bleach spray

[greenthumbomaha]

Just a longshot, but do you fertilize with a liquid fertilizer from above? When I accidentally splashed fertilizer on the leaves they turned grey like that where the water hit them. I always feel guilty for doing that.

- Lisa

[murihikukid]

Bill I hope I have the right mix IE 1/4 cup to 1 litre of water....Cheers Ron

[murihikukid]

Lisa ...Thanks for your reply.... I have never sprayed my plants with fertilizer ...I did give them an early copper spray and then after what apparantly is a mold I treated them with Bills Bleach method...

Now during the growing cycle I removed a low red brick wall round a wood burner "thing" and I cut some brick with a grinder which as I know now was stupid because my whole house was contaminated with red brick dust and that included my tomatoes .(it went everywhere)......From memory I gave them about 4 heavy sprays with warm soapy water but they have never looked as good since....I wonder if there was brick dust still on them and if the bleach reacted with the dust...
With our growing season just starting I am hoping whatever is the problem will not affect my new plants .......

Regards Ron.

[rick9748]

Must get under leaves as well as top.

[murihikukid]

H Ricki...I do know that...Cheers Ron..

[Down_South]

The bleach spray totally totaled my tomatoes and more. I used the exact recipe mentioned in this thread with hopes it would help with some early blight. I used a digital scale for exact amounts. 4.9 ounces for a full gallon of water with 8.25% of bleach. I applied it late evening. 24 hours later they were burnt. I'll pull them out tomorrow. That's 5 dwarfs and 2 indeterminate cherries? Dang it!!!

[murihikukid]

Hi..Deep South...I know exactly what its like .....and rest assured I feel for you after no doubt you have done all the hard work .spent the money only for that to happen....
Of course I am no expert ..I have learnt a lot but am laying low on the forum because I could see I was not exactly "their" favourite person........However I sure would like to help you.....
Of course I am in New Zealand and after having posted photographs etc I was informed my problem was early blight etc ....I knew I had powdery mildew ...and was given various advice even told to throw everything out and start again....To be honest I never really thought that my problem was early blight ....and having seen what bleach had done on an earlier occasion I was certainly not willing to try it again...

Well after several weeks I can now honestly tell you I have not lost one plant and all are looking great ..I do still have the problem of too many plants but am managing this by moving some plants outside and creating room inside for watering , spraying and checking each one and when finished move the ones outside back inside...Time consuming but I am getting rewards...My Tasty Toms are beautiful as are my Campari's ..just an hour ago I tasted my first Black Cherry which i really liked also..However next season there will be a lot less plants.....The one big problem here for most tomato growers is getting the fruit to ripen ...we never had a summer although we have had summer weather over the last few weeks but i think its now gone as its now getting colder....I am going to bubble wrap a lot of my greenhouse and hope this will help in the ripening process....I really need to do this cause its crucial for me to taste all the varieties i have and choose those I wish to grow next season and create a seed bank..

So all I can do is tell you what I did.....I sprayed with a copper/sulphate spray..
http://www.yates.co.nz/products/dise...-fungus-spray/
.and i took off any leaves or branches that looked diseased....This may have helped but then when I was purchasing some mycorrhizae products from a fertilizer company I told them about my problem and they told me?? This is what you do.....Get on your bike (I have no vehicle) and bike out into the countryside and find a farmer with cows who will sell you some Whole Raw Milk...then spray it on your plants and that will protect against early and late blight ,powdery mildew etc....
Well I am too old to bike round the countryside looking for a cow ...I asked if goats milk would do (perhaps I could buy one and keep it in my backyard?) However I found an organic "Whole Milk" at my supermarket and checked with the fertilizer representative if that would do and got the ok to use it.
http://puhoivalley.co.nz/our-product...-organic-milk/
I should mention that I had previously sprayed some plants with an 8 (water ) to one (milk) and had been really surprised the next day at the vibrantcy of the leaves ...so there was no way I was going to dimiss their advice....

So I bought the bottled Whole Milk and used a 5 to one mix with water being the five....but I made a mistake cause although I shook the bottle I never got it blended properly prior to spraying ...so back to the fertilizer company and was told that I must get it really blended as the fat that is sitting on top of the milk is the crucial ingredient ...So I tried again first using a power blender..then a hand blender and then I used the easiest method ..I simply poured the milk through a strainer into a bowl ...The strainer caught the fat and I used my finger to rub the particles through the strainer while giving it a shake in the milk every now and then til it was completely blended and could be sprayed on the plants without any problem of it not going through the sprayer.......

To wrap it up I do not really know what has helped get my plants to the stage they are...I presume it could be the soil additives but certainly I think the whole Milk treatment has really helped and perhaps the earlier Copper/Sulpher spray also...I can actually see where the milk has really sufficated a stem disease (white round blotches on the stems and whatever it is caused leaf yellowing which would spread till the leaf would gradually die...I now snip these off ..These were all mainly lower leaves....
I am already planning for next season when hardening my seedlings will be a priority and then I will use a Milk Spray along with a copper/Sulphor spray at intervals which will keep everything healthy....
So I have posted a couple of jpgs taken from two emails that I got just to show that the gentleman that advised me does have some significant credentials .....Best of Luck and Hope I have helped.... Regards Ron...

[FarmerShawn]

I just watched a show on TV where an extension agent (I think he was from North Carolina) was discussing the milk treatment. He said just get milk, did not have to be raw, and mix it half and half, or equal parts milk and water. He said it is the lactic acid that is lethal to the fungal spores. Don't know, just reporting what I saw on TV...

[kevn357]

Originally Posted by Down_South

The bleach spray totally totaled my tomatoes and more. I used the exact recipe mentioned in this thread with hopes it would help with some early blight. I used a digital scale for exact amounts. 4.9 ounces for a full gallon of water with 8.25% of bleach. I applied it late evening. 24 hours later they were burnt. I'll pull them out tomorrow. That's 5 dwarfs and 2 indeterminate cherries? Dang it!!!

I've been using the bleach spray for a while and never had an issue with a plant burning out. Sorry that you lost your plants but you might want to recheck your calculations when using a digital scale as this recipe is not for weight but fluid ounces (volume).

[murihikukid]

Originally Posted by FarmerShawn

I just watched a show on TV where an extension agent (I think he was from North Carolina) was discussing the milk treatment. He said just get milk, did not have to be raw, and mix it half and half, or equal parts milk and water. He said it is the lactic acid that is lethal to the fungal spores. Don't know, just reporting what I saw on TV...

Hi I presume people have had different recipes but it must do something ....as I said in a previous post I used 8 to 1 with water and normal standard milk as a spray one evening and when I checked the next morning the foliage looked beautiful ...a vibrant green...Now I presume that milk would have had very little fat content unlike what I am trying now ....I know people have had success with bleach so it must do some good if used in the right recipe ....Its unheard of here and when i mention it people basicly cryout in amazement...I must go back over Bills posts and try and work out a recipe for my 4.95% bleach just in case but i have been given a small bag of commercial fungicide so I have that to try sometime also ....Now I did do away with my underwatering system and maybe that made a lot of difference especially when I used underwatering last year and my crop was devastated by diseases ....and maybe it has been my problem all along...

thanks Ron

[Starlight]

Originally Posted by Down_South

The bleach spray totally totaled my tomatoes and more. I used the exact recipe mentioned in this thread with hopes it would help with some early blight. I used a digital scale for exact amounts. 4.9 ounces for a full gallon of water with 8.25% of bleach. I applied it late evening. 24 hours later they were burnt. I'll pull them out tomorrow. That's 5 dwarfs and 2 indeterminate cherries? Dang it!!!

You might want to wait for a week or two before pulling those plants. When I first tried the bleach spray method, I toasted a majority of my plants. Had nothing left but a few fried looking sticks, but I left thm and they put out all new shoots and grew beautifully.

What label of bleach are you using? I have noticed that Clorox has added some new ingredients to their bleach which makes it stronger and it also makes things very slick and hard to wash off easily. Takes several good rinses to get pots to quit feeling slick and bleachy.

Best bleach I have found has been from Dollar General store. They have a generic bleach called Top Job. You get a gallon for a buck. It a weaker bleach solution as all them dollar products are cut with water. I've had excellent results with it.

Also remember when using a bleach product, less is better when doing the first time. I don't know what kind of sprayer your using, but one that makes a fine mist is best and spray lightly. Don't give up on bleach method, but do some testing first to find exact measure and spray amount for your plants.

Originally Posted by murihikukid

Hi..Deep South...I know exactly what its like .....and rest assured I feel for you after no doubt you have done all the hard work .spent the money only for that to happen....
Of course I am no expert ..I have learnt a lot but am laying low on the forum because I could see I was not exactly "their" favourite person........However I sure would like to help you.....
Of course I am in New Zealand and after having posted photographs etc I was informed my problem was early blight etc ....I knew I had powdery mildew ...and was given various advice even told to throw everything out and start again....To be honest I never really thought that my problem was early blight ....and having seen what bleach had done on an earlier occasion I was certainly not willing to try it again...

Well after several weeks I can now honestly tell you I have not lost one plant and all are looking great ..I do still have the problem of too many plants but am managing this by moving some plants outside and creating room inside for watering , spraying and checking each one and when finished move the ones outside back inside...Time consuming but I am getting rewards...My Tasty Toms are beautiful as are my Campari's ..just an hour ago I tasted my first Black Cherry which i really liked also..However next season there will be a lot less plants.....The one big problem here for most tomato growers is getting the fruit to ripen ...we never had a summer although we have had summer weather over the last few weeks but i think its now gone as its now getting colder....I am going to bubble wrap a lot of my greenhouse and hope this will help in the ripening process....I really need to do this cause its crucial for me to taste all the varieties i have and choose those I wish to grow next season and create a seed bank..

So all I can do is tell you what I did.....I sprayed with a copper/sulphate spray..
http://www.yates.co.nz/products/dise...-fungus-spray/
.and i took off any leaves or branches that looked diseased....This may have helped but then when I was purchasing some mycorrhizae products from a fertilizer company I told them about my problem and they told me?? This is what you do.....Get on your bike (I have no vehicle) and bike out into the countryside and find a farmer with cows who will sell you some Whole Raw Milk...then spray it on your plants and that will protect against early and late blight ,powdery mildew etc....
Well I am too old to bike round the countryside looking for a cow ...I asked if goats milk would do (perhaps I could buy one and keep it in my backyard?) However I found an organic "Whole Milk" at my supermarket and checked with the fertilizer representative if that would do and got the ok to use it.
http://puhoivalley.co.nz/our-product...-organic-milk/
I should mention that I had previously sprayed some plants with an 8 (water ) to one (milk) and had been really surprised the next day at the vibrantcy of the leaves ...so there was no way I was going to dimiss their advice....

So I bought the bottled Whole Milk and used a 5 to one mix with water being the five....but I made a mistake cause although I shook the bottle I never got it blended properly prior to spraying ...so back to the fertilizer company and was told that I must get it really blended as the fat that is sitting on top of the milk is the crucial ingredient ...So I tried again first using a power blender..then a hand blender and then I used the easiest method ..I simply poured the milk through a strainer into a bowl ...The strainer caught the fat and I used my finger to rub the particles through the strainer while giving it a shake in the milk every now and then til it was completely blended and could be sprayed on the plants without any problem of it not going through the sprayer.......

To wrap it up I do not really know what has helped get my plants to the stage they are...I presume it could be the soil additives but certainly I think the whole Milk treatment has really helped and perhaps the earlier Copper/Sulpher spray also...I can actually see where the milk has really sufficated a stem disease (white round blotches on the stems and whatever it is caused leaf yellowing which would spread till the leaf would gradually die...I now snip these off ..These were all mainly lower leaves....
I am already planning for next season when hardening my seedlings will be a priority and then I will use a Milk Spray along with a copper/Sulphor spray at intervals which will keep everything healthy....
So I have posted a couple of jpgs taken from two emails that I got just to show that the gentleman that advised me does have some significant credentials .....Best of Luck and Hope I have helped.... Regards Ron...

Interesting about using whole milk. I have noticed that there is a difference in milks by different companies. I started buying a product here called Pure Whole milk. I noticed when putting in my cereal that it is a thicker milk mixture and when left out for a couple of days in a bowl against some other brands, the Pure did not turn rancid and was creamy still.

I use milk all the time on squash and eggplants and lots of flowering plants that susceptible to powdery mildew here from our high humidity.

[GrowingCoastal]

Originally Posted by Down_South

The bleach spray totally totaled my tomatoes and more. I used the exact recipe mentioned in this thread with hopes it would help with some early blight. I used a digital scale for exact amounts. 4.9 ounces for a full gallon of water with 8.25% of bleach. I applied it late evening. 24 hours later they were burnt. I'll pull them out tomorrow. That's 5 dwarfs and 2 indeterminate cherries? Dang it!!!

I am a total math dummy so pardon my ignorance. Maybe I missed something (again!).

Is 4.9 weight ounces the same as 4.9 fluid oz?

[Down_South]

Originally Posted by GrowingCoastal

I am a total math dummy so pardon my ignorance. Maybe I missed something (again!).

Is 4.9 weight ounces the same as 4.9 fluid oz?

I actually measured both in weight and in my fluid oz. plastic container and the difference was negligible. I tested it on a dwarf T that had the beginnings of early blight. It however did not show signs of being damaged from the spray and still looks fine. The other T's didn't fair so well. I still think it's a good deterrent to disease management mentioned above so I'm going to keep it in my arsenal of weapons. Next time I'll dilute the bleach further down and give a 48 hour test before applying.

I've decided not to pull the burnt tomatoes plants. I think they will live. I have an Isis that was damaged that I want to pull so this gives me an excuse to replace it with others I have ready to transplant.

I've learned a lot and appreciate this fine forum and your input.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by FarmerShawn

I just watched a show on TV where an extension agent (I think he was from North Carolina) was discussing the milk treatment. He said just get milk, did not have to be raw, and mix it half and half, or equal parts milk and water. He said it is the lactic acid that is lethal to the fungal spores. Don't know, just reporting what I saw on TV...

If one does a search here at Tville,there are many threads having to do with spraying milk on the foliage.

Lethal to spores?

That depend on which kinds of spores are being discussed. The two most common foliage diseases are Early Blight and Septoria Leaf spot, that are caused by what I call true spores,which will germinate even in water with a pinch of blue stuff or fish.

Then there are fungi such as Aspergillus and Penicillium, and many more that are in the air almost all of the time and they form what are called conidiospores,which are easily killed by just scraping them carefully off the foliage and from the soil or artificial mix,especially if grown in high humidity environments meaning planting tomato plants too close together,or just plain high ambient humidity...

Carolyn

[seaeagle]

So bleach being a cheap alternative to higher priced fungicides I decided to look at some research on it just in case I ever had to use any, but I couldn't find any University research.No University studies I could find other than bleach being used as a weed killer.Why?

The next logical search would be the EPA and the USDA

When mixed with organic materials (e.g., dirt), hypochlorite produces trihalomethanes , which are carcinogenic.


Because sodium hypochlorite has the potential to raise soil pH and add sodium to the soil, it should not be used as an herbicide. Additionally, an experimental application of sodium hypochlorite directly to the leaves of 8 of foliage plants caused severe necrosis, chlorosis, and leaf abscission following a single application

https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/defau...e%203%20TR.pdf

Is it safe to use in your garden?A decision ultimately that the informed gardener has to make. I don't know