sodium bicarbonate

[Itoero]

Does anyone has any experience in using sodium bicarbonate to prevent fungus?

[JamesL]

Yep. Go with Potassium bicarbonate instead. It is much more effective.
Greencure is a ready made product. Make your own GC by adding a spreader/sticker to some PB.

[Itoero]

ok,
Where I live, people use sodium bicarbonate to treat rust on garlic or onions.
But with potassium bicarbonate I should have better results?
Is there any known difference between potassium and sodium bicarbonate as fungicide?

And my last question,
How much potassium bicarbonate should I dissolve in 1l water?

[Iva]

Itoero, I use sodium bicarbonate on my tomatoes, I've never used it on garlic though. Do you know if it actually works?
Sodium bicarbonate is easily accessible here, not so sure where I could get the potassium one...

[Itoero]

Yes it definitely works on garlic to treat rust.

If you use it on your tomatoes, how many gram do you solve in 1 liter of water?

[RayR]

Originally Posted by Itoero

ok,
Where I live, people use sodium bicarbonate to treat rust on garlic or onions.
But with potassium bicarbonate I should have better results?
Is there any known difference between potassium and sodium bicarbonate as fungicide?

And my last question,
How much potassium bicarbonate should I dissolve in 1l water?

https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/download.php?id=126nteaspoosg

I used 4 teaspoons of potassium bicarbonate and 1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap (not detergent) per gallon for powdery mildew on squash and it was effective at killing PM. Experiment and see what works best. I don't particularly like the idea of using sodium bicarbonate because of the potential phytotoxic effects of the sodium ion which can vary between the type of plant. Besides potassium bicarbonate is just more effective.

Originally Posted by Iva

Itoero, I use sodium bicarbonate on my tomatoes, I've never used it on garlic though. Do you know if it actually works?
Sodium bicarbonate is easily accessible here, not so sure where I could get the potassium one...

Potassium bicarbonate is sold by wine making suppliers, Best price I've found was $7.50/LB + shipping on ebay.

[Iva]

Originally Posted by Itoero

Yes it definitely works on garlic to treat rust.

If you use it on your tomatoes, how many gram do you solve in 1 liter of water?

This is the spray I use:

5 liters of water
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
one teaspoon of liquid soap or detergent
one teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate (I never weighed it)

Mix half the water (it should be rather warm) with soap and oil to get an 'emulsion', add the rest of the water (this should be cooler) and sodium bicarbonate at the end, mix thoroughly.

Spray the plants from top to bottom so they are literally dripping with it. Don't forget the underside of the leaves.

[jmsieglaff]

Thanks for the recipe! My squash will get powdery mildew every summer at some point. I'm going to try this recipe. I can readily get KaHCO at my local homebrew supply store. Like anything, I imagine getting things early is key.

Originally Posted by RayR

https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/download.php?id=126nteaspoosg

I used 4 teaspoons of potassium bicarbonate and 1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap (not detergent) per gallon for powdery mildew on squash and it was effective at killing PM. Experiment and see what works best. I don't particularly like the idea of using sodium bicarbonate because of the potential phytotoxic effects of the sodium ion which can vary between the type of plant. Besides potassium bicarbonate is just more effective.



Potassium bicarbonate is sold by wine making suppliers, Best price I've found was $7.50/LB + shipping on ebay.

[RayR]

Originally Posted by jmsieglaff

Thanks for the recipe! My squash will get powdery mildew every summer at some point. I'm going to try this recipe. I can readily get KaHCO at my local homebrew supply store. Like anything, I imagine getting things early is key.

I have mixed 1oz of Neem Oil with the recipe also and bumped the soap up to 2 teaspoons or so to emulsify the oil better. That works too, maybe even better coverage. Neem oil has its own fungicidal properties so the combo is good.
You have to get full coverage of the squash since the powdery mildew attacks the whole plant, top and bottom of the leaves and the stems. You have to re-spray once sometimes twice a week since the PM will come back with a vengeance if you don't.

[Itoero]

How long does sodium or potassium bicarbonate works?
How often should I repeat it?

[Iva]

In the dry season, I use it as a preventive spray every other week, in the wet season, once or even twice a week...

[jmsieglaff]

Originally Posted by RayR

I have mixed 1oz of Neem Oil with the recipe also and bumped the soap up to 2 teaspoons or so to emulsify the oil better. That works too, maybe even better coverage. Neem oil has its own fungicidal properties so the combo is good.
You have to get full coverage of the squash since the powdery mildew attacks the whole plant, top and bottom of the leaves and the stems. You have to re-spray once sometimes twice a week since the PM will come back with a vengeance if you don't.

Would the anti-fungal properties of this spray be a good preventative of fungal issues on tomatoes in wet weather?

I'm thinking I would mix it up a gallon at a time--would using it over the course of a couple week at a time. Would that be ok?

[RayR]

Originally Posted by jmsieglaff

Would the anti-fungal properties of this spray be a good preventative of fungal issues on tomatoes in wet weather?

I'm thinking I would mix it up a gallon at a time--would using it over the course of a couple week at a time. Would that be ok?

Can't really say, Which fungal diseases? You could give it a try and see if it helps. It may work well against PM on tomato if you have that problem, I've never seen PM on tomato in my area.
Early Blight and Septoria are the main fungal diseases around here, I may try it myself in rotation with other treatments this year and see if helps. So far no disease issues this year, typically July is when they show up here.

I don't like mixing different things and letting them sit for long periods of time since it's an unknown if there are chemical reactions that take place over time that reduce the overall effectiveness of the mix. I always mix and spray as needed.

[jmsieglaff]

I mainly have issues with Septoria. So far so good but we've had a very wet week and the wheels are turning in my head. Think I'll just mix what I need. Thanks for the feedback.

[Bipetual]

Green Cure, which is the potassium bicarbonate, says on the label not to store unused solution, so I suspect it does not keep.