably tar soap, it increases the duration of the resulting chemical, and in addition, it interferes with the migration of pests to neighboring bushes.
