Downey Mildew

[AlchemillaParticipant]

I just read your update and our cucumbers and melons are having trouble too! I discovered this morning that the cucumbers show signs of downy mildew 🙁 always upsets me more then it should.

Do you know if we can do anything to keep it from killing the plants? Only half of them are affected so far, should i be radical and take them out?

The melons have something too some yellow brown spots. One plant has it bad the others are a little better.

I will go now and collect some horsetail to spray with. I read the silicea strengthens the leaves and can halt fungal infections…. (for the cucumbers) the melons i cant help i don’t know whats going on there.

[charlesModerator]

Hello Alchemilla, thanks for your post and I am sorry to hear about your melons.
If some older leaves survive they may give good fruit.
Downy mildew on cucumbers, squash etc is normal in late summer, but may be reduced by watering plants more. It should not kill your plants because they still have healthy new leaves. Its a ‘one leaf at a time’ infection, not in the plant sap and not at all like, say, potato blight

[RandAParticipant]

Hi Charles
I h ve had the same problem on my cucumbers and thought it might be magnesium so I dowsed with Epsom salts twice and it did not work, so a mentor said he thought it was red spider mites and when I looked real close at the leaves I did see tiny webs so I have spent money on the predators and hope that works so they don’t over winter! it is a shame as I have lost 2 cucumber plants and the melon looks unwell. I spoke to Mike at Defenders of wyebugs he was really helpful. I hope you can sort it out. Ali

[charlesModerator]

Thanks for this.
I know red spider symptoms very well, had them before so this year I purchased predator – not cheap around £20 – and there is no red spider.
I am still unsure what it is but plants in the greenhouse are v healthy, same soil.

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