Need General Help & Advice

[kellerwynn7]

This is my first year trying a garden. Apparently, I am a failure. My zucchini were doing wonderful. But just recently a lot of the leaves have been turning yellow and then completely brown and the plants have essentially stopped producing.

I should mention I live in San Diego County, it has been 90+ since the first part of June, and we get no rain here in the summer/fall months. My garden is in three self-contained raised beds approximately 8 x 2 x 2. I only used Miracl-Gro Gardening Soil to fill the beds and then started worrying it was too rich and mixed in some soil from our yard.

Anyway, the tomato plants started getting leaf roll, then the bottom small branches/leaves have turned brown, now the whole plants are looking wilted and very thin. There are 3 small green tomatos on one plant and the other has never even gotten one tomato. The plant with the 3 I believe is in the beginning stages of completely dying.

All the cumcumber plants in the bed with the tomatoes have died. My 2 remaining green bean plants that were about 10 inches high died overnight in the last 10 days. The cumcumbr plants that I had thinned from the original site and replanted in the place of my ded peas were doing beautifully -- even have 1 cumcumber -- but in just the last 10 days have started getting yellow spots and looking like they need more water. The zucchini that was also transplanted into the area where the peas died (from heat I think) is the only plant still doing well in my garden.

Now I see that my fuji apple tree is getting leaf roll and the small green apples are getting brown speckles on them.

Maybe I'm just not a gardener but I don't know where to turn for answers. The only thing I know to control is the water. Everything, except the tomatoes, seemed to be doing better when I watered every day with a hose on low and stood there moving it around until I felt all the roots had been covered. I started thinking I was over watering so I skipped a day and the plants looked worse. So I have gone back to every day but now nothing seems to help. Can someone give my some advice?

Thanks!!

[cynthia_h]

I'm sorry things are going so poorly for you.

Is there an independent gardening-supply store/nursery near you? The staff would be ideally situated to give you advice on what to do or what has happened in San Diego this year.

A good source of all-around information, esp. for California, is Sunset's Western Garden Book. The Sunset climate zone system takes many climate parameters into account and then gives recommendations on which cultivars to plant in which climate zones.

We're under drought restriction here, but I've been hand-watering (literally, with watering cans) my veggies--small garden--and they're OK. Not great (esp. the tomatoes), but OK. We're harvesting zukes and yellow squash right now.

Good luck!

Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17

[kellerwynn7]

Very good suggestions. I will get out my Western Garden Book -- I am in Zone 20. And even though I am in a small town in northeastern San Diego County, I know there is at least one small nursery here. I will go visit them today or tomorrow.

Thank you so much for responding to me!!

[Kristofer]

This is my first year trying a garden. Apparently, I am a failure. My zucchini were doing wonderful. But just recently a lot of the leaves have been turning yellow and then completely brown and the plants have essentially stopped producing.

I should mention I live in San Diego County, it has been 90+ since the first part of June, and we get no rain here in the summer/fall months. My garden is in three self-contained raised beds approximately 8 x 2 x 2. I only used Miracl-Gro Gardening Soil to fill the beds and then started worrying it was too rich and mixed in some soil from our yard.

Anyway, the tomato plants started getting leaf roll, then the bottom small branches/leaves have turned brown, now the whole plants are looking wilted and very thin. There are 3 small green tomatos on one plant and the other has never even gotten one tomato. The plant with the 3 I believe is in the beginning stages of completely dying.

All the cumcumber plants in the bed with the tomatoes have died. My 2 remaining green bean plants that were about 10 inches high died overnight in the last 10 days. The cumcumbr plants that I had thinned from the original site and replanted in the place of my ded peas were doing beautifully -- even have 1 cumcumber -- but in just the last 10 days have started getting yellow spots and looking like they need more water. The zucchini that was also transplanted into the area where the peas died (from heat I think) is the only plant still doing well in my garden.

Now I see that my fuji apple tree is getting leaf roll and the small green apples are getting brown speckles on them.

Maybe I'm just not a gardener but I don't know where to turn for answers. The only thing I know to control is the water. Everything, except the tomatoes, seemed to be doing better when I watered every day with a hose on low and stood there moving it around until I felt all the roots had been covered. I started thinking I was over watering so I skipped a day and the plants looked worse. So I have gone back to every day but now nothing seems to help. Can someone give my some advice?

Thanks!!

I'm only 25 but I lived in CA for about 17 years... Its the salt air that makes the leaves roll.. You have to water them plants twice a day in the sandy soil... The heat doesn't do much to them except dehidrate them, hence the watering twice a day. I've grown lemons before and they get the rolling leaf because of the salty air from the ocean. theres not much you can do except to water them alot and/or put them in a green house. I had a fence around my plants and they never got rolling leaf. However I was 6 miles away from the ocean. (Still close enough) Just some thought for your question. (:

Kris-

P.S. Use alot of Miricle Grow... Never killed anything of mine in CA (:

[kellerwynn7]

I'm about 40 miles inland but it certainly could be the salt air because my orange, grapefruit, apple and tomatoes all have it so it's a really good suggestion. I'll try rinsing off the leaves and see if it helps. Thanks so much for responding!