Diluted Bleach as Spray?

[Zenbaas]

Originally Posted by Gerardo

Start on the low end and work your way up, in terms of concentration. The affected leaves will shrivel and some of the ones you thought were intact will go down also. They rebound afterwards. Minimal sunlight or dusk for application.

I tried the milk solution and it appears to help. It requires sun to work, however, the mist + hot sunlight produces an odor that...let's just say it wasn't for me. I've no doubt it's appealing to others.

Good luck against the fungus.

Thanks.


I've sprayed four plants tonight with a 7% solution (5.5 0z/Gallon). Will see how they look tomorrow morning.

[Gerardo]

Originally Posted by Zenbaas

Thanks.


I've sprayed four plants tonight with a 7% solution (5.5 0z/Gallon). Will see how they look tomorrow morning.

Cool. Forgot to ask how the tea went. Any positive effect?

[Zenbaas]

Originally Posted by Gerardo

Cool. Forgot to ask how the tea went. Any positive effect?

I definitely think I've seen some accelerated growth. I've done it twice now. Last time I also used it as a foliar spray. Will be doing it periodically now.

Had a quick look and doesn't look like the 7% bleach solution has burned the plants. Think I'll wait until tomorrow until I apply to the rest.

[Zenbaas]

Originally Posted by Zenbaas

I definitely think I've seen some accelerated growth. I've done it twice now. Last time I also used it as a foliar spray. Will be doing it periodically now.

Had a quick look and doesn't look like the 7% bleach solution has burned the plants. Think I'll wait until tomorrow until I apply to the rest.

So I've applied the 7%bleach solution to all my plants now and they pretty much look the same. I think I've only really seen one leaf die and the rest look unaffected.

For those interested I used 11 Oz of the 3.5% in a gallon of water with a few drops of soap. (effectively making a 7% solution although if you factor in the extra "aqua" it's probably a bit less than that.

[b54red]

Give it a couple of days. You can always up the concentration; but if it is applied too strong you will get some healthy leaves damaged. You may have to play around with it until you find the correct concentration with the bleach available to you. Once you find it use it as early in the disease process as possible for the best results. Once you find the concentration where you get some slight damage to new growth you will have found the maximum effective strength you can use. Reserve that maximum strength mix for use in only the most dire situations; but for most diseases a slightly weaker concentration is recommended. It took me most of a season to find the right mix for most situations. I experienced some pretty bad loss of healthy new growth with solutions far too strong and unaffected disease progress with solutions too weak.

Remember to always rinse your sprayer well as soon as you finish and to mix a fresh batch each time. Try to wear old clothes and don't breath any of the mist when spraying. Good luck.

Bill

[Johnniemar]

I have a terrible time with foliar diseases on my tomatoes. I tried the bleach solution this past season but i must have done sonething wrong because it wiped out my plants. I used 7 ounces of the normal 6% bleach solution and it was an offbrand name. I also sprayed about 4:00 pm but it was cloudy. May have been too hot.
This coming season i plan to try again using disase resistant tomatoes like mc, ispl, isrl, druzba , red brandywine, and amazon choc.
Also am making a few raised beds 4 feet wide for these plants. Using a cover crop and compost i am making along with shredded leaves from our woods behind the house.
Planning to use bleach again but much weaker solution also with daconil.
Is there anything anyone would suggest to hlp keep my tomatoes healty in 2016.

By the way i always start my own seed and have been doing do for about 8 years.

[Johnniemar]

Sorry for the spelling. Meant healthy. Also not using daconil with the bleach. Using it seperately. After rereading he post i realized it was confusing.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Johnniemar

I have a terrible time with foliar diseases on my tomatoes. I tried the bleach solution this past season but i must have done sonething wrong because it wiped out my plants. I used 7 ounces of the normal 6% bleach solution and it was an offbrand name. I also sprayed about 4:00 pm but it was cloudy. May have been too hot.
This coming season i plan to try again using disase resistant tomatoes like mc, ispl, isrl, druzba , red brandywine, and amazon choc.
Also am making a few raised beds 4 feet wide for these plants. Using a cover crop and compost i am making along with shredded leaves from our woods behind the house.
Planning to use bleach again but much weaker solution also with daconil.
Is there anything anyone would suggest to hlp keep my tomatoes healty in 2016.

By the way i always start my own seed and have been doing do for about 8 years.

Try using the Clorox brand that is the regular concentrated bleach with 8.25% sodium hypochlorite. Add 5 ounces to one full gallon of water with a little soap. Use a fine mist spray so there aren't a lot of puddles forming on the leaves. Make sure to use it early in the disease process and don't wait til your plants are totally infected. You can go as strong as 5 1/2 oz. to the gallon if diseases are really bad or if the leaves are wet when you apply it but you might get some slight leaf burn sometimes. For mild diseases that are not spreading fast you can use as low as 4 1/2 ounces added to a gallon but it will not be as effective but that is what I use on young seedlings when they first go outside.

I once used a no name bleach and had the same results because I don't think the concentration on the label was correct. I never use anything now but the Clorox brand.

Bill

[Johnniemar]

Thanks bill. I will try that this coming season.

[jmsieglaff]

I've got some small seedlings in the mail with some fungal leaf spot issues. I've pruning aggressively and using the dilute bleach spray. It has been working very well, sometimes only parts of leaves shrivel up that had the issues. The new growth is looking healthy and there has been no harm to healthy tissue. Bill, do you start and continue spraying from when your plants get set out? I've only treated the seedlings that have the issues, but ultimately fungal leaf issues always pop up in my garden. I would assume a bleach/water solution will hold up out of the sun until it is used or does it lose effectiveness after sitting for a bit? (I'm thinking I'll just fill my gallon sprayer up and use it until it is gone, but I wouldn't go through a gallon when the plants are small.)

[Johnniemar]

Leaving bleach in the sprayer will probably ruin the sprayer. It will dissolve the rubber gaskets. I always rinse mine out after using it with pure water.

[jmsieglaff]

Originally Posted by Johnniemar

Leaving bleach in the sprayer will probably ruin the sprayer. It will dissolve the rubber gaskets. I always rinse mine out after using it with pure water.

Good point. Maybe I'll just mix it up in my quart sprayer until I need more. Thanks!

[Stvrob]

Originally Posted by Johnniemar

Leaving bleach in the sprayer will probably ruin the sprayer. It will dissolve the rubber gaskets.

Depends on the rubber formulation. Butyl and viton are both fine for mild sodium hypochlorite solutions.

[rjake100]

Here is another thread where Bill has spelled it all out. I really appreciate the detail in both threads.

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=28509

[b54red]

Originally Posted by jmsieglaff

I've got some small seedlings in the mail with some fungal leaf spot issues. I've pruning aggressively and using the dilute bleach spray. It has been working very well, sometimes only parts of leaves shrivel up that had the issues. The new growth is looking healthy and there has been no harm to healthy tissue. Bill, do you start and continue spraying from when your plants get set out? I've only treated the seedlings that have the issues, but ultimately fungal leaf issues always pop up in my garden. I would assume a bleach/water solution will hold up out of the sun until it is used or does it lose effectiveness after sitting for a bit? (I'm thinking I'll just fill my gallon sprayer up and use it until it is gone, but I wouldn't go through a gallon when the plants are small.)

I use the bleach spray at different times according to need. When plants are small and or disease issues are minimal I will stick to Daconil or copper. When the first signs of disease appear then I will use the bleach spray and continue as necessary. I still apply the fungicides for prevention for instance: I sprayed everything in my garden with the bleach solution yesterday evening just before dark and late this afternoon I sprayed my plants with Daconil. During times of frequent rain when fungicides are pretty much useless I will go out every few days and spray with the diluted bleach to kill what I can. During these rainy spells if you are fighting something like gray mold it can become necessary to spray almost daily to keep it from spreading too much. And yes I do use it on small seedlings if necessary but make sure not to use it at max strength.

Bill