How To Get Rid Of Powdery Mildew

Your plants suffer from powdery mildew?

Make sure to check out this article since I will show you several easy but yet efficient ways to get rid of powdery mildew in your garden or on your balcony.

Powdery Mildew Overview

Short description	Powdery mildew is a fungus and got its name from the white powder you will often find on contaminated plants.
Scientific name	Phyllactina.
Lifespan	Around three years if not treated.
What plants are vulnerable?	Cucumbers, melons, squash, eggplants, peppers, tomatoes.
Symptoms	White powder or spots on the leaves of your plants.
Distribution	Worldwide, especially common in areas with cool and wet climates.
Potential damage	Powdery mildew can inhibit the growth of your plants and serious contamination may even lead to the decay of your plants.
Control options	Chemical, biological and cultural.
Treatment difficulty	Easy – Intermediate.

How to prevent & treat Powdery Mildew

1. Choose an optimal site for your plants

One of the easiest and yet most efficient ways to keep away powdery mildew is simply to provide optimal growing conditions for your plants.

Hence, make sure that you give your plants enough space so that they don’t have to compete for sunlight or nutrients with each other and can get resistant to plant diseases and pests.

2. Fertilize your plants well

You should also make sure to fertilize your plants well so that they have enough power to become resistant to powdery mildew and other plant diseases.

Consequently, make sure to use a high-quality soil mix and to add some natural fertilizer whenever needed so that your plants have the best preconditions to get strong and invulnerable to powdery mildew fast.

3. Avoid waterlogging

If your plants suffer from powdery mildew, you should also have a look at your growing setup and make sure that water can run off properly.

In fact, powdery mildew often occurs on plants that are not cultivated well and where the roots will have to deal with waterlogged soil on a continuous basis.

In turn, the roots of your plants may start to rot and this will make your plants also more vulnerable to powdery mildew and some other plant diseases.

Hence make sure that you set up your growing sites properly to avoid any issues in this regard.

4. Make sure to adjust your watering behavior

Many people also make the mistake of watering their plants too often.

While your plants will need a certain amount of water to grow well, many people do more harm than good by watering their plants on a daily basis.

In turn, while you may think that you do good for your plants, you will actually increase the likelihood of powdery mildew forming on the leaves of your plants.

Therefore, if you spot powdery mildew on your plants, also try to alter your watering schedule.

5. Make sure that air can circulate well

Powdery mildew is also often a problem if you grow plants indoors and air is not able to circulate well.

In fact, this is a perfect environment for powdery mildew or other fungus plant diseases.

Consequently, make sure that the air can circulate well in your home by opening your windows or also by installing some fans to decrease the risk of powdery mildew infestation.

6. Avoid growing plants in too shady environments

Growing plants in complete shade is also another reason why those plants develop powdery mildew.

In fact, not only will you be able to better control powdery mildew, but also your plants will grow better with at least a few hours of sunlight per day on average.

Hence, instead of growing your plants in completely shady environments, make sure that they get some sun and you will be surprised how well this will work against powdery mildew and other plant diseases.

7. Make sure to alter the acidity level of the soil

Also the acidity level of the soil plays a crucial role when it comes to getting rid of powdery mildew.

In fact, if you don’t make sure that your plants get optimal soil conditions, they will often grow in a suboptimal manner and will also be more vulnerable to diseases.

Hence, make sure to adjust the soil pH for every plant so that you can provide optimal growing conditions and the risk of plant diseases will be lowered.

8. Remove contaminated plant material

One simple but yet important measure to get relief for plants that suffer from powdery mildew is just to get rid of the contaminated plant material.

Not only can you make sure that powdery mildew will not spread to healthy leaves of your plant, but you can also protect other plants that are closely located to the infected plant and can avoid that powdery mildew spreads in your whole garden.

9. Use baking soda to get rid of powdery mildew

Baking soda is not well-known but can still help to treat powdery mildew since fungus doesn’t like baking soda at all.

Hence, just spray a solution of baking soda and water onto the leaves of your plants and you will be surprised how well this simple measure works.

10. Milk may do the job as well

Some gardeners also claim that milk can be a secret but yet effective measure to get rid of powdery mildew.

While I personally haven’t been able to get rid of plant diseases like powdery mildew with milk, it may still work for you and you should therefore just give it a try.

After all, what do you have to lose?! 😉

11. Potassium also works well to treat powdery mildew

Potassium bicarbonate is another cheap but yet efficient substance to get rid of plant diseases.

You can just order it online and it will be delivered to your place in no time.

12. Vinegar is well-known to help treating fungus plant diseases

Vinegar is a popular measure to get rid of fungus plant diseases.

Hence, it is perfect to control powdery mildew and other fungus-based diseases in your garden.

13. Neem oil as an all-round measure to get rid of pests and diseases

Neem oil is not only great to treat powdery mildew, but it can also help you deter many garden pests.

Thus, make sure to always have need oil available for your gardening projects since it can help you in various different ways.

14. Chemical fungicides as a measure of last resort

If nothing else helps, you may also want to use chemical fungicides to get rid of powdery mildew.

However, please note that using those substances is not only pretty bad for our environment, but it will also make your growing project less organic and may also harm your plants.

Hence, only rely on chemical fungicides if nothing else helps against powdery mildew.

What’s left to say?

Now that you got all the information you need to get rid of powdery mildew, also make sure to check out my grower’s guides and my companion plant articles to expand your gardening know-how even further.

About the Author

My name is Andreas and I’m really passionate about our environment and also about growing plants. In fact, I have grown several different plants over many years. I love to see my plants grow and also always try new things to improve my overall conditions at home.

In my blog posts, I want to share my experiences with you so that you can become successful in growing various different plants and improving your home as well, even though you might still be a beginner right now.