Courgettes with powdery mildew - chop or keep?

[TheSpectacledBear]

Hi,

My courgette plant, which is HUGE and seems to be doing well (though I only have one potential courgette at the mo), has mildew. I had to go away for a couple of days and when I came back a couple of the leaves have gone from white to grey.

I've read conflicting advice about this - it's in a container and I don't want to use chemicals. Some people seem to just ignore it, some people spray with diluted milk, some people chop the leaves off...

What should I do? This is my first year of growing, so I'm prepared to make mistakes and learn from them, but I'd like to get some homegrown courgettes off this plant, and I don't know if the mildew will be a problem to the fruit.

All advice gratefully received!

Bear

[valmarg]

We ignore it. We don't spray anything we eat with pesticides or fungicides, so we grin and bear it. In fact, I think you would be extremely lucky not to get mildew on courgettes and cucumbers (the only cucurbits we grow. Marrows, squash and pumpkin are all the same family, but we've not got room for them).

From personal experience the mildew doesn't affect the flavour of the fruits.

As the leaves get older, by all means cut them off, but don't denude the plant of leaves. They are necessary for food (photosynthesis).

valmarg

[zazen999]

If i got rid of every courgette that I grew with mildewy leaves I'd have no courgette plants.

I just keep it trimmed back to the healthy leaves; but later in the season I really don't even have time to do that - so they get chopped when they are trying to push any other crop over.

[TheSpectacledBear]

Thank you for your speedy responses! I have lots of healthy leaves and some new ones coming, so if I do chop off the mildewy leaves, should I do it just behind the leaf, or down near the base, near the main stem of the plant?

Bear

[Florence Fennel]

There's another thread about this TSB and it is recommending spraying the PM with WUL (diluted of course), so you could try that, but the PM really doesn't affect the crop.

[Paulottie]

Got to disagree there...does certainly effect the productivity of the plants but not the quality of the fruit. Generally it is caused by periods of drought and regular watering at those times helps.

The trick with courgettes is to plant one a month from April till July so that as one gets it the next one is coming on. Not so easy with winter squash so hopefully the crop will have set and be well underway before it gets bad.

[Florence Fennel]

I suppose I hadn't noticed the effect on the productivity Paul as it has always been towards the end of the season when PM has struck and I've already had loads of courgettes. I consider that lucky and hope it happens that way this year!

[Paulottie]

Yes Florence, I think we have all had enough of courgettes by the end of the season!! Again that is why I grow fewer plants over a longer period.

[Florence Fennel]

Thought I'd grow some yellow this year for a change and they are all yellow. I know I put all green bush in again so they must have been the two in the wheelbarrow that was stolen. I managed to rescue them from the compost that had been tipped out and I re-planted in garden soil with the added compost. Although I gave them lots of tlc, they look as if they're not going to make it. Where the other green ones have disappeared to I just don't know!