Powdery Mildew on Spinach

Community Community Garden Problems Disease Powdery Mildew on Spinach

This topic contains 6 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by  Suaz 10 years, 10 months ago.

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  • #21644

    Suaz
    Member

    My March and April module-sown spinach (a mix of Medania, Toscane, Galaxy) has been a runaway success producing some of the most sensational, succulent leaves I’ve ever tasted. In the last two days, it has surprised me by growning really rapidly but yesterday as I was harvesting some of the larger outer leaves I noticed the beginnings of powdery mildew on the plants’ inner baby leaves. Are there any treatments I could try to prolong the life of my spinach and prevent the nearby lettuces and peas from being infected? Or do I have to pull the plants out and compost them? And if so, what could I grow in their place that would not be susceptible to the disease? I’ve read about gardeners using homemade sprays of milk, potassium bicarbonate and neem oil in various combinations. Have you tried any of these treatments and if so have they been effective for you? I’m just gutted that this has happened to the spinach as it has been by far my most successful. Interestingly, the lettuces growing on the same bed, although healthy-looking, have been really slow to get going and I haven’t harvested any leaves yet from March sowings indoors!

    #24063

    charles
    Moderator

     sounds interesting but…. are you talking about indoor grown spinach lettuce etc, in tunnel?

    #24064

    davidk
    Participant

    Yes Steamed with every meal. Yes my great success too.
    No mildew here but I did plant it last Autumn, very casually, & now I’m digging it up & giving it more space. Should I have cut most of the leaves off?!

    #24065

    charles
    Moderator

     Autumn sown spinach is moving to flowering mode now so I would soon be harvesting all remaining leaves and then pull out the plants, once they make a stem. You did well to bring it through winter because once you achieve that, it is so productive in spring, and delicious indeed!

    I eat a lot raw and in smoothies, so many possibilities with good spinach.

    #24066

    Suaz
    Member

    Sorry, no, I’m talking about spinach and lettuce growing on an allotment bed outside. The spinach were sown 3 seeds to a module in early March and planted out in April. They are now grown to the point where the outer leaves are nearly touching. The lettuces are much smaller but they seem to be going through a growth spurt in the last few days. I checked the lettuces today and thankfully they seem unaffected by the mildew. Phew! I think I might try the chamomile and milk spray suggested by James Wong in Homegrown Revolution. However, I read elsewhere that this works best in full sun and there are showers forecast for tomorrow.

    #24067

    charles
    Moderator

     Sometimes powdery mildew is a result of dry soil, when plants are otherwise healthy and growing well eg on cucumber, lambs lettuce and I suspect your fast growing spinach may be suffereing from the lack oif recent rain. 

    It is not infectious. Repeat not. Your slower growing lettuce do not have it.

    I would not spray, but enjoy the rain, even add some water from a can. Spinach is mostly water.

    #24068

    Suaz
    Member

    Thanks for this Charles. It’s reassuring to know it’s not infectious. I did water them a lot in the early stages but then they took off and I lapsed thinking they were growing well enough of their own accord. Big mistake! I know my soil isn’t the most water retentive either. I noticed when cooking the leaves that compared to shop-bought spinach they were taking ages to wilt.

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