To keep the fungi from developing a resistance to your homemade spray, it is recommended that you alternate remedies each week. They recommend 1 cup mouthwash to 3 cups of water.
Some folks swear by mouthwash as an effective fungicide but it is not organic. Be sure to test this first because vinegar can burn plants. Mix 2 to 3 tablespoons vinegar with 1 gallon of water. Mix 4 tablespoons baking soda with 2 tablespoons of Murphy’s oil soap in 1 gallon of water. 
Mix 1 tablespoon baking soda with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon dish soap in 1 gallon of water. Test these sprays on a small area first to make sure they do not damage your plants. Potassium bicarbonate can be substituted for baking soda. Just be aware that baking soda can burn plants and it can build up in your soil, potentially causing deficiencies in calcium, magnesium, and iron. Many of these remedies include baking soda. They can slow or stop the spread early on, but once the fungi are established in the leaves, they won’t eliminate it. If you decide to try a home remedy rather than plain water, there are several that have been proven to be effective if used early. Naturally, they got the worst case of powdery mildew I have ever seen! It was the perfect place for it to thrive: high humidity and no rain hitting the leaves. One season I tried to defeat powdery mildew by planting squash in our high tunnel, thinking that if I could keep the leaves dry they would not be affected. This is the opposite of what most gardeners think, me included. They can’t germinate or grow if the leaves are wet. The spores like humidity but hate rain and water. There are lots of home remedies, but researchers have found that simply spraying with plain water weekly can be effective. No wonder the squash get hit every year! Remedies for Powdery Mildew The spores of the fungi are windborne and can’t really be avoided. Cucurbits such as pumpkins, squash, cukes, and melons have three different powdery mildew fungi gunning for them that can thrive in both humid and dry weather. The powdery mildew that you find on your squash is not the same as the mildew on your beans or roses. The lack of powdery mildew on my phlox is probably due to the fact that it is not caused by just one fungus, but by several different species that affect different kinds of plants. 
Thankfully, there is no sign of it on other susceptible plants such as phlox. So far this year, only our squash have been affected. Early on, it wipes off or washes away only to return again.Įventually, the affected leaves turn yellow and die on many plants while others continue to soldier on. It starts as white patches on the leaves of squash, lilacs, phlox, bee balm, and other plants, making them look like they have been dusted with baby powder.
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