Goddess: What substance did you use on the plants again? The RAs definitely have toxic spit, which I believe lingers for a while, but also the pathogens they deliver and the heavy watering and chems used to fight them all hurt the ladies. It certainly seems like the damage can be really bad, even when there are scarcely any RAs around, or after they have been mostly eradicated.
As for the botanigard: be careful. Start w/ low doses and test in on ONE plant, waiting at least two days to see how it responds. Botanigard has petroleum products of some sort in it, and I don't think any oils or petroleum products are really taken well by the ladies, especially in the root zone, especially if any other stresses exist (or they are infected with a virus).
RG: Thank you VERY much for the info. I am opening my perspective to the possibility of spores - this would much better fit the data that the problem does not seem to exist outside my house (plants taken outdoors or to other friends houses do not have it). If this were viral, I would not expect it to magically go away as soon as the plant leaves my house. (Not that badly infected plants suddenly get better - I have only given away "healthy" plants, but the ones I kept from the same round went on to have these problems where the ones given away did not. )
Also: if I remember correctly, two of the most severe outbreaks of the problem seem to be correlated to two times when I accidentally minorly flooded my place. I considered the correlation at one point but dismissed it because the problem existed before the floods and because I had also just done a big multi-ingredient spray, which seemed much more likely to be related than wet floors and walls. -However if this is about spores, it is clear that flooding could easily be related/causal. I am keeping this in mind and will get back with more.
People should also consider Serenade. I have not used it yet but have heard others talk about it. Apparently it is the outright best solution to powdery mildew - it is an organism (Bacilus Subtillus - same as is added to Voodoo Juice, Aqua Shield and other grow products as a biological fungicide). It essentially just takes over everywhere and out-competes any fungi, excreting antibiotics to kill them off.
I think that spraying everything down (whole room + plants) with a pump-sprayer with Serenade mix will be hugely effective if what we are dealing with is fungal. There is also a product called "Fungaflor TR" that is a total-release (bomb) fungicide - seems like this will probably do the same thing with less effort, only: 1)It is single-use 2)It will probably not stay alive and continue to fight fungi like B. Subtilus (at least in soil and other places) 3)I cannot find what is in it anywhere. Either way, if we are dealing with fungal elements, one of those two solutions or the Mycostop RG mentioned will probably be our best approaches.
RG: About the Mycostop - is it just for watering and soaking seeds, or can it be sprayed? Does it stick around (live in the soil? live in hydro/water? die from strong fertilizer?) Does it out-compete fungi, does it incorporate into the plant, or does it just put out fungicide/kill other fungi it contacts?
As for the botanigard: be careful. Start w/ low doses and test in on ONE plant, waiting at least two days to see how it responds. Botanigard has petroleum products of some sort in it, and I don't think any oils or petroleum products are really taken well by the ladies, especially in the root zone, especially if any other stresses exist (or they are infected with a virus).
RG: Thank you VERY much for the info. I am opening my perspective to the possibility of spores - this would much better fit the data that the problem does not seem to exist outside my house (plants taken outdoors or to other friends houses do not have it). If this were viral, I would not expect it to magically go away as soon as the plant leaves my house. (Not that badly infected plants suddenly get better - I have only given away "healthy" plants, but the ones I kept from the same round went on to have these problems where the ones given away did not. )
Also: if I remember correctly, two of the most severe outbreaks of the problem seem to be correlated to two times when I accidentally minorly flooded my place. I considered the correlation at one point but dismissed it because the problem existed before the floods and because I had also just done a big multi-ingredient spray, which seemed much more likely to be related than wet floors and walls. -However if this is about spores, it is clear that flooding could easily be related/causal. I am keeping this in mind and will get back with more.
People should also consider Serenade. I have not used it yet but have heard others talk about it. Apparently it is the outright best solution to powdery mildew - it is an organism (Bacilus Subtillus - same as is added to Voodoo Juice, Aqua Shield and other grow products as a biological fungicide). It essentially just takes over everywhere and out-competes any fungi, excreting antibiotics to kill them off.
I think that spraying everything down (whole room + plants) with a pump-sprayer with Serenade mix will be hugely effective if what we are dealing with is fungal. There is also a product called "Fungaflor TR" that is a total-release (bomb) fungicide - seems like this will probably do the same thing with less effort, only: 1)It is single-use 2)It will probably not stay alive and continue to fight fungi like B. Subtilus (at least in soil and other places) 3)I cannot find what is in it anywhere. Either way, if we are dealing with fungal elements, one of those two solutions or the Mycostop RG mentioned will probably be our best approaches.
RG: About the Mycostop - is it just for watering and soaking seeds, or can it be sprayed? Does it stick around (live in the soil? live in hydro/water? die from strong fertilizer?) Does it out-compete fungi, does it incorporate into the plant, or does it just put out fungicide/kill other fungi it contacts?