Leaf Spot Disease Treatment Methods

[Mr.Doe]

I thought I would share my experience battling leaf spot in one of my guerrilla spots. I headed out to the patch late august and found out the whole patch had the disease and had to take some serious action to save the crop.
The first thing I did was clear out all lower shoots that were not receiving enough light along with all effected leafs that were showing symptoms. I took extra care and brought a hard tine rake out to the patch to clear out the leaves that had already died and fell off. Leaf spot can be caused by splash-back from rain so it is important to keep the ground around the plants picked up also.
I found two cheap home remedies that I alternated spraying every 3-4 days for at least 3 treatments of each.

1. 40ml 3% hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water

2. 2 tsp of baking soda and a few drops of soap as a spreader per gallon of water.

I can tell you that in rotation these two methods stopped all progression of the disease and allowed me to have a bountiful harvest. These sprays work better than liquid copper and are much safer for you. In my next post I will be talking about preventive maintenance I am planning next year including broad spreading a systemic fungicide to the whole area next year before planting. Leaf spot can be a growers worst nightmare since it infects everything around the plants as well. I seen the symptoms on everything from weeds on the ground to wild grape vines and bushes in the area. Leaf spot seems to follow the wet season and spread much more aggressively with heavy rains.

 

[Mr.Doe]

Blue dream with leaf spot in late august. These plants made it another 2 months with treatment!

 

[Mr.Doe]

Finished product

 

[Mr.Doe]

So after not finding much info on systemic granular fungicides I had to broaden my scope and see what the lawn care/golf courses use. I came up with Pillar G Intrinsic Granular fungicide and Heritage G, The plan is to go out to the patch at least a month before planting and start preparing the area.

 

[Cannagnome]

Very helpful!!

 

[Creeperpark]

Pillar G Intrinsic Granular fungicide proved worthless when used on "Take all patch" or TARR, "Take All Root Rot" and Pythium Blight fungus. The applications failed on all the jobs that were diseased. The number one reason people have fungus problems is from too much nitrogen exposure in clay-based soils. That may not be your case but if you use a lot of fertilizers in your plots then it may. A more natural way is to add a lot of organic matter to the plots in the Fall and Winter. Put enough in to raise the plot above the natural ground level for super drainage. A fungus attack is an indication of something being out of place in the environment in the wild. If leaf spot is a problem in the area, try using a disease-resistant strain from pro breeders.

 

[hamstring]

I thought I would share my experience battling leaf spot in one of my guerrilla spots. I headed out to the patch late august and found out the whole patch had the disease and had to take some serious action to save the crop.
The first thing I did was clear out all lower shoots that were not receiving enough light along with all effected leafs that were showing symptoms. I took extra care and brought a hard tine rake out to the patch to clear out the leaves that had already died and fell off. Leaf spot can be caused by splash-back from rain so it is important to keep the ground around the plants picked up also.
I found two cheap home remedies that I alternated spraying every 3-4 days for at least 3 treatments of each.

1. 40ml 3% hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water

2. 2 tsp of baking soda and a few drops of soap as a spreader per gallon of water.

I can tell you that in rotation these two methods stopped all progression of the disease and allowed me to have a bountiful harvest. These sprays work better than liquid copper and are much safer for you. In my next post I will be talking about preventive maintenance I am planning next year including broad spreading a systemic fungicide to the whole area next year before planting. Leaf spot can be a growers worst nightmare since it infects everything around the plants as well. I seen the symptoms on everything from weeds on the ground to wild grape vines and bushes in the area. Leaf spot seems to follow the wet season and spread much more aggressively with heavy rains.

Nice info you should add this to the leaf spot sticky.

 

[Creeperpark]

Pillar G Intrinsic Granular fungicide is made for lawns only. The fungicide is sprayed on clay particles like cat-litter, and suppose to keep fungus inactive at ground level and not supposed to be used on common plants. With any fungicide timing is the most important when using them because there's a two-week window before spore bloom. If you miss it, the fungus becomes resistant to the fungicide. I have used many types of fungicides on lawns at the owner's request only to be disappointed in the end. Money was no issue, but still, nothing stopped TARR fungus on St. Augustine.

 

[VenerableHippie]

Seems to me (somewhat experienced person) that this is caused by not enough clean air flow around garden. Garden needs more light/air. If you have a run of damp weather it helps a lot to sprinkle a light application of slaked lime around the garden (not lots) which will kill fungus. Remove leaves on ground. They hold moisture.

 

[hamstring]

I agree that if you can control air flow , nitrogen or other factors then you should do it. When growing in the bush you can not control those factors. I see leaf spot every year on everything out in the bush. I especially see it on native fruit trees ie crab apples. I stay away from them. I like the idea of having a less toxic approach and appreciate the knowledge. Love to see it in the Leaf Spot sticky so others can find it.