22/04/2022
Repost from Garlic gurus:
For the coming garlic season.. including for rust..
I use Apple Cider Vinegar to keep fungal diseases away, including brown rot, curly leaf, black spot, powdery mildew, bladder plum, sooty mould, scab, allium rust (for garlic, onions, shallots), etc..
For fruit trees, vines, and plants..
Vegetables and herbs, including garlic..
Also for roses and other ornamentals
I've been doing this since 2009 for my stone and pip fruit trees, berry and grape vines, citrus, garlic, shallot and vegetable plants throughout my large Garden.. and including for roses..
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Vinegar kills mould - which fungal species are.
It also prevents mould growing back in places that are prone to having fungal problems, so helps avoid ongoing fungal problems.
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I use 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) mixed with 5 litres water in a 5 litre sprayer I keep just for ACV..
I use one of the Home brands of ACV from supermarkets, around $4 per bottle, not the expensive brands.
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I spray the mix when fruit tree buds are only just beginning to show in Spring as small bumps.
I don't spray when blossoms are showing, leaving them to bees, bumblebees and other little critters for pollination..
Once blossoms have finished, I spray fortnightly.on the fruit trees and plants which are prone to fungal
problems.. ie, brown rot on stone fruit, sooty mould on citrus, black spot on roses, rust on aliums, etc.
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I stop once all the fruit on each tree are harvested, ie:
Billington Plums finish in early January here in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, so I stop then..
Boysenberries finish late January here, stopping then..
Niagara Grapes, finish mid February here, stopping then..
Omega Plums finish late February here, stopping then..
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Spray the mix in the evening when the sun has just gone off your trees or plants, so the sun isn't heating/burning leaves through the liquid spray droplets on them, and there's time for the spray to dry before nightfall..
Spray the whole tree, vine or plant.. under and over leaves, the trunk, branches, twigs, fruit.. everything..
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This will also feed the tree through the leaves (when they are there for deciduous trees) as a foliar food.
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I do this for all my fruit trees, vines and plants.. stone and pip fruit, citrus, grapes, berries, including strawberries, plus for garlic, shallots, onions, courgettes, cucumbers, pumpkins, tomatoes, roses, etc..etc..
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No need for gloves or coverings as it's good for us too..
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My neighbours know that if they notice me spraying, it's ACV diluted with water, so it won't harm them or their garden..
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I keep a 5 litre sprayer filled with the ACV and water mix, so I can pick it up, pump it to build pressure, and I'm ready to spray this mixture that is good for my Garden..
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I've been wondering about insects too, vine hoppers, stink bugs/shield bugs/bean bugs, whitefly, etc, and their young.
I've been checking my trees and plants and can find lady birds/bugs, preying mantis, lots of bee's, bumblebee's and monarch butterflies.
The ACV mix works as a foliar food through the leaves.. with that feeding them, plus fungal problems not being an issue, the trees, vines and plants grow strongly.. a healthy, strong tree or plant will repel disease.. maybe repel insects like whitefly and vine hoppers, etc, etc, too..
It's interesting.. I'm continuing to observe..
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This is why I use ACV throughout my Garden, and have continued since trialling with it in 2009..
I don't use copper in my garden as it's not something that I want in our food.
Vinegar kills mould, which I learnt after washing an outside south facing porch wall at a previous home, with the leftover malt vinegar and water mix I use to wash window's. The green mould that had been a constant problem, never grew back.
In 2009, planting fruit trees here, I kept being told to use copper for fungal problems.. wondered about other options and thought back to that wall.. vinegar kills mould.. would it work for my fruit trees, with fungal problems..
Decided to try ACV due to the goodness of the apples that it's made with, had excellent results and have continued since for brown rot, black spot, curly leaf, allium rust, sooty mould, powdery mildew, etc.. etc.. all the fungal problems that occur often in our NZ gardens..
I initially tried 2 cups ACV to 5 litres water, worked well, the following year trialled 1 cup ACV, also worked well and have continued with that ratio.
When my trees were producing well, I contacted the head tutor of the horticulture course at the local polytech, asking if I could swap a box of freshly picked Golden Queen Peaches in exchange for him showing me how to Summer prune. He also has a 6 acre home orchard.
I showed him around my garden.. he kept saying, how have you got your trees so healthy. I told him about using the ACV mix and why.
As he left, he picked a Golden Queen Peach out of the box, bit into it, said, now that's how a Golden Queen should taste and I'm off home to start using Apple Cider Vinegar throughout my garden. 😊
