Diluted Bleach as Spray? - Page 3

b54red · June 14, 2015

Remember the newest version of Clorox is much stronger than the one mentioned earlier in this thread. I use between 4.5 oz and 5.5 oz of Clorox added to a gallon of water with a little soap as a wetting agent. If I am dealing with a really bad case of gray mold or Late Blight I will use an even stronger mix.

Bill

Cole_Robbie · June 14, 2015

Thanks. I have some old bleach sitting around. I will have to read the label.

I will add a few drops of soap. I have always had bad luck with soap in the past, but I was probably mixing it too strong.

Starlight · June 14, 2015

Cole... I think I used 3 small drops of the dish soap to my gallon of bleach spray and it was plenty.

We're in the triple digits here now and they are here to stay and the humidity even at 8 am is so terrible you can hardly breath, but the tomatoes are looking good and thriving thanks to the bleach spray method.

It is a bit of a shock the first time you spray and see some dead leaves or leaves with white patches, but don't worry, the new foliage comes out looking pretty and it hasn't hurt fruit set or killed off any of the pests or beneficials either.

I have been waiting til the shade is over the plants for several hours to let the foliage cool down some before I spray.

Bleach spray method works great on other plants too. Not only veggies but on flowering plants as well.

So glad Bill shared his method. Sure beats a bunch of chems and wondering whether you will poisoning yourself or your beneficials.

pauldavid · June 15, 2015

I sprayed the diluted bleach solution today for the first time. Lots of black spots on leaves from all this excessive rain. Thanks for sharing this with us Bill.

Cole_Robbie · June 17, 2015

I mixed 8 oz of 6% bleach in 1 gallon of water and sprayed. That was way too strong. I burnt my plants pretty badly. They look worse than before I sprayed.

BigVanVader · June 17, 2015

I plan on spraying my squash plants soon, they are showing signs of Black Rot. I guess I will start with a weaker mix and go from there.

pauldavid · June 17, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

I mixed 8 oz of 6% bleach in 1 gallon of water and sprayed. That was way too strong. I burnt my plants pretty badly. They look worse than before I sprayed.

Sorry to hear that. I used 5 oz. of 8.25% to a gallon. My plants are looking better now. The diseased leaves were the only affected on mine.

sjamesNorway · June 18, 2015

My greenhouse plants have what is apparently a fungus infection. (see my thread: "Diagnosis: yellow spots with dark specks") I'd like to try the bleach solution, but the bleach here has 0.1-1% sodium hydroxide (caustic soda). I'm leery of trying it. Any advice?

I've also seen that someone has used a hydrogen peroxide solution. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Steve

JamesL · June 18, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjamesNorway

I've also seen that someone has used a hydrogen peroxide solution. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Steve

Steve,
I have used and continue to use h2o2. It is an eradicator of course, not a preventative. I like it better as a spot spray. It works for mold and mildew and I have had success using it for EB/septoria as well.
Bills bleach spray is definitely more effective for mold.

I prefer the food grade version as it does not contain any stabilizers.

Start with a 1% solution and increase from there. Depending on the concentration available, dilute with plain tap water and spray immediately.
It breaks down very quickly.

raindrops27 · June 19, 2015

Reds solution works, you just need to play with the ratios of bleach! Please, be careful of the bleach used. I use ultra concentrated clorox bleach from bj's wholesale. To start, I use less than an half ounce, a touch of soap, to a gallon of water. This usually is enough to slow, if not stop any fungal issues. If not, I slowly increase my bleach ratio..Always use less than increase slowly if needed.

sjamesNorway · June 19, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesL

Steve,
I have used and continue to use h2o2. It is an eradicator of course, not a preventative. I like it better as a spot spray. It works for mold and mildew and I have had success using it for EB/septoria as well.
Bills bleach spray is definitely more effective for mold.

I prefer the food grade version as it does not contain any stabilizers.

Start with a 1% solution and increase from there. Depending on the concentration available, dilute with plain tap water and spray immediately.
It breaks down very quickly.

Thought I sent a reply earlier today, but can't see it here. Thanks, James, for the info. I tried H2O2 today, so we'll see...

Steve

Bipetual · June 19, 2015

I personally think this thread should be a sticky so people can find it.

Bipetual · June 19, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

I mixed 8 oz of 6% bleach in 1 gallon of water and sprayed. That was way too strong. I burnt my plants pretty badly. They look worse than before I sprayed.

Is it possible that it's diseased tissue dying off like bill described?

I really hope they recover. After several seasons of seeing my plants dying from the bottom up (you know it's bad when a container gardener shuns most determinates because if they don't keep growing there will be nothing left!) I think/hope you will be better off getting the disease off your plants to the extent that you can.

Those whiteflies are just nasty little ba$tards. I think I will tie some yellow sticky traps to my cages today.

Good luck, Cole Robbie.

Tracydr · June 19, 2015

A little off topic, but related as far as reason for spraying. Can I mix Serenade and excel lg? I just noticed a bit of mold and also, some yellowing bottom leaves. This is my first time growing in hot,humid climate with actual rain.
Can I also mix with Spinosad or perhaps BT? I'm getting a few tomato and army worms.
Is there anything besides vacuuming or hand picking that works on stink bugs? They are making my tomatoes ripen with ugly spots. I've tried DE and it may have helped a little but still seeing quite a few baby stink bugs.
I always worry with bleach that the normal, protective bacterias and yeasts will get killed, leaving an opening for bad stuff to grow. Sort of like taking antibiotics and then getting a yeast infection or killing all your bugs and getting a spider mite infestation.

Tracydr · June 19, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by heirloomdaddy

I just did my first application of 6% bleach. I'm anxious to see the results.

So far, Serenade, my starting point, did very little to curb powdery mildew. I moved up to Daconil, a major improvement, but as mentioned does very little to kill the fungus which is already present. It has, however, allowed the plants unaffected new growth.

I am certain that my lawn sprinkler watering of my garden has been 99% to blame, and will be installing a drip system before the season is up. I am certain that with my new chemical arsenal, mulch, and drip irrigation, next season should be much much better.

Did you try milk spray? That seems to work on my squash and peas when they get PM.

June 18, 2015	#38
sjamesNorway Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Norway Posts: 1,049	Bleach with sodium hydroxide? My greenhouse plants have what is apparently a fungus infection. (see my thread: "Diagnosis: yellow spots with dark specks") I'd like to try the bleach solution, but the bleach here has 0.1-1% sodium hydroxide (caustic soda). I'm leery of trying it. Any advice? I've also seen that someone has used a hydrogen peroxide solution. Does anyone have any experience with this? Steve

June 19, 2015	#44
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	A little off topic, but related as far as reason for spraying. Can I mix Serenade and excel lg? I just noticed a bit of mold and also, some yellowing bottom leaves. This is my first time growing in hot,humid climate with actual rain. Can I also mix with Spinosad or perhaps BT? I'm getting a few tomato and army worms. Is there anything besides vacuuming or hand picking that works on stink bugs? They are making my tomatoes ripen with ugly spots. I've tried DE and it may have helped a little but still seeing quite a few baby stink bugs. I always worry with bleach that the normal, protective bacterias and yeasts will get killed, leaving an opening for bad stuff to grow. Sort of like taking antibiotics and then getting a yeast infection or killing all your bugs and getting a spider mite infestation. Last edited by Tracydr; June 19, 2015 at 05:02 PM.

June 14, 2015	#31
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Remember the newest version of Clorox is much stronger than the one mentioned earlier in this thread. I use between 4.5 oz and 5.5 oz of Clorox added to a gallon of water with a little soap as a wetting agent. If I am dealing with a really bad case of gray mold or Late Blight I will use an even stronger mix. Bill

June 14, 2015	#32
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	Thanks. I have some old bleach sitting around. I will have to read the label. I will add a few drops of soap. I have always had bad luck with soap in the past, but I was probably mixing it too strong.

June 14, 2015	#33
Starlight Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: AL Posts: 1,993	Cole... I think I used 3 small drops of the dish soap to my gallon of bleach spray and it was plenty. We're in the triple digits here now and they are here to stay and the humidity even at 8 am is so terrible you can hardly breath, but the tomatoes are looking good and thriving thanks to the bleach spray method. It is a bit of a shock the first time you spray and see some dead leaves or leaves with white patches, but don't worry, the new foliage comes out looking pretty and it hasn't hurt fruit set or killed off any of the pests or beneficials either. I have been waiting til the shade is over the plants for several hours to let the foliage cool down some before I spray. Bleach spray method works great on other plants too. Not only veggies but on flowering plants as well. So glad Bill shared his method. Sure beats a bunch of chems and wondering whether you will poisoning yourself or your beneficials.

June 15, 2015	#34
pauldavid Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: NE Louisiana, Zone 8A Posts: 1,179	I sprayed the diluted bleach solution today for the first time. Lots of black spots on leaves from all this excessive rain. Thanks for sharing this with us Bill.

June 17, 2015	#35
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	I mixed 8 oz of 6% bleach in 1 gallon of water and sprayed. That was way too strong. I burnt my plants pretty badly. They look worse than before I sprayed.

June 17, 2015	#36
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	I plan on spraying my squash plants soon, they are showing signs of Black Rot. I guess I will start with a weaker mix and go from there.

June 19, 2015	#40
raindrops27 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: long island Posts: 327	Reds solution works, you just need to play with the ratios of bleach! Please, be careful of the bleach used. I use ultra concentrated clorox bleach from bj's wholesale. To start, I use less than an half ounce, a touch of soap, to a gallon of water. This usually is enough to slow, if not stop any fungal issues. If not, I slowly increase my bleach ratio..Always use less than increase slowly if needed.

June 19, 2015	#42
Bipetual Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Illinois, zone 5a Posts: 579	I personally think this thread should be a sticky so people can find it.