what's happening to my squash plants?

[mtgarden gal]

Hi all,
The last couple weeks my 3 yellow crookneck squash plants have been going downhill. The leaves look whitish, chewed up, dying, etc. They are still producing; in the last week I've picked about 10 squash from them.
As you can see, the new growth looks good. But can someone tell me what's going on with my plants? is it something I'm doing wrong? a bug/pest problem? is this just what happens to them as they get older?







Thanks! and one more question:
Here is my pumpkin. It's about the size of a child's bowling ball and looks good... except.... I thought that young pumpkins were green? Do I have a different variety? I don't know because my son brought this home from kindergarden last spring as a seedling.

[CharlieBear]

the white on the leaves looks like powdery mildew, a fungal disease that happens most readily for people who water over head, have a lot of rain or high humidity. Many people remove the first leaves that develop this and distroy them. You can generally keep it from jumping to other plants and slow it down on the plants that have it using a solution of 1 part milk to 9 parts water and 1T baking soda to every gallon of solution. This should be sprayed on early in the morning on a day that is going to be sunny. The combined action of the sun and the base effect of milk and baking soda generally kills the mildew. However, you have to keep reapplying after every significant rain fall or when the problem reoccurs.
(fungal diseases live best in a mild acid environment so changing the conditions to basic well- kills or retards it) When you remove the plant distroy it do not compost it. If you can't distroy it bury it someplace on you lot quite deep. Powdery mildew can over winter quite easily. This is a common problem with squash both summer and winter as well as cuccumbers etc (things in the same family)
The holes could be anything from slug damage, to insects eating it to sometimes just old age altho one of the above it most likely the problem. That damage doesn't appear to be enough to worry about.

[mtgarden gal]

Thanks, Charliebear! I am guilty of over-head watering. Mostly out of laziness. It's always interested me how, if mother nature waters that way, it is bad. lol. I guess next year I'll bite the bullet and get some soaker hoses.

anybody know about the pumpkin?

[DoubleDogFarm]

http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... hp?t=39107

Eric