In hushed tones I was warned, "If I tell you, I'll have to kill you." I was more than a tad alarmed: what could possibly be so top secret that the simple act of sharing the information with me would put my life in jeopardy? An urgent matter of national security? A long forgotten ignominious skeleton in the cupboard? Nope, nothing quite as cloak and dagger as all that. The hitherto arcane tidbit of intelligence had to do with the utilisation of a common or garden laundry detergent as a fungicide on grapevines.I've been using Dreft for the past 3 pruning seasons now, mainly on the Cabernet sauvignon vines, as sometimes I have to remove sizeable sections of old growth. These large pruning wounds are often horizontal - the perfect surface for some disagreeable, airborne pathogen to settle upon. It's a relatively inexpensive solution to a potential vineyard dilemma and any soap that is left over I use to wash my smalls.
Dreft: recommended by pediatricians...and a certain professor of viticulture. Of course, I'm not supposed to tell you that.
