It is hard to imagine that even 30 years ago, tomatoes and cucumbers, for example, could not be sprinkled with anything, and they grew remarkably. Now it is almost impossible to get a normal crop without plant protection aids. One of the simplest and safest means used in gardening to combat plant diseases is the Bordeaux mixture, from which they make a solution for spraying plants at different stages of development.
Depending on which plants, and most importantly, at what stage the spraying is carried out, different concentrations of the finished solution are used. Before the buds open, the fruit trees are treated with a 3% solution, and a 1% solution is used on the leaves so as not to burn the delicate tissue of the leaves.
Bordeaux mixture is sold in specialized stores ready-made. But it is more advisable to cook it yourself. Firstly, it is advisable to use it during the day. It is not subject to storage. Secondly, cooking it is not difficult, it does not require any special skills. In stores, kits are sold with the right amount of its components in the form of powders already weighed. You can not mix them.
The Bordeaux mixture is prepared as follows.
To prepare 10 liters of a 1% solution, 100 g of copper sulfate are taken and dissolved in 5 liters of water. Copper sulfate does not dissolve well in cold water. Therefore, it makes sense to first pour the powder, say, a liter of hot water, and when the powder is completely dissolved, dilute to 5 liters. In a separate bowl, lime is diluted with five liters of water, then the finished lime milk is filtered through gauze or stocking. When mixing both liquids, it is necessary to pour copper sulfate into milk of lime, but not vice versa. The mixture must be cooked in non-metallic dishes.
Ready Bordeaux mixture should be sky blue. But it is better to check it before use, so as not to burn the leaves of plants. To do this, use a litmus test. Red should turn blue and blue should remain blue. If (which most often happens) is not at hand, you can lower an ordinary knife or nail into the solution. If after a couple of minutes a characteristic coating appears on it, the liquid is not suitable, you need to add lime (milk) to it, otherwise the acid will damage the petals. If there is no plaque, everything is in order, you can start spraying. When the mixture is prepared for spraying unblown trees, you can do without checking. In this case, the mixture will not harm the plants.
If a 1% Bordeaux mixture is prepared, its use is quite extensive. In fact, you can spray all the plants growing on the site. It should only be taken into account that the so-called waiting period is 15 days. That is, from the last spraying to harvesting, so much time should pass. In addition, there are restrictions on the number of sprayings per season. For example, apple trees, pears and vines can be processed no more than six times . Plums, cherries, cherries, potatoes and tomatoes tolerate less spraying - no more than four. Melons, onions, cucumbers, currants and gooseberries are sprayed only three times per season.
For spraying in early spring (on unblown buds), the mixture is prepared in the following proportion: 400 g of lime and 300 g of copper sulfate are taken for 10 liters of water. The technology for preparing the solution is the same as in the previous case. This is 3% Bordeaux liquid, its use is limited to a single spray in early spring.
The remedy is effective against many diseases, has been used for more than a hundred years and many gardeners know it as the “best friend and irreplaceable assistant” in the garden. But perhaps not everyone knows that instead of lime, you can use sodium carbonate, ordinary soda. It turns out no less effective tool, it is only called a Burgundy mixture.