bleach spray - Page 19

b54red · October 17, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoustonHeat

Bill

Have you seen any issues with bleach spray preventing bloom set?
I am asking because I have a few fall plants that are covered in blooms (TTF helped).
It's now time to bleach spray but I am worried the bleach will have a negative effect on the pollin?
Any advice?

As long as the spraying is done late in the evening or very early in the morning I have seen no harm to blooms setting fruit from the bleach spray. Heat and too little water seem to be the biggest culprits in poor fruit set as far as I can determine from watching my own plants over the years. Another thing that can affect fruit set is having too many blooms and growth tips at the same time, which I think may result in not enough plant energy being used for fruit set.

I am still getting some fair tomatoes but with all the damage from whiteflies my fall tomatoes this year are performing poorly along with my fall cucumbers. I am starting to remove a lot of tomato plants that appear unhealthy and are not looking like they will result in much fruit if any. I need to clear a couple of beds for broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, lettuce, carrots, onions and spinach. I just planted a bed of mustard greens and turnips yesterday. I am hoping the whiteflies are thinning out enough to let them survive when they sprout.

Bill

tryno12 · October 17, 2017

Bill, "I am hoping the whiteflies are thinning out enough to let them survive when they sprout." is that the bug that will eat a 1/2 of a plants foliage overnight, whether it be a flower, fern, pepper plant etc? Seems as if i can control them w/Neem but it is costly and every other night..........too much work - but it sure makes me mad to see the destruction!!

Thanks
Pete

b54red · October 19, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by tryno12

Bill, "I am hoping the whiteflies are thinning out enough to let them survive when they sprout." is that the bug that will eat a 1/2 of a plants foliage overnight, whether it be a flower, fern, pepper plant etc? Seems as if i can control them w/Neem but it is costly and every other night..........too much work - but it sure makes me mad to see the destruction!!

Thanks
Pete

You are probably dealing with some type of caterpillar or grasshoppers. Sevin will work very fast on the caterpillars and may kill the grasshoppers. Permethrin will work on some grasshoppers that were eating my citrus but you have to spray them to kill them.
Since it is getting so many types of plants I would suspect those foliage caterpillars that show up every year and they can defoliate a plant if left unchecked. BT will work somewhat but it is slower and not as deadly on them as Sevin. If I was losing foliage like that I would go straight to the Sevin and see if that stops them but you do have a waiting time after using it.

Bill

Worth1 · October 19, 2017

Sevin kills grasshoppers dead in their tracks.

Worth

tryno12 · October 20, 2017

Thanks Bill, I will look and see if i see any other bugs than the swarms of little white things - i have seen a few grasshoppers and a lot of slugs, i have considered Sevin as too harsh to use but i do use it on the Hostas for slugs Does Sevin harm bees?

Pete

HoustonHeat · October 21, 2017

WhiteFly can be detected by lifting the plant leaf and or shaking the plant. You will see adults fly away (white in color) and they are about 2X the size of a gnat. Nothing seems to kill them well. S

Unfortunately Seven will kill good and bad bugs including honey bees.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/homemad...ide-37740.html

tryno12 · October 21, 2017

I noticed yesterday a couple large grasshoppers - maybe a BB gun

not really, (maybe a Fly Swatter?)but what a pain! I won't use 7 then, just try to keep things down and irritate them and the White Flies with Neem, Bleach, and Soap. Thankfully(depends on how you look at it) there is not much of a growing season left. Last year we set a record here - no frost till like the day before Veterans Day Nov. 12th..............

tryno12 · October 21, 2017

Thanks HH, i believe that is what i have observed in regards to White Flies

HoustonHeat · April 15, 2018

I hope everyone’s winter is nearing end. In Houston it’s been a nice spring mostly.
It’s my 2nd year gardening but still much to learn.

I plan to use Bill’s Bleach Spray this year but had some questions?
In pics are leaves from 4 plants pulled from bottom stems.
First pic is leaf surface, second is underside of same leaf.

1. Should I prune all discoloring leaves prior to spraying or afterwards?

2. Do you recognize any as diseases or just mold/mildew and normal discoloration?

3. What is best spray schedule? Weekly?

Bill or anyone with experience please help me out.

Thanks

MissS · April 15, 2018

Obviously Bill is the person to answer this question, but I suggest that you spray weekly and after every rain. The bleach is not a preventative but rather it attacks the fungus that is growing on the plants. You should do a follow up spray with a fungicide within 24 hours of doing the bleach spray. Spraying should only be done in the early morning or early evening to avoid burning you foliage in the direct sun. It is suggested that you rotate by using a different fungicide every other week.

b54red · April 16, 2018

Huston I'm no disease expert but usually this early in the season Daconil applied weekly will help a great deal in stopping initial infections of many foliage diseases but it doesn't stop them all. I don't see any gray mold on those leaves which is the disease I use the bleach spray for the most often. It does look like you may have early blight and possibly something else so you might want to remove the foliage that is showing damage immediately.

I spray Daconil every week from the time my plants go outside to harden off until I start seeing some definite disease symptoms. At this point I will use the diluted bleach spray and then alternate using a copper spray then Daconil spray. If I see any gray mold or late blight symptoms then I use the bleach spray as soon as possible then follow up with a copper spray the next day. Two days after using the bleach spray it will be obvious what foliage needs removing because the diseased foliage will shrivel up and die.

I do use the bleach spray at a slightly milder solution as a preventative on squash, cucumbers and melons because it works wonders at preventing or stopping the mildew diseases that those crops are prone to get sometimes. A good friend of mine uses the bleach spray as a preventative spray and doesn't use any other fungicides and he doesn't seem to have any more problems with foliage diseases than I do. I do use the bleach spray during periods of continuous thunderstorms and rain. I just go out between showers and spray with the bleach spray. It seems to make a big difference in the amount of disease that shows up on the plants after the rains stop. The reason I do this is because the preventive fungicides get washed off and the bleach spray will kill most bacteria and fungus that is starting to develop during the rainy times so that they don't get a good foothold on most of my plants.

Another thing you can do that will help is to keep all the lower foliage removed so there is at least a foot from the ground to the first leaves. This helps prevent splash back when watering or during rainfall. It also helps to have a good heavy mulch under the plants. Pruning the plants to prevent foliage from becoming too dense is also helpful in our humid conditions.

Down here it is important to keep a preventive fungicide on the plants so weekly spraying is necessary. I have had the best luck starting my season out with weekly spraying of Daconil. Later I will alternate a copper spray with Daconil. The bleach spray is used mainly once I see some disease symptoms that neither the Daconil or copper have prevented. You will have to experiment some and see what works for you and be ready to adapt to changing conditions. When frequent showers are a problem the copper spray may be better at times because it doesn't seem to wash off as easily; but if heavy rains are persistent then the bleach spray becomes the best alternative to use between those frequent rains.

Bill

HoustonHeat · April 18, 2018

Thanks MissS and Bill

Yesterday I pruned out all lower stems to about 1 ft from ground and added mulch to my garden boxes and pots. Then today I just finished spraying all with daconil 1 TSP per gallon of water.
I also hit my green beans, cucumbers, and honey melons as I passed them.

I will monitor and plan to spray in another 7-10 days.

However I am wondering if I should work in a copper spray also and when I should start bleach schedule?

MissS · April 18, 2018

You may start the bleach spray the next week. First use the bleach spray (after reading the thread) then follow up with the copper. The next time you spray, use the bleach spray and follow up with the Daconil. Remove any dark foliage after spraying the bleach spray. Meaning, use the bleach spray every cycle and rotate your fungicide every other time.

HoustonHeat · April 20, 2018

So are you saying to do bleach and copper back to back? Or a cycle schedule such as below.

Bleach
5 days
Copper
5 days
Bleach
5 days
Daconil

TexasTomat0 · April 20, 2018

They're saying use copper/daconil 1x per week, alternation between copper and daconil each week. The bleach will kill any infected leafs, so what they're suggesting is to spray the bleach mix then come in the next day and use either your daconil or copper, whichever is up to bat that week.

Within a couple days after the bleach is sprayed the infected foliage will die off and you can cut that out. The bleach is NOT a preventative but will attack any infected foliage. You still would need to apply your preventative to stop the infection from attacking healthy foliage.

I hope that clears the schedule up for you, I'm sure someone else can chime in. Here is an example:

Daconil OR Copper Spray (PREVENTATIVES) alternating weeks 1x per week (will need to reapply after rain)
If you get an infection like I see in your pics, spray bleach, and the following day apply your preventative.

I got nailed last year with what looks like the same thing that is hitting you, which I think was early blight. It pretty much wiped me out, but I wasn't well versed in preventative and bleach spray. You need to really stay on your spray schedules if you're going to manage to pull off a long season. I didn't and I was done by June and restarting seeds.

October 17, 2017	#272
tryno12 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Indianapolis Area 46112 Posts: 857	Bill, "I am hoping the whiteflies are thinning out enough to let them survive when they sprout." is that the bug that will eat a 1/2 of a plants foliage overnight, whether it be a flower, fern, pepper plant etc? Seems as if i can control them w/Neem but it is costly and every other night..........too much work - but it sure makes me mad to see the destruction!! Thanks Pete Last edited by tryno12; October 17, 2017 at 08:55 PM. Reason: incomplete

October 20, 2017	#275
tryno12 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Indianapolis Area 46112 Posts: 857	Thanks Bill, I will look and see if i see any other bugs than the swarms of little white things - i have seen a few grasshoppers and a lot of slugs, i have considered Sevin as too harsh to use but i do use it on the Hostas for slugs Does Sevin harm bees? Pete Last edited by tryno12; October 20, 2017 at 12:25 AM. Reason: incomplete

April 15, 2018	#280
MissS Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 3,149	Obviously Bill is the person to answer this question, but I suggest that you spray weekly and after every rain. The bleach is not a preventative but rather it attacks the fungus that is growing on the plants. You should do a follow up spray with a fungicide within 24 hours of doing the bleach spray. Spraying should only be done in the early morning or early evening to avoid burning you foliage in the direct sun. It is suggested that you rotate by using a different fungicide every other week. __________________ ~ Patti ~

April 18, 2018	#283
MissS Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 3,149	You may start the bleach spray the next week. First use the bleach spray (after reading the thread) then follow up with the copper. The next time you spray, use the bleach spray and follow up with the Daconil. Remove any dark foliage after spraying the bleach spray. Meaning, use the bleach spray every cycle and rotate your fungicide every other time. __________________ ~ Patti ~

October 19, 2017	#274
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Sevin kills grasshoppers dead in their tracks. Worth

October 21, 2017	#276
HoustonHeat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Houston Zone 9A Posts: 132	WhiteFly can be detected by lifting the plant leaf and or shaking the plant. You will see adults fly away (white in color) and they are about 2X the size of a gnat. Nothing seems to kill them well. S Unfortunately Seven will kill good and bad bugs including honey bees. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/homemad...ide-37740.html

October 21, 2017	#277
tryno12 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Indianapolis Area 46112 Posts: 857	I noticed yesterday a couple large grasshoppers - maybe a BB gun not really, (maybe a Fly Swatter?)but what a pain! I won't use 7 then, just try to keep things down and irritate them and the White Flies with Neem, Bleach, and Soap. Thankfully(depends on how you look at it) there is not much of a growing season left. Last year we set a record here - no frost till like the day before Veterans Day Nov. 12th..............

October 21, 2017	#278
tryno12 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Indianapolis Area 46112 Posts: 857	Thanks HH, i believe that is what i have observed in regards to White Flies

April 16, 2018	#281
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Huston I'm no disease expert but usually this early in the season Daconil applied weekly will help a great deal in stopping initial infections of many foliage diseases but it doesn't stop them all. I don't see any gray mold on those leaves which is the disease I use the bleach spray for the most often. It does look like you may have early blight and possibly something else so you might want to remove the foliage that is showing damage immediately. I spray Daconil every week from the time my plants go outside to harden off until I start seeing some definite disease symptoms. At this point I will use the diluted bleach spray and then alternate using a copper spray then Daconil spray. If I see any gray mold or late blight symptoms then I use the bleach spray as soon as possible then follow up with a copper spray the next day. Two days after using the bleach spray it will be obvious what foliage needs removing because the diseased foliage will shrivel up and die. I do use the bleach spray at a slightly milder solution as a preventative on squash, cucumbers and melons because it works wonders at preventing or stopping the mildew diseases that those crops are prone to get sometimes. A good friend of mine uses the bleach spray as a preventative spray and doesn't use any other fungicides and he doesn't seem to have any more problems with foliage diseases than I do. I do use the bleach spray during periods of continuous thunderstorms and rain. I just go out between showers and spray with the bleach spray. It seems to make a big difference in the amount of disease that shows up on the plants after the rains stop. The reason I do this is because the preventive fungicides get washed off and the bleach spray will kill most bacteria and fungus that is starting to develop during the rainy times so that they don't get a good foothold on most of my plants. Another thing you can do that will help is to keep all the lower foliage removed so there is at least a foot from the ground to the first leaves. This helps prevent splash back when watering or during rainfall. It also helps to have a good heavy mulch under the plants. Pruning the plants to prevent foliage from becoming too dense is also helpful in our humid conditions. Down here it is important to keep a preventive fungicide on the plants so weekly spraying is necessary. I have had the best luck starting my season out with weekly spraying of Daconil. Later I will alternate a copper spray with Daconil. The bleach spray is used mainly once I see some disease symptoms that neither the Daconil or copper have prevented. You will have to experiment some and see what works for you and be ready to adapt to changing conditions. When frequent showers are a problem the copper spray may be better at times because it doesn't seem to wash off as easily; but if heavy rains are persistent then the bleach spray becomes the best alternative to use between those frequent rains. Bill

April 18, 2018	#282
HoustonHeat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Houston Zone 9A Posts: 132	Thanks MissS and Bill Yesterday I pruned out all lower stems to about 1 ft from ground and added mulch to my garden boxes and pots. Then today I just finished spraying all with daconil 1 TSP per gallon of water. I also hit my green beans, cucumbers, and honey melons as I passed them. I will monitor and plan to spray in another 7-10 days. However I am wondering if I should work in a copper spray also and when I should start bleach schedule?

April 20, 2018	#284
HoustonHeat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Houston Zone 9A Posts: 132	So are you saying to do bleach and copper back to back? Or a cycle schedule such as below. Bleach 5 days Copper 5 days Bleach 5 days Daconil

April 20, 2018	#285
TexasTomat0 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Central Texas - Zone 8A Posts: 196	They're saying use copper/daconil 1x per week, alternation between copper and daconil each week. The bleach will kill any infected leafs, so what they're suggesting is to spray the bleach mix then come in the next day and use either your daconil or copper, whichever is up to bat that week. Within a couple days after the bleach is sprayed the infected foliage will die off and you can cut that out. The bleach is NOT a preventative but will attack any infected foliage. You still would need to apply your preventative to stop the infection from attacking healthy foliage. I hope that clears the schedule up for you, I'm sure someone else can chime in. Here is an example: Daconil OR Copper Spray (PREVENTATIVES) alternating weeks 1x per week (will need to reapply after rain) If you get an infection like I see in your pics, spray bleach, and the following day apply your preventative. I got nailed last year with what looks like the same thing that is hitting you, which I think was early blight. It pretty much wiped me out, but I wasn't well versed in preventative and bleach spray. You need to really stay on your spray schedules if you're going to manage to pull off a long season. I didn't and I was done by June and restarting seeds.