All Powdered Up

No, pumpkin leaves are not supposed to be greenish-white. What you see here is a very bad case of powdery mildew on our poor pumpkins. It started about a week ago and progressed rapidly. Conditions to include high humidity and lots of dew in the morning were just perfect, I guess. It was very impressive to see. The stuff really stinks, too.

As the picture shows, the pumpkins are all ripe so I wasn't too concerned. If it had been earlier in the year I would have had to do something. In fact, for next year I probably should take preventive action.

I read that a weekly application of some baking soda in water along with some vegetable oil and dishwashing soap will help to prevent powdery mildew. Also a 9:1 ratio of water and milk supposedly does the job. I think a small tank sprayer would work well to get either solution on the leaves.

The top picture was taken on Saturday. This afternoon I picked the pumpkins and pulled the plants. The fungus can overwinter on plant matter so the internet tells me I should dispose of the plants. I wonder if burning them suffices? We have eighteen pumpkins.

This evening I harvested our three celery plants. They look beautiful to me - so lush and green. Nancy plans to can some of them tomorrow in stewed tomatoes. While you can blanch celery by covering them up in the garden, it will also blanch while in the refrigerator. Celery has no calories.

This weekend we purchased a ride-along bike trailer. Samantha has a little bike with training wheels but it is just not possible for her to keep up with the rest of us. We took her on a ride after supper and she loved it!