Bacterial and fungal issues are common on plants, particularly in the Spring and Fall. Here’s a simple, very inexpensive treatment you can apply to protect your plants.
To prevent bacterial and fungal problems on outdoor plants use hydrogen peroxide!
Hydrogen peroxide will prevent the disease spores from adhering to the plant tissue. It causes no harm to plants or soil, however don’t use on young transplants or direct seeded crops until they have become established.
Warning:
Always test on a small portion of plant tissue first to check for any negative reactions. Do not proceed if there is any damage to plant tissue. Do not substitute food grade hydrogen peroxide for the common hydrogen peroxide.
To use, simply spray plants with undiluted 3 percent hydrogen peroxide that you can purchase almost anywhere. The dollar store, dollar tree and dollar general usually have them priced at 2/$1.00
Be sure to cover tops and bottoms of leaves. Do this once a week during dry weather and twice a week in wet weather.
This works very well as a preventative. However, if you already have problems this can be used as a direct treatment.
Spraying Basics- Tips to Remember Before Applying Treatment to your Plants
1. It is best to use any type of spray in the early morning or the cool of evening. Do not spray when temps are above 80 degrees Fahrenheit! Your plants may “burn” or have a reaction to what you are using in excessive heat. This is known as “phytotoxicity.”
2. Always perform a test on a small portion of the plant material first. Wait 24 hours to observe any negative reaction. Proceed if there is no damage.
3. Really and truly…more is not better. If you are not getting good results don’t increase the strength of the remedies without testing first.
4. Target just the area you need to treat. Be careful… try not to harm the good bugs! You don’t want to run off your allies.
5. When working with sprays or dusts always protect your exposed skin and face. Some of these ingredients can be very irritating to your skin, eyes and mucous membranes, especially any hot pepper sprays.
Thank you for the great advice. I didn’t know!