Commonly used as a control of potato blight Bordeaux mixture can also be used to treat a range of other fungal diseases including rusts, mildews, cankers & leaf moulds. Bordeaux mixture has been around for many years and been used by gardeners safely on a wide range of ornamental plants, fruits and vegetables
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- Bordeaux Mixture on Tomatoes
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- Bordeaux Mixutre on Grapes
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- Making Bordeaux mixture
What may not be well known is that Bordeaux mixture is made up of some very basic ingredients and these are all readily available to many gardeners. This means to you too can make your own Bordeaux mixture at home to apply to plants when needed. Just remember that Bordeaux mixture is a preventative rather than a cure and therefore it should be applied to plants before sign of an infestation are noticed
How to make your own Bordeaux mixture:
Ingredients needed:
Hydrated Lime
Water
Copper Sulphate
Process:
Diluted the hydrated Lime (or builders lime – i.e. the lime used in mixing cement) in water. Add 100 grams of lime to 5 litres of water
Next diluted the copper sulphate (also known as moss killer or Sulphate or Iron). Add 100 grams of copper sulphate to approx.5 litres of water
Mix the lime and water together until the lime has fully dissolved into the water and gradually pour the 5 litre mixture into the 5 litres of diluted copper sulphate and water
Give all a quick mix and then voila! You have 10 litres of ready to used Bordeaux mixture. The process could not be simpler and the ingredients more basic
Just note; this mixture works best directly after being made so you should use it as soon as possible. Also you can reduce the measurements to make smaller quantities of the Bordeaux mixture
Apply to Foliage before signs of attack, With potatoes you should start applying in April. Fungal attacks are more common in warm and damp weather. Apply to both the top and underside of the foliage ensuring a good covering. Reapply the mixture regularly over the season
You can use a knapsack sprayer to apply bureaux mixture, just make sure that you continue to shake and mixture the contents regularly to prevent the lime from settling to the bottom. Also you will need to clean the nozzle of the sprayer regularly to prevent it from clogging up