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Tomato blight can ruin months of effort in your vegetable garden. Fortunately, there are effective in-house solutions to combat this scourge. This is a simple and accessible method for all gardeners to combat tomato mildew.
Understanding common tomato diseases
Before you can fight mildew, it is essential to know what you are dealing with. Many people confuse mildew with other tomato diseases such as cladosporiosis, mosaic, botrytis (grey mousiger), or verticillium. These diseases often manifest as yellow, grey, brown or brown spots on the leaves.
Mildride, on the other hand, is characterised by brown spots and develops rapidly when the temperature reaches 20oC and the humidity of the air exceeds 70%. Mildew is a fungus and is propagated by spores carried by wind or manual contact. If nothing is done, mildew can destroy your plants in a few days.
Preventing and treating mildew without chemicals
The traditional method for treating mildew is the Bordeaux mixture, a fungicide used for prevention or treatment. However, this product can pollute the soil and is not always effective in saving infested plants. For a more environmentally friendly garden, alternative methods can be adopted.
1. Remove infected leaves
As soon as the first blemishes appear, remove the infected leaves to limit the spread of mildew. If the problem persists, it is essential to treat plants with a natural solution.
2. Using a home-made anti-mildou
Ingredients:
1 litre of water
3 teaspoons of sodium bicarbonate
1 tablespoon of black soap
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