A reader and keen gardener sent me an email recently about using apple cider vinegar in your garden to prevent and control fungus diseases.
Someone shared it with him and so now I will share it will all my readers.
Hi Everyone.
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.
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. I use 250mil Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) mixed with 5 litres water in a 5 litre sprayer I keep just for ACV.
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.
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.
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. This will also feed the tree through the leaves (when they are there for deciduous trees) as a foliage food.
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.
No need for gloves or coverings as it’s good for us too. 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.
(Thats a good tip as you can leave in the sprayer what is not used for next time and if you are going to follow this advice, using apple cider vinegar a separate sprayer for this purpose is a good investment).
The ACV mix works as a foliage 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.. This is why I use ACV throughout my Garden, and have continued since trialing with it in 2009.
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… all the fungal problems that occur often in our NZ gardens. 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.
Also – ACV for cats: I add 1/4 teaspoon of ACV to our cats food each morning – have done this since March 2019 – no fleas, and they have shiny soft fur..
None of the awful monthly flea treatment that distressed them every time and sent them running from the house to try to get away from it. END
Sometimes it is the simple things that we forget about or more likely do not know about and can be very surprised when found to work.
I have now added a 2 litre Apple Cider Vinegar to our mail order web site in the Disease control section so that when you are ordering your other garden bits you can add in this well priced product.
(No point in paying for the expensive stuff as this will do the job.)
Happy Gardening…..
Not wanting to be a Doom sayer but warnings and preparations can save a lot of grief in time to come.
A link that maybe of interest – here.
